Billy Bob

Hi, I just went through this. I ended up with the Lowrance LMS 520c unit for three reason. 1. When it comes to SONAR Lowrance is #1 in my books and they also have a very advanced GPS system 2. After a LOT of research I decide that the EXTERNAL antenna is the better choice. First it will give you better reception and second if you need to add radar or auto pilot a external antenna is a MUST with this unit. It is available as a add on option to the internal units but then you are paying a extra $200 for it. 3. The LMS 520c unit comes with a 20 degree cone angle and this is the industry standard and is the most useful over all cone angle. The dual frequency units come with 12 degree / 36 degree cone angle. However the 36 degree cone angle is when you are using the 50 mhz frequency which is used for DEEP water and it does NOT give you the detail the 200 mhz frequency gives you. So you would be stuck most of the time using a 200 mhz 12 degree cone angle and that pretty narrow for my fishing. Giving a 20 degree angle is approximately 1/3 the depth, that make a 10 foot cone angle in 30 feet. However, with a 12 degree cone and you bottom coverage would be almost half of that, probably about 6 feet. That would be harder to find structure and fish. Good Luck, Bob BTW I order my unit SUNDAY night and received it Tuesday. After SEVERAL hours today taking out my old unit and installing this new unit I am about 75% done. Should finish tomorrow

Take a look at this place. It has a pool for the kids and other things to do. The food is VERY good and accomodations were excellent. It's on Buckhorn Lake not far from where you are thinking of going. Very good walleye, musky and bass fishing (no pike). http://www.beachwoodresort.com/index.htm

I use to have Hotmail and one day EVERYTHING was gone. All my files and important letter etc.......... My son turned my on to Gmail and I LOVE it. It never fails, has the LARGEST storage capacity and REALLY does a good job filtering out spam and junk mail. In order to get Gmail you need a invite so PM me if your interested in it. My other son like his Yahoo mail. I tried it at the same time as Gmail and stuck with Gmail but you might like it. Bob

Expensive Mountain errrrrrr Gander Mountain is VERY pricey here in Tonawanda, NY. Dick's Sporting Goods has less and less fishing/hunting stuff every year. It's more of a clothing store than anything. I don't know for sure if Rainbow Sports is still open in North Tonawanda, NY (not far from the Rainbow Bridge) but if that local owned sporting goods store is still open you guys would be like kids in a candy store. From the front it looks small and not worth going in, however the store just goes back and back and back for ever. Let me see if they are listed in our yellow pages. FOUND IT. Rainbow Sports, 267 Oliver Street, North Tonawanda, NY 14120 716-692-7510 GUYS try this place, its got a LOT of stuff and a LOT of old stuff you can no longer get. Plus lure making supplies etc......... Bob

Here I have found the complete opposite. Guys BURY their trailers so you basically can't even see it under water and of course the boat is floating all over the place and is NOT center when they pull it out of the water. In it goes again, and again. Believe it our not I have a 16'-4" (7 foot beam and 39" deep) Grumman side console boat with 50 hp outboard. Completely loaded I would say close to 1800 lbs. I NEVER get my bearing wet. I repeat I NEVER get my bearing wet when launching and retrieving. I have a real nice Tee Nee trailer (trailer is over sized for the boat as order) with bunks and just center rollers. The rollers are greased every other year or so and the bunks are also sprayed with silicone. I can launch and retrieve this myself. I have to do some cranking but my keel ALWAYS follows one roller to the next because of the weight of the boat and is ALWAYS on center when I pull out. The best part of this is I don't have bearing buddies that throw grease all over my boat and trailer and I almost NEVER repack them. Well I shouldn't say never. I replaced them the third year I owned it because when I checked them the factory had almost NO grease on the bearings (new owners take warning). I did them again 20 years later (last year) just because they were so old. In the spring like now I jack up each tire and spin it. If it spins without any rough noise I check for excessive end play and if OK jack it down. And don't think I am not towing it far. I have had my boat all over the NE States and to Minnesota and many parts of Ontario and Quebec. Hoping for Spring, Bob

I have a 53" Sony rear projection TV which was there top of the line about 10 years ago when I purchased it. With DirecTV the picture is amazing to this day. I don't really see that much difference in the new HD screens compared to mine especially when you're considering how much you have to spend. I have had this SONY problem free from day one and when the day does come to replace it I will be looking long and hard at another SONY before I would consider another brand. They make one hell of a TV.

