aplumma

tip the pilot tip the pilot!!!!! Actually it depends on how much work is involved and how many times you come in contact with the person. The pilot that flies over the lake and points to few places or flies were you ask him to get's alittle more than the pilot that does not. The man who moves the luggage on to the plane is a smaller tip than the man that humps your stuff from the dock to the lodge. The man who gasses your boat and leaves you a few places were you might catch fish get the biggist tip. I give an average tip that will leave an average impression in the mind of the average service. I leave a great tip for people that go past their job requirements because it means they have taken the time to show an active interest in my level of enjoyment on my vacation. The reason that I have not put numbers to this is because to some people a $20.00 bill is a higher/lower amount of money to the Tipper. If your trip is on a budget then your tip will be on the same budget if you are at a 5 star fly in then make sure you tip accordingly. I have always found that when ever I call for a return trip it has been met with open arms and the staff that has held on from years past remembered my name. We sometimes forget that we will spend $500.00 on a camera to take home some good memories but for few extra tipping bucks you can leave a few good memories with people that you will look forward to seeing the next year. Art

what Joe and roy said. Art

To bad you were born a day late we could have been twins. Happy birthday Joey have a fun day. Art

Bump just to get the final # of people who want some. Last chance. Art

Thanks all for the well wishes I think I will go down to the boat and see if I can get a few catfish to bite. Bec's only wishes I was 105 but to bad it is only 45 so she has a long time to put up with me....... Art

I always thought going South was a good thing....... Welcome Don glad you have decided to give us a try. Art

I think that people who want to see the pictures should be able to without having to post any posts, however if they had to join then the family would be even larger. A lurker will lurk forever and return to the site as often as he wants to get info or entertainment without feeling like they would like to return something to the family. How many times have you visited a site and wanted to chime in but it was to much of a pain to join and then speak up. You then continue to read and visit never putting the knowledge that you have into the posts that you found so interesting. Secondly it would not drive people away from the site if they had to join it would shorten the time they were lurking. The bandwidth would be about the same but with the registered members they would be counted and that is the magic number that allows this board to sell advertisement. The more people that are accounted for (joined)is the sales number the product sponsors want to see. They do not see the guests as a sales base they only see the hits on the site and that is not nearly as easy to sell to the sponsors. The truth be told their are not many that did not lurk before they became members and I bet most of you joined to ask for help or information. I say lets give them a reason right off the bat to join and support the forum with their being counted and maybe the cost of this site will be easier to pay for. Art

Here I thought I posted pictures of a fishing trip so you all can see other places and styles of fishin. I guess Glen should stop sending them winter time care packages that he puts together to help us all thru the cold season. I post a fishing trip not just pictures of fish, I like that shot of up the river and the sunset or the heron even if their is a sign that says Occuquan Bay in front of it. I also like to show what the days effort has yielded in fish for the table or the results of a good hunt. Break out the cameras people take pictures of what you love to do add a few photos of areas that you drove by that have no fish mix them in if you are afraid of fishing stalkers. I have yet to envy someone from the number of big fish they have photos of I however have been fishing with some really great fisherman who have shared knowledge and trips that impressed me for life and by their wishes still go unnamed. So please dont think of it a E braggin that would make me stop posting my trips because it is not the spirit/reason that I post in. Art

This is kind of funny because I am a member of a board that is for catfishing that is nationally known. It is broken down into type of catfish and states with even specific bodies of water. The site owners on their have a filter that to view attachments you must be a member which some hide their photos behind but in the long run just make the site have more members. The photos are not blurred and the members all openly say were they were fishing and when they are going to be back out their. It is like lining up a fishin party with a group of friends rather than a contest as to were you can catch the secret fish. Granted the catfishin population practice catch and release of the big fish and only keep the 3-5 lbers for food. I can start a thread to the board and have a fishing guide give me a list of spots that he has been getting the bite on lately and even invited me out for a free trip since I was having such a bad run in figuring out the patterns.Since he did that I gave him a long list of places to try when he comes up to my neck of the river and a free trip if he wants it. I am not sure if the difference is the people or the amount of people that make the difference between fishin the North and fishin around here. I have always treated the people up North when I am fishing the same way I treat the catfishin community here giving spots or lures or trips to people who are not having much success. Most have given back a lasting friendship or a laugh or a beer for the opportunity to turn a fishin trip into a catchin trip. I am not sure their is an answer that will cover everyones zone of comfort however if you see me and you are fishless I will be happy to give you the lure off my line and a direction to fish it. Art

