LesCulpJr

I actually catch most of my splake in deep water but yes they are normally very much the same as a speck. It bare's mentioning that if you want to go try a new lake for specks you should prob first hit it in open water season to look for areas to try. Its a lot easier to than going at it blind in the winter... You still wont catch them all the time though:)

Yamaha and Honda are good. we don't see them in our shop often however when we do availability of parts has become a real issue. We had more than a few customers last year waste a good part of the open water season simply waiting for parts. That is always something to consider if you do your fishing away from home and away from your local dealer. We have a good network of other marina's we deal with to get people back out on the water however parts for these two manufacturer are becoming a particular pain in the butt.. More so for Honda's. This is why, when you say, go to the boat show looking for an Evinrude, you will sometimes be met by a rep of the company asking you where you boat. They will then direct you to the appropriate dealer that is closest to your area. The "buy where you play" catch phrase is becoming increasingly popular as it doesn't take much to render your boat totally useless for your whole week off these days. It use to be you could get by with your outboard running like crap for a few days...However these days your outboard just won't run:) And its always when you get up to the lake that you find there is something wrong with your rig! Beware of buying used motors that are more than a few years old as well as the manufacturer have cut the number of years they make parts for them. Mercury is now down to about 7 years. That said, you can normally find popular parts (i.e.) ignition coils, however that list of parts is getting smaller all the time. Tohatsu makes the small portable 4 strokes for both Merc and Evinrude. They are pretty identical other than the paint job and badging. I have not inspected them closely though as they do not interest me. We have two of the Evinrude's in our show room. They are pretty heavy motors and are right up there with Honda's which are notoriously heavy and they don't generate a lot of interest among customers visiting us. If 4 strokes are your thing Suzuki is perhaps the hidden gem among them suprising close in weight when compared to a 2 stroke. Its one of the brands we sell here and its gonna sound like a plug but we never see these things back other than for regular service or if they have been abused in some way... The only thing with 4 strokes in general though is that they can be very cold blooded and hard to start on cold mornings, there is a fair amount of maintenance involved with oil changes,etc. and they are a bit of a pain to winterize. Lay them down on the wrong side or have them fall over in the back of the truck on the way to your destination and the cylinders will fill with oil and leave a mess in your vehicle. 2 strokes are still the way to go for me. Twice the power strokes means twice the power. You can get a 2 stroke Etec down to 15hp now and you can even get them with power trim and tilt which is a back saver for many of us as well as our wives and kids. You can also adjust the rpm with these with a push of a button on the tiller handle right down to 500 rpm. Pretty amazing some of the technology out there these days. Sorry for the long post but hopefully the info helps you out. Les

Thats speck fishing:) Keep plugging away. I like a small buck shot rattle spoon for jigging. Jiggle it a bit in the dirt on bottom a bit then rip it aggressively at times hitting the ice with the lure. works good for shallow lakers as well. As mentioned make sure you check regs as most speck lakes do not allow live fish as bait. You can also try drowning a dry fly with a small chunk of worm on a light gad. tie a piece of flagging tap etc. on the gad so the wind gives it some movement

chubby darters were apparently hammering the eyes up there last year. Always done just fine with a jig and minnow though:)

Wow you've been all over the map here haven't you:) I work at a johnson/evinrude dealer part time and deal with these engines on a weekly basis. First of all this is not an oil issue or a plug fouling one. You have a fuel issue Going back to your intial post. If after your engine dies you go back to the motor and the fuel bulb is FLAT or almost there. You have a venting issue. If I miss read that part of your post, my apologies... If your fuel bulb looks normal but you have to pump it up to keep running then you have an air leak in your system. Replace your fuel line (don't buy an Attwood replacement fuel line) You also gave mention to the fact that you tried a remote tank and experienced the same stalling problem... It could be that you have more than one problem here but they are all fuel related. How long was the motor in storage before you bought it and was it stored properly? If you cannot answer this have the carbs serviced and sync'd. While they're at it have your mechanic test the VRO pump and ensure its working properly. This is a part that will fail over time. The quick and economical choice being to replace the VRO with an older style fuel pump and mix your gas from then on. To keep an eye on your VRO simply observe the oil level in the res. from time to time and make sure its using oil. Thats about all the advice I can give without having one of our mechanics look at it.... Keep in mind that gas today is only good for about 60 days after purchase. Always a good idea to stabilize your fuel if the boat sits around for any length of time between outtings... If by chance your motor was stored with untreated fuel you could have a bit of a mess in there. If you are to try an do these repairs yourself please be confident that you can put them back together again:) lol. I know our marina has started turning people away that come in with handfuls or boxes of parts and who bring in obsolete equipment And we know others are doing the same. We just can't devote the time to it and feel bad charging so much on equipment that simply isn't worth fixing. That said.... You have a good motor there if you spend the money on it to have it fixed properly

