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I have this same rod in an 8wt, I can't remember what I paid for it, but it is one of my favorite rods for steelies.

It's a terrible problem in the US. garbage just about everywhere. McDonald's bags and drink cups, you name it. People just throw them wherever they want. It's disgusting. I guess I haven't paid much attention to trash on my trips into Canada, but I remember as a boy Mom and Dad always remarking about the lack of litter, it was one of the things they admired about Canadians.

Had an 97 18' Alaskan. that thing cut waves like a hot knife thru butter. Glad to hear you have things sorted out.

I have a Stowmaster, it's convenient because it uh, stows, but it can be a real pita when trying to get it folded. I would say that if you have a good option to stand up a net in your boat get a Beckman. I don't like the rubber, most are too shallow, and make netting bigger fish more of an issue than is necessary. I use the rubbarized coated net.

This is what goverments do, they always have a reason to justify additional taxation, and the sky is going to fall if they don't get the revenue. When they are challeneged they always, always, say the rich guy is paying less than his fair share.

My two cents, wait until the rebate/extended warranty programs begin and find yourself a leftover in stock. You'll get the best dealer price and qualify for the manufacturer's incentives (rebates and extended warranties). If on the other hand you want to order, I'd back up 4 months to be safe.

Sounds to me like a condition known as "making oil" where gas seeps by the rings. Unfortuantely pretty common on 4 strokes. Change the oil and keep and eye on the oil level. The problem is usually exasperated when running long hours at low rpm and cool water. chances are she'll do better over time. Had this on my 1st verado, it seemed to go away in yr 2.

Lunker, I also just returned (Saturday) from a shorter 4 day visit to Lady Lake Evelyn. This was an exploratory trip to see how we liked the lake and so on. We stayed at Ellen Island, and like you I have nothing but the highest regard for their service. I never touched a bag from Mowats landing until it was in my cottage and the accomodations, rental boats, and customer service were first rate. Our fishing was decent, not great, but decent, but I did find we were somewhat limited in our ability to explore given the rental boat. For anyone thinking of making the trip, the road off Rt 11 is 20km to Mowats Landing, good gravel road and no problems pulling a boat, where you'll either meet your host or launch your boat into the Montreal River, go about a mile to the base of the dam where you can hire a guy for $25.00 to pick up your boat and drop you into Lady Evelyn river. From there it's 8 miles to the open water of the lake. very nice pics Lunker and great report. Did you fish the west end thru the narrows or near Red Pine? Most of our fish were caught east of Ellen Island where the river begins to the dam.

All good advice, get her set-up they way you plan to use her, and get a few more hours on her before doing anything. That said the motor is sitting low, considerably lower than my Honda sat on my Alaskan.

Personally I believe you make an excellent point. In addition, I've seen firsthand what can happen to a lower unit when a transom saver decides to break when you're on a trip. My buddy had this happen and it wasn't pretty. I know there are lots of opinions on this, but I went with the m-ywedge style. It is the only transom saver that allows for the absorbtion of road shock. I've been using this for 5 years on 2 different boats with no problems. As a side, they are also very convenient to use and store. BTW, I have A 200hp Verado. http://www.m-ywedge.com/

I totally agree with the fact that the manufacturers should provide daily updates on committed deliveries, and, the dealers should pass these along to their customers. In today's world this is entirely possible at minimal cost, but I doubt any manufacturers or dealers provide this service. Too bad because that's the little stuff that builds customer loyalty. Most reasonable people understand delays if the information with explanation is brought to them rather than having the customer have to chase it down. This is a little off subject, but demonstrates what great service is all about. My wife recently purchased a fairly expensive bicycle, a road bike. Going back to the time she ordered it, they assembled the same bike but different color for her to test ride after they used a computer with laser to fit her, when she picked it up they spent a bunch of time going over all kinds of details, and last nite she took it in for a free tune-up and again, the well trained bike mechanic spent time showing her all the little maintenance things she can do to keep her bike in tip top condition and answering all her questions about riding position and so on. These are the kinds of things that keep people coming back. It's not that hard if the seller really cares about the customer.

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Hills Discount Flies

Wonderful BB, congratulations to the whole family on this tremendous accomplishment. The Air Force is a first class act. They saved my daughter's life. They went above and beyond throughout her ordeal. All you ever read is bad press regarding veteran treatment and recovery, some is likley true, most is likely fiction, and nearly all is from earlier conflicts. Our experience was and continues to be the best treatment available from the best doctors with the best equipment. Your family are all Great Americans.