Are you getting your fish up in Devil's Hole or below the power plants. Bob

HEY, I resent that remark. I am a RED SOX fan I'll wait until Wed next week. If it doesn't arrive I take the action you recommended. First time I ever had a problem with Ebay.

OK guys, I am waiting for a item to show up for over 2 weeks now. It has a USPS tracking number and says it left Warendale, PA March 18th. It should of arrived a week ago. Called the Post Office and they say all they know is the same as I that it left Warendale, PA. HOW do I contact PayPal to maybe get the ball rolling since I use PayPal to pay for it. Thanks, Bob

These are VERY good reels ESPECIALLY for the price. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/template...&hasJS=true I would recommend line counters. It's really nice to know how far back you really are and don't have to count the raps of line going out. I have these reels on my Dipsy Diver Rods for about 5 years now and no problems. The link of course is Cabela's but I got my here with the rods for $59.99 each at Dick's Sporting Goods. But of course that was years ago. I also have the Daiwa Sealine® Trolling Reels before they had line counters on them. I use them on my downrigger rods. They are VERY fine reels but of course their price reflects that. Bob

The power steering motors are subject to the foot pedal electronics going. If you notice MOST Pro's use cable steering controlled motors.

As said they are based on the moon phases. The way it works it three days before and three days after the new moon and full moon. So if the full moon is the BEST time to fish each day next to it is VERY GOOD and then the second day is GOOD and so on. So if the full moon lands on the 15th of the month the 14th and 16th would be VERY GOOD while the 13th and 17th are GOOD days.

VERY nice. I like the looks and shape but $75 - $79 each is way more than I would ever pay for a cannon ball. I got my cannon balls for less than $20 each.

Don't use anything less than 10 lb balls. The stress is really nothing on the boat however, when I first mounted my Cannon down-riggers 23 years ago I was also concerned but I have no problems after all these years. Again go 10 lbs minimum. BTW use SWIVEL MOUNTS. This makes it very easy to rig as the ball can be swiveled into the boat. This is really important on rough days.

I agree with you that Larry Dahlberg's The Hunt For Big Fish is GOOD show but it's not about fishing in areas we would be fishing. Going overseas or to wild area's in Africa or South America is not something I will ever be doing so I really don't learn much from watching his show. However, Larry is a GREAT guy to watch and easy to like. If I remember correctly he was a chief editor with In-Fisherman years ago when the Linder brothers own the company. His show is definitely a different show and a breath of fresh air when everyone else is doing the same old, same old thing.

Does anyone remember a GREAT looking gal named Debbie Johannesson. I believe her show was called "Outdoor Encounters". I have a autographed picture from 1992 and back then she was a HOT Blonde that loved to fish. Met her at the Buffalo Show that year. I just got there about 30 minutes earlier. When I stopped for her picture she autographed it for me and ask if I wanted to go for breakfast with her. Being married I thanks but I just got there and wanted to see the rest of the show.

I have had good success with both a portable and a fixed mount, however spend a little more and get a mid/high grade radio. Don't go with a bargain brand that might not last long as the diodes burn out you will receive and not transmit. I have this unit and I am very happy with it. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...0001000_200-1-5

Eh, not good :<)