Good for you man:) Well at least hava extra set on hand . Like I said had my auger since they first came out. You get good blades - you get bad ones. I betcha my first set (when I got the thing) lasted two seasons or more. Set I put on at end of last season maybe cut 5-6 holes... Dont know what happened - guard wasn't removed all year. But I sure wish I had a spare set about now Blades are hard to come by ask any retailer, they don't sit on the shelf too long. I hava set on back order right now Might be a reason for that

Oh and one more thing! if you find the auger does get hung up on that last skiff of ice before you break through don't force it! That will bent you handle after a few times and dull your blades quicker than anything. Just back the auger off and massage it through. If you find the auger is getting hung up alot its usually the operator putting too much down pressure on the auger when drilling... These augers don't need excessive down pressure, they cut all by themselves! Just get both arms going and let er go

Sounds like your blades are buggered. They really should be changed every season or at least have a spare set handy as one blade will always dull on you at the very worst time lol. The curved blades don't last near as long as straight ones. As for your handle you should be able to massage the bend out of it with a bench vise etc. enough so that it isn't so noticeable. They really are the best auger gas or otherwise IMO Have had mine since '98 or so. However many season's that is

Nice to see you doing well Ben! Great Pics:)

Doesn't sound like brakes to me...Please don't go "taking it up to 140" anymore You could hurt/kill yourself or worse - someone else's family

No fear of losing Antonio's Lew the community is doing well and will continue to being on one of the routes leading into Algonquin park as well as Mikisew park on the west side of highway. The Owner's actually just put a sub shop and ice cream bar into the gas station portion of the establishment to help out... Besides its right next to the Beer store ...Sundridge on the other hand....

Bill Eden no longer owns Lake Bernard Outfitters. New owner is Derek Healey:) Please don't call him Bill when you show up or he might not put ya on the fish! lol. All Lakes in Almaguin are questionable this year as far as ice conditions. Yes we have enough ice for fishing but please be careful! The ice certainly isnt getting any thicker and conditions are changing daily. Antonio's Bar and grill has the awesome Pan's and they are huge! Bring yer appetite

Awesome! very good work:)

Great Report! Looks like a nice feast

Done:) Would be interested in seeing the results as well. Though I think I could prob guess a few;)

Nice!

Finger's Crossed

Great report and video! thanx for sharing

Same here:) a Meegs, a minnow, and a williams...I catch em all on the meegs and the williams Never got one on the tube...

Pick your brands and stick with them... For a manufacturer to deal with you directly they'll want to know they own that part of the market(the membership of this site will not be big enough for a large manufacturer)...However. Manufacturers often sign deals with distributers, giving the firm sole distribution rights of a product (or list of products)within a given area. The Manufacturer may get away with selling the odd shipment of non current product to another firm. But otherwise are subject to legal action for violating the contract.Expect this with any offshore or international firm as there usually are distributers awarded sole distribution for the entire country. As for smaller (growing) manufacturers they often need distributers to bring their products to market, so they kinda got ya over a barrel whether your the maker or the end user. Their all the devil in my eyes (distributers) and drive prices through the roof. But they do serve a purpose:) Good Luck. you've certainly got alot of interest here:)

I agree would be nice Then I think about how other provinces/states manage resources ... You know. I dont hear anyone complain about their MNR/DNR like we do here in Ontario... And really. We're complaining to the wrong people ...MNR gets what they get and do the best they can with it. Mean while the gov. takes even more of our money and does as they see fit with that... Listen to me eh? "OUR Money" LOL.

Just bought an adapter at walmart to try this year. They're about 10 bucks and fit all existing Normark augers. have seen a couple different articles with varying results as to battery life and how many holes you can drill on a battery etc. Consenus is your drill pretty much needs to be professional quality in order to get any number of holes and take the abuse. At least 18V (I would recommend a 1/2" chuck as well) And you must use the drill on the lowest speed setting or damage to the drill (or you) may result... I hit the button on my drill just to see how she would spin and the centrifical force of the auger spinning and coming to complete stop once the button was released can torque your wrist pretty good:) lol. Soon as we get some decent ice im gonna try er out... The end of the adapter that enters the chuck on the drill has a flare on it, that when installed properly will sit in behind the teeth on the chuck to prevent the adapter sliding out when drilling. However theres still the possibillity of the drill slipping right out of your hands should the auger jam and lose everything down the hole so I think im going to attach a tether to the drill at least just in case. Ill be using an 18V lithium ion milwalkee drill on my old 8" finbore III If this thread is still around maybe ill post some pics but for now im pretty sure you could find some vids on youtube about the subject

Holy Smokes:) I started skipping through posts about page six in anticipation of seeing a finished hut a the end of the thread! Your doing a great job! Hut is going to last a hundred years and will be worth every penny with the years of enjoyment you'll get from it:) Good thread!

A definate 10:) Kinda the way I hope my 2012 goes;)

Doe Lake has been getting hammered since the walleye opener. No doubt it would have been a tough bite. The fishing has been tough everywhere around here lately.