OhioFisherman

Just me Spanky but I would be leery of a 45 inch shaft on a deeper boat, the bow is a lot higher off the water than a jon boat or bass boat to begin with. It seems a shame the don't offer the 80 in a 54 inch shaft.

It sounds good?

Congrats Terry! enjoy it!

Great pictures and report Brian! Glad to see you got out again!

jimmer, an mtd or cub dealer may have a cross reference book that shows what parts from what brands of mtd tractors are interchangeable? mtd is - was based in my area they also made huskie brands sold by tsc and others too? Putting a bigger deck on a tractor not powered for it might not do you any favors?

I had a 17 foot Smokercraft ( 16' 8" ) that was also had a 73 inch beam, side console though. A 55 pound thrust cable steer bow mount, 12 volt, with as I recall a 52 inch shaft length. Under most conditions it was adequate, but high side boats do have issues with the wind, and the waters you fish are also a factor. On Lake Erie my electric motor would frequently be spinning in the breeze with the wave action and wakes from passing boats. If I was going to do it again? A 60 inch 24v.

I don't see any lists for decks even here, the decks take a lot of abuse and tend to be one of the first things to go bad. A place that does repair on lawn tractors or maybe a junkyard might have a dead one around? A lot of people here just throw out the deck and use the tractor to pull a lawn carts until they died completely.

Well this is from the Ohio side of the lake, and the news keeps saying the walleye fishing is the best it has been in 40 years. I can only assume since it is the same lake on the Ontario side things probably aren't much different?

Wow, hope some of the rain we got makes it north!

Well it just seems to me that the problem crosses racial boundaries, a year or two ago an area gun store was burglarized, last week one in Mentor was, folks of different colors, but the problems still exist. It's been about 8 years since I bought a handgun, and if you go to a gun or sporting goods store there are some hoops to go thru, proper ID, background check, but the last time I was at the local flea market, which has been years, they were sitting on tables for sale without the " niceties " of proper regulation. Pandora's box has been opened, and I can't really see an effective way of closing it now?

Akri, that hasn't worked here, the world seems to have gone crazy at times?

Years ago there was a golden Stren, and it was pretty obvious. It didn't seem to matter on a trip up north were your water is generally much clearer than ours here. The flouro was a tough bite line for me, and I am not sure if it made a difference, generally the bite was still tough. LOL, I have caught fish right over the side of the boat and other days on a long cast, some days they were afraid of the boat?

http://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/tips/post/recolor-your-braided-line-with-a-sharpie and there is this https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Vicious_No-Fade_Braid_Moss_Green/descpage-VNFB.html I am older and have used everything from braided nylon to flouro and have caught fish on them all, my line of choice was original Stren over the years, the line watchers line. If I could see it? I assume the fish could too? LOL, it's an easy excuse to blame a bad day on the fish being able to see your line? I have no idea what a fish may think line is, or why they would avoid line and not hook shaped objects?

the bass pro in vaughan shows them.

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/38699394/coast-guard-concerned-over-dead-fish-surfacing-on-a-vermilion-beach The story was updated, and it looks like all sheephead, except for some emerald shiners in one of the pics. i am just guessing, but I think those smallies in my avatar weren't caught more than a mile from there, it was a good day, we got about 20 of them.

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/38699394/coast-guard-concerned-over-dead-fish-surfacing-on-a-vermilion-beach That shoreline has certainly changed since the last time I fished there! Can't really make out the species, but the size of them seems to indicate sheephead to me, again.

Sounds like a fun time, and I believe it, I think you have a lot of lakes up there capable of having a 5+ pound smallie or largemouth.

LOL, pretty good sized front and rear casting platforms though? Stopped for ice cream on the way home from the boat long ago and there was 3-4 of them in the parking lot, must have been some kind of club meeting.

This probably isn't much help but? Lowe Boats - Locate A Dealer They show a dealer in Kingston, they may explain how with a call?

Great pics and report.

Yes they work, and not just for smallies, largemouth, and walleye like them too! I used a 1/8th ounce with a pork grub trailer that I put rubber legs thru with pieces from a kush ball. Actually bought some years ago from Jensen Jigs in that article.

What's old is new again! Ya, as I recall that was the issue, I remember craw tubes too, they looked like a crayfish. I started fishing area bass tournaments in the 70's and I used and saw a lot of other guys throwing soft plastics on light jigheads, they could still be productive when I had to stop fishing.

Sir, I used these for a long time, not weedless though. http://www.gophertackle.com/mushroomjig.html

David, I seem to recall that some years back they came out with a floating plastic that wasn't compatible with other types of plastics? Same stuff?

LOL Sauga, the bad thing about fish traveling in schools? they are learning? No idea, my experience with fluoro was limited to berkley vanish and that not often, just usually didn't see a need for it. Really no issues with vanish either, except that it seemed to get nicked up easier than mono around areas with the zebra mussels, and that may have been just me fishing lower and slower during a tough bite.