#1 Linder's Angler's Edge Since I don't get the Outdoor Channel (next higher tier of programming) I haven't seen IN-Fishermen in a LONG time. However, I can't see it being the same since the Linder's sold IN-Fishermen. That was I thought the ELITE fishing info show. Now most of what we see are just commercials telling us what rod. reel, line and lure to use. The other day they even gave a plug to the landing net they were using. Even the Linders are guilty of this. #2 Babe Winkleman is OK. He was better years ago when he was married to Charlie. Who trades DOWN when you get remarried. This wife is down right UGLY. I use to see Babe years ago at the Cleveland Sportsmen Show. He stayed at the same hotel as we did and he was a PLAYER when it came to the ladies of the night. He always had a girl or TWO at the bar with him. Red Fisher was entertaining. My wife always got a kick out of him when he would hide in the bushes after his shore lunch to film the sea gulls coming in to clean up the left overs. If you remember he would always have binoculars hanging around his neck. They were filled with booze. Red Fisher was a drunk. I really miss the old IN-Fishermen ONE HOUR shows. When they first came on there were only 4-6 shows a year because there was so much content in that one hour show. Now they could do almost a whole season what they did for those one hour shows. Just too much selling now a days. I still have MANY tapes of those show. Don't know how they are holding up in VHS tapes but I must have about 20 tapes of IN-Fishermen.

I retired early at 48 because I couldn't do the heavy work on the railroad (derailments) with a very bad shoulder that needs to be replace someday. But I get asked all the time especially by my jealous brother in-law, what do you do. My answer is everything you are dreaming to do if you weren't working. Then I tell him "remember everyday is Saturday for ME" ha ha ha ha ha ha ha The best part is fishing during the week when there is no pressure at the launches or on the lake

I had a 2002 Ford Escape for 5 years and 70,000 miles. It was a XLT with factory tow package. I towed my 1500 lb boat without any effort for 4 years and then in 2006 we purchased a mid size pop up trailer that weighed 3.000 lbs loaded. I towed this trailer through Ontario and 17 States doing 6,500 miles in 30 days. We crossed the continental dived twice and reached 11,000 feet in Colarado. It was slow going at times in the higher elevations but we made it without ANY breakdowns. However, I did add a extra tranny cooler and a tranny temp gauge. At times the tranny temps reached 280 degrees where the normal temp was around 140 degrees. It is VERY important to change the tranny fluid every other oil change. It's easy, just drain and refill with one gallon of fresh fluid. This will get a complete fluid change by the second change. THIS MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE. There is a Ford Escape forum that presses this point. Now in the 5 years I owned by Escape (traded it in on a 2007 Toyota Tundra) I experienced the following problems. 1. ABS brakes went ($400 repair job that I didn't get, instead just pulled the fuse) 2. Rear wheel oil seal ($300 repair job that I didn't get, instead traded it in) 3. Front calipers warped (replaced front brakes $220 by myself, But I did install Carbon Metallic Brakes) 4. Sunroof switched replaced ($45 to do it myself) 5. Front power window problems (warranty item) 6. Front power seat track very loose ( never repaired this) What I forgot to mention to tow the 3000 lb Pop Up Trailer I installed a electric brake control and this worked VERY well. So if you tow a boat that you have trouble stopping just install electric brakes. About $300 to the trailer and another $100 to the truck.

YES, I was also spammed with a TOJAN HORSE ! ! ! Good thing my McAfee software STOPPED it and removed it. DON'T OPEN THAT FILE GUYS ! ! ! ! ! !

Sorry to hear you are having problems with the onboard charging systems. I have had this one for 4-5 years now without a problem and it has definitely extended both my batteries. When the boat is in the garage I have a extension cord hanging from the ceiling and it will automatically disconnect when I forget to disconnect manually (MANY TIMES) in the morning since I will have the boat hooked up to the truck the night before. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/template...&hasJS=true

Here is a choice to THINK about. http://www.toyota.com/tundra/index.html?s_...TN_TUNDRA_INDEX This might even cost you less and have a MUCH better resale. They are selling like hot cakes here in the USA. You should be able to get one in Canada. I am waiting for mine to arrive tomorrow. You can get it in the NEW 5.7 L engine with a six speed tranny or the 4.7 L engine with a five speed tranny. It will haul and out tow ANY 1/2 ton truck out there and with either the double cab or crew cab you have PLENTY of room for the rest of the tribe. At least take one for a ride. Bob

I HEAR YOU BROTHER ! ! !