Long Mike

I'm lucky enough to have a small room in my house that is accessable only from my garage. If some puke wants to break into my home and steal my TV, it's a pretty safe bet that he won't find my fishing gear.

Hawgin, no one would pay good money for that type of Avid, regardless of the price. ;D ;D ;D

Saints by 3. Manning makes me nervous.

Depths finders do not draw a lot of current, but if you have anything else, e.g. lights, move those to the CB I'd move the console depth finder to the CB also, because the only time you generally us it is when the big motor is running. Don't forget, when the big motor is running, the CB is being recharged. The TM battery isn't.

Why don't you replace the kill switch before you get killed?

I've got a vintage Pro 17 with a 60 hp motor. In windy conditions, it can be a rough ride, but most any boat that doesn't a deep V hull will jar your fillings loose. The problem with a deep V is that you can't get into very shallow water like the Tracker can.

If you have a new float switch, it should have only two wires. Your existing bilge pump will have only two wires. One will be black and the other will be some other color - probably brown. Cut the non-black wire in half well above any high water level. Splice one end of a float switch wire (it doesn't make any difference which one) together with the two ends you just cut. In other words, you are cutting the wire from the pump and then splicing them back together again, but you are adding the wire from the float switch, so you now have three pieces of wire to tie together. Take the other wire from your float switch and tie it to the positive terminal of the outboard motor battery. Your float switch and bilge pump will now work automatically, regardless of whether or not your bilge pump switch is turned on. BTW, make sure your float switch is well anchored to the bottom of the boat as near to the transom as possible

Sam, Good Food, Good Music, and GREAT people.

The problem with inflatables (I know, I have a Sea Eagle 9) is that they are like a sail in the wind. As light as these boats are, if you are running into the wind you want all the thrust you can get. I have a 55 on my boat and I can barely make 1 mph (gps) heading into a 15-20 mph wind. I weigh about 210 and carry about 30 lbs. of beer ( whoops, I meant to say gear)

Muddy. oddly enough, there are two Lake Eufaulas. One is in Alabama. That's where Tom Mann hung out. RWHusker, I spend most of my time on Lake Skiatook (12,000 acres) if I'm in my Tracker, or on a small municipal lake (110 acres) if I'm in my raft. Both are within a thirty minute drive for me. Sam, to my knowledge no one has posted anything negative about the Sooner State, but I've got a feeling that most people think the state is one big wheat and/or corn field. That's why I chose to make my post. BTW what part of South Louisiana are you from? I grew up in Abbeville, if you know where that is.

For those of you who have read Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" and assume Oklahoma is still a desert dust bowl, I would like to provide you fishermen with a few facts. Oklahoma has: Over 200 man-made lakes, covering over 1200 square miles - over one million square acres. Over 11,600 miles of shoreline. This is more shoreline than the Gulf Coast and Atlantic coasts, combined. The entire Eastern half of Oklahoma is green and wooded, and is called "Green Country" by the Okies. The State record for LMB is 14lbs, 11.520z. The largest lake is Lake Eufaula. measuring 102,000 sq. acres. There iis no more dust bowl in Oklahoma. These days, it's a sportsman's paradise. I grew up in South Louisaina, but I LOVE Oklahoma.

You've never met a redneck, have you? ;D ;D ;D

Glenn, are you trying to tell us that this site has a "funny" detector? That's truly amazing! I know that computer technology has rapidly advanced over the years, but "funny" is so subjective that I didn't think it was possible. Well done!

I agree with Catt. Turn the fish finder option off and then use the depth finder to find structure and cover. That's where the fish will be.

I've got a 1990 vintage Tracker with a 60hp engine. It'll do 40 mph. Unless you plan on tounament fishing I think 40 is plenty fast enough to get from point A to point B.

Attaboy Kelly!

Hey, what a great post! I'm still in my early fifties!

Who's Angelina Jolie? She's not that much to me. Avid looks at her with glee, but she's not that much to me. Perhaps if she stood, naked as a tree, and I was upon bended knee, I could see what Avid wants to see. But she's not that much to me.

Muddy, are you trying to ruin my reputation? I'm supposed to be a grizzled old fart. You keep talking like that and you will have people thinking I'm a nice guy. Bah! Humbug!

I fully agree with both George and HPBB. Depending on the wind, each technique will work.

Without trying to over simplify things, It's just a single-pole, double throw, on/off switch. If the one in your throttle handle has failed, replacing the switch should be quick an inexpensive, assuming the switch, and its particular shape, are still available. I am also making the assumption that your are pretty handy with tools.

Avid, I have a young bride whom I've been married to for thirty-eight years who might take a little offense at me looking up the "old girls," dentures or not. Besides, there is a part of me that has no other interest but to stare at the floor. You know the old adage. The spirit is willing but the flesh is limp - or something like that. But, I still have the wonderful memories - at least until Alzheimer's kicks in. ;D :'( I forgot to mention that I used to get lucky from time to time, but I got REAL lucky when I met my wife. She is my best friend and the only love of my life. It's a cryin shame that she hates to fish.

Five bucks a quart? Who do you think I am, Rockerfeller? I drink my wine out of a cardboard box.

When I was a much younger man I used to get lucky from time to time. Ah, how I miss those days and those lovely ladies.

I bought my 1965 vintage house about 15 years ago. It had four inches of insulation in the ceiling. I had R38 insulation blown in and replaced the ancient air conditioner with a heat pump. My electricity bill dropped by two thirds - money very well spent.