bigbuck

Stick to 3/4 of the towing max. You have to remember that as you may have enough power to get it going, stopping is the big issue when it comes to towing. Also, make sure you have a towing package installed (big tranny cooler, those Chrysler trannies tend to be pretty weak). Make sure your trailer has at least surge brakes to help in emergencies. I don't believe you should be towing a tandem axle trailer with a minivan but I may be wrong. You also limit yourself to where you can launch, on a gravel ramp, you WILL get stuck, you need good concrete ramps to launch/retreive easily. The two launches I use are both concrete, I learned my lesson with gravel the first time I launched the boat (forgot the drain plug, thankfully the water was fairly warm). I tow my boat (around 3400lbs with trailer and loaded) with our Olds Silhouette that has a 3500lb towing cap and I don't tow when there are lots of cars on the road to be safe. Panic stops aren't fun esp. on the 400. My next vehicle is going to be a 1/2ton pickup when my car finally gives up the ghost. As for Legend boats, they seem to be fine, just make sure that you upgrade the motor on it, they keep the cost down by putting a small motor on, if you stick to a minimum of 75% of the rated hp capacity of the hull, you should be fine. Maxing it out really helps with resale down the line, it's a hit up front but at the end of the day, it makes it a more saleable boat. Good luck with your purchase, please remember that BOAT stands for Break Out Another Thousand.

Jig and minnow, worm or leech for walleye. Pretty much any colour, I have found that chartreuse worked the best on a northern lake that I fished extensively a while back. For Pike, red/white, 5 of diamonds spoons, husky jerks and a couple of bucktails with some good quality leaders should do you fine. Contact your outfitter to see about a better map of the lake and/or a chip for it, they may be able to steer you in the right direction.

You sure about your math?? You don't mention property taxes, hydro, gas, insurance, upkeep, etc... etc.... you'd probably be looking at $1500+ per month assuming you can even qualify for the mortgage. When it comes to student housing, banks are not too eager to lend money. Now if you are able to swing the financing, you should have the parents of the students sign the lease for the whole year, not just the school year. They won't like it but that is the way the game is played. There is a lot involved and you need to make sure you've taken as much as possible into consideration. Another thing is public transit, how far to the closest bus stop?? Any transfers between buses?? Ease of getting to the school is very very important. I'm not trying to put a damper on what you are thinking about doing, I have a friend in Waterloo who has become quite successful at doing what you are thinking about. It involved a lot of hard work but he has quite a few units now and it is his full time job.

Nice!!! I'm waiting for the 3rd sat in June as well. My had caught 2 a 48 and a 52incher in GBay over the past week walleye fishing. Figures, hopefully I get a couple 'eyes over the weekend to grace the pan while I patiently wait for the GBay opener.

Trilene knot for mono, Palomar for braid and uni to uni (double uni) to join 2 lines together whether it be braid to fluorocarbon or braid to mono.

Marine Stabil is fine for storage. Give it a healthy dose and you'll be fine. Seafoam isn't the greatest for storage, there has been a lot of discussion on iboats.com and the consensus by the marine mechanics on the board that it should be used to clean up engines and not for the long term storage of fuel. Every product has it's pros and cons, as long as you are using something, it's better than nothing. I store my boat with an almost empty fuel tank and a healthy dose of Marine Stabil. A little pleasure cruise to burn off excess fuel in the tank and away she goes for winterizing.

I'd stay away. Who knows what sort of quality controls are in place or not. I'd pay extra knowing that it is coming from a reputable manufacturer.

Ahhh, the Marketing machine at work. I'd love to see a Columbia exec go out in the outdoors where the black flies and mosquitoes roam with just these clothes and no other repellants on him/her.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your best buddy. He can rest now.

Like mentioned above, disconnect the battery for an hour and then reconnect. If it's still lit, you have to take it in for diagnosis. I would leave messing around with the airbag to a professional. Good luck, hopefully it just needs to be reset.

Especially on a bigger fish, when taking a pic, hold it under the gill plate and support the body with your other hand, horizontal holds only, don't vertical hold a big fish, you can kill them doing that. Throw the lunkers back in, they are big for a reason, either they have good genetics or they are really smart - two qualities that you want for breeders to keep the fishing going for years to come.

Marine grade plywood. Check your local lumberyard (not Home Depot or other big box stores). Do it with the right stuff and it will last a long time. Cheap out and you'll be doing it again in a couple of years.

Nice!! I'm envious, I'm 0 for 2 so far this year and I've got to get into some fish. Next weekend the boat goes in the water and I'll be out there hunting some gators and 'eyes for the pan.

Great report!!!

I'd keep at them. They rebuilt it and any problem with it is theirs. If they keep giving you the runaround, I'd let them know that you will be taking them to small claims court. Ridiculous that they won't repair it. BTW, don't admit to them that you put it into reverse while it was still spinning in forward the first time around, it gives them ammunition to use against you. Good luck.

The camera can be replaced (which you did) but the pics and vids on the lost camera can't (thankfully it turned up).

Nice Gar!!!! I see them in the shallows by the Tomb in the summer on GBay. Gotta bring a rod and tackle one day.

There you go!! See those smiles on the kids, they don't get smiles like that playing video games and watching tv!!! Taking them back to the basics grounds them and they learn to make their own fun.

PartSource scans for free. It is part of their customer service. Others may do it but I KNOW that PS does. Once you know what the code is, then you can start to diagnose it. If you are good at the art of wren-ching you could probably figure it out with the help of the www if it is a fairly common problem with your vehicle. I wouldn't waste my money on a cheap reader when I can get the code checked for free. Good luck.

Call a couple of local insurance brokers to see what they can come up with. Also, try Allstate, you may get lucky with them.

Happy BDay!!! All the best to ya!

Nice HOG!!!

It's an old motor. Don't run it at WOT too much, you don't want to blow it up. If it runs decently, leave it be. You want much more speed, you need to get a new motor and that will cost you mucho dinero. As mentioned above, run some of the new synthetic oil through it to cut down on the pollution and enjoy the boat. Another thing to remember is that your hp rating is at the crank, the new motors are rated at the prop so comparing apples to apples, the new motors are more powerful.

BassPro lost their most knowledgeable fishing associate in Andrew. I saw him on Friday on my way up north when we stopped in at BPS to pick up a couple of things. He's off to northern Saskatchewan to do some guiding for the summer and I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours. I'm sure he is going to get his guests into some nice fish. Aaron, good going bud!!! That is an absolute hog you caught there!!! Lake X was good to you guys!! Nice to see there are still some nice lunkers up in that area.

Sorry to hear about your loss. Dad's memory will live on every time you wet a line.