now that you mention it I also saw my first hummingbird this season here in Virginia 2 days ago. Boy they do fly fast...... Art

Sooooo see we are on to you all up North with the sending the cold weather down here plot and the coin that is a spy device....... Art

Buy the part and if you have basic knowledge of tools and the book for the motor then give a try. If not then a dealer can do it with a warrentee. I would replace all gaskets whenever you open up a seal most are not made to be reused. Art

Sorry to hear about the problem. The first thing to do is remove everything that you can from the boat and get it dry. That means using a hair dryer on the electrical contacts and move alot of air thru areas that are closed off. You should pull the spark plugs on the motor and crank it thru by hand a few times then use the starter motor and pump thru for 5-10 seconds. Then send some fogging oil ( normal amount 1 second per plug hole) into each plug hole and replace the plugs but not the wire. Crank over for 5 seconds. Hook up the plug wires and start the motr using the water hose and run at an idle till it warms up. Go back to the electrical connetions and use a spray electrical contact cleaner on all of the connections you can reach remember to remove the fuses and spray down the socket and the fuses. Plug it all in and turn on the items to make sure they work. Take the boat back to the water and go fishing close to the dock. With the fact that you were fishing in the boat for quite awhile and no water appeared and you were careful not to hit any objects that could have holed the hull you need to prove to BPS that the boat leaks and were from before you should confront them. The area you circled on the transom is cosmetic and not below the waterline pointing it out will only weaken your case for replacement IF you can prove a leak. IF you have a leak keep your case to BPS that it leaks don't go off on bad fuses and lights that don't work you will only sound like you don't like the boat and looking for an excuse to return it. The way that this will likly playout is that you were swamped from wakes or waves. The good side is that it is freshwater and you will likly have no lasting damage from the water after all it gets wet when it rains. I would advise you to install a bilge pump that is twice the size that the factory pump is and make sure it has a float to take care of the times you are not their. Read the schematics for the auto pump most of them need to be wired to a switch and directly to the battery for them to protect you when the master/key is off.

Thanks for the offer Brian no money is needed before hand. The point of the 100 deet is that it stays effective along time after you apply it. While the long post has some valid info a little common sense goes along way when you are dealing with any substance that could harm your health. Thanks for taking the time to post Lundboy. Art

As usual Joe and I are driving to Lak Air this year and will be bringing some deet 100 for people who have asked for it. If you are going to be at Lak Air and you would like us to bring some put your name and how many bottles you would like. I am not sure of the price but it should be around $5.00 I think. If you have already talked to Joe please still put your order here so I can get a total count. Legal disclaimer Deet 100 is not sold in Canada because it was found to be a health risk by someone in Canada. Please remember that deet 100 is to be put on your clothes not on your skin and small children should not use it. Thanks The Southern Contingency Local 101

no no and heck no I aint going out on a boat that can fold up like a venus flytrap while I am fishing.........!!! CHOLMP!!!!! ( muffled cries for help) Art