The dealer is trying to keep you happy. As was mentioned, in boat time it's, only a microsecond late, and, it's likely not even the dealer's fault. So take a deep breath and consider your 2 vs 4 stroke option. IMHO don't do the 2 stroke deal just so you can get your boat now.If that's your reason you may never be happy with it, so here are some other pro Opti reasons to consider: 1. My guess is it will be 3-5 mph faster and better hole shot. 2. The Opti's are proven to be highly reliable. 3. the Opti is probably lighter. 4. The Opti is probably slightly more fuel efficient. 5. Cost of ownership is probably slightly less 6. Also, probably better resale with the 115 Opti (just a guess). I'm a 4 stroke guy, have been since 1997, but in this case I'd strongly consider the Opti and try to get the dealer to throw in a case of oil.

I wouldn't go fishing without a drift sock. These babies are worth their weight in gold when the wind howls. Nothing like a storm brewing stiff wind to whip the eyes into a frenzy, but wuithout a sock you might be drifting too fast.

that's it, don't ask how I know.

I've never buried a hook in myself, close a few times but been lucky. I've had others in the boat do it, no big deal, humans are rational, you can talk to them, dogs on the other hand..... I was fishing musky by myself with my lab. I headed to camp for a quick lunch and thought my two rods were in a safe place, even though I had left big stick baits on them. My lab tripped on the handles running to the bow, the rods tumbled forward , and she had hooks from two different lures buried in her paw. She started yelping and trying to jump away. No one was around to help, I kept her calm enough to first unhook the lures then unscrew the hooks. My cutters were in the back of the boat though, so I just sat there with her for about 30 minutes, afraid to leave the dog alone for that she would get hooked in the the mouth trying to pull them out. Finally this little kid came walking by. He was good enough to go get some help. within a couple minutes his dad showed up, handed me my cutters and I cut off the hooks. They were fortunately both already protruding thru the paw so it was a simple cut and pull. By the end of this ordeal I was a mess, my lab jumped off the boat and went swimming. She never even limped. Never again will I leave musky baits on an unused rod in my boat.

Mamma probably turned her loose Lew. Been reading a few similar reports around here and that's what the biologists are saying.

Curious, have you ever tried tipping these with crawlers?

Corvette, nice hearing from you. Just as additional information, the Seneca Nations will begin stocking fingering walleyes this year. Kinzua may very well be on it's way back to the glory years.

A source that may help you. http://www.trailerpartsdepot.com/index.asp?url=IND

For anyone who may be interested, Kinzua, aka, Allegheny Reservoir, walleye action is red hot. Kinzua is located on the border of NYS and PA, just south of Olean NY, just a little more than an hour south from Buffalo, NY. I have fished this body of water for years but have never seen anything quite like this. I fished a Disabled American Veterans tourney over the weekend, most every team brought a limit to the scales both days. My partner and I caught over 100 walleyes over the weekend. Most legal fish are perfect eaters in the 16-18" range, with occaisional bigger fish being picked up. The best bite seems to be on the upper end of the reservoir on the Seneca Nations waters in 2-5 fow running slow death crawlers right up next to the brush. Carp are spawning heavy, muddying up the bottom, which has brought millions of minnows into the shallows, which in turn has brought the walleyes. If you find a good mud line you'll likely find walleyes. A NYS license isn't needed but a Seneca Nations license is required @ around $40.00. (can't remember for sure).

Beans, do yourself a favor and investigate Dish or DirectTV, personally I like Dish, but to each his own. Usually with a 1 year contract installation is free (around our area anyhow). The thing about HD is it spoils you. Sports are amazing on HD, and after trying it you won't want to watch a good movie on anything but HD. Value is in the eye of the beholder, but to me it's definitely worth it. We don't have all the movie channels like HBO, but we have the next package down, and for us we spend less than we spent on cable for a vastly superior product.

With respect I disagree. Interestingly enough the question was posed on The Hull Truth website. Although opinions vary as to the degree or significance of the hull weight on ride, I found it more interesting that all things being equal, weight can have a positive impact, but as speed increases weight can have a negative impact on ride comfort. http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/199019-weight-vs-ride-comfort.html