That is the exact unit I have on the boat. It comes with a transducer that is both 50 and 200. It also has a paddle wheel for tracking distance and speed. The speed function is a mystery to me because the GPS speed is what shows up on the screen when you are running. I think it is only for the distance counter. You will notice that the unit comes with 2 power leads and 2 fuses make sure you run them to a switched power source the circuits even unplugged will draw alittle current and can drain a battery during long term storage. The zoom level on the unit zooms in closer than you need it will zoom in so close you can see only 1 or 2 depth reference numbers and that does not give you enough reference to see were you are in relation to the area you are fishing. The navionic chip here in the states gives a few gradiant line but they were mostly drawn with sounded measurements meaning you will see alot of numbers scattered around that point you in the direction of the water depth. Gradiant line maps on an electronic plotter are very confusing and clutter up the screen with to many lines and distract you from seeing nav aids. I have the 99.99 dollar map that is the base unit that has all of the US on it it has more than enough detail for me to safely navigate the area that I cruise in. Since I am not looking for roads and 3D pictures of marinas I feel the platinum is a waste of money. The Gold fishing card might be nice but if a fishing spot is marked for everyone to see how long do you think it will be any good??? I prefer to look over the maps and find my own fishing spots. Lastly do a serch for TIGER GPS on the internet they had the unit 50 dollars cheaper and free shipping than anywere else. I am not sure of the Canadian shipping thingy so ask them all of the questions before you order to avoid any suprise charges. Art

Tony the clutter that you see are the reflections from the bottom to the surface and then back again. Adjusting the gain clears the clutter and gives you a great picture of the bottom and what the bottom is made of. The reason that other units are clearer is they have either less power on the signal or the electronics are necked down to the point that you are losing details that might help you find fish. It is very rare that I run my unit in the automatic modes because they are set up for multiple conditions and any of the units do none of them well. The lowrance is a quality unit that beat out all of the other units that I have had in the past including Hummingbird, bottom line, raymarine and garmin. What is the best for me may not be the best for someone else. Art

I have an anchor buddy and it works really well. I also use it when the current on a river is swift but not to deep to get it to hold anchor while fishing. The bungy effect keeps the anchor from losing it hold due to wakes and stray currents. Art

An escape 4wd has been a very good vehicle for my wife with only normal maintenance to keep it going. Art

1. Tape 2 pieces of string to the old wire and pull it back out of the floor. Then take one string and fish the new wires thru the floor. Leave the other string for future string pulls. 2. Garmin writes their programs only for Garmin products so I don't like it because it has a small clientle to update for. Navionics writes for 4 different brand names including lowrance so they will spend the time and money to keep their maps updated. The maps come on a chip that might be able to be read on your computer but I have not tried it. 3. I am a cable fan the remotes are slow to turn when you have it cranked up due to speed or current. Besides what do you want another thing to break on it for. Transducers in 30 ft deep water you are reading a 20 ft circle the rear transducer will give you all the info you need. Dont get confused and think that the object that is on the screen is under the transducer. 4. On big water you want the best you can get that is a mounted vhf with a 8-12 ft antenna. Their is nothing worst than finding out the batteries are low on the handheld and you cant get a message out. Besides you should always have a vhf radio on (here in the states) on channel 16 to monitor for maydays. Art

You can expose the inside of the area and drill a small hole at both ends of the crack and have it welded inside and out. Then have a stress plate welded 2 inches larger than the crack on the inside of the boat. Their is no molecular bond between any of the goops and creams that you buy they will fail from the movment of the hull as it flexs from the water pounding and the cooling and heating from the sun and water. A marina is the best place to start or someone who builds metal for a living. If their was not any goop on it to start with then their is just as good a chance the previous owner did not know about the crack. Their is no point in head hunting after all it was sold as a used boat with all of the high and low points that go with the used price. Art

It's easy just don't keep it lit. The cigars are more for show than smokin most of the time. We had a great day on the water and the fishin was hot and heavy with calm seas and a nice blanket of fog to keep the tag along fishermen from following us into the prime fishin zone. Art

So let me get this straight if some one is unhappy with ART you will pay them right. Well you should see the check you are going to have to write to make my WIFE ....... ( a little light humor here that is not meant to take away from your generous offer). ART

good luck bud hope everything goes as planned. Art