HPBB

I don't think it will matter. Presque Isle Bay (in Erie Pa, on Lake Erie) is full of gar, yet it is one of the best bass waters around, also the rivers here in Pittsburgh have gar and don't seem to harm the bass fishing. Then again up here in Pa. we have other (bigger) toothy fish out there, Northern Pike and Muskie, and they don't seem to harm the bass fishing. I have caught Bass on one cast and a Pike or Muskie on the next in the same spot. The only gar I have ever caught got tangled up the my line, never came close to the lure

I can't help you with the prop, but yes charge the battery and you should be charging it as soon as you get back from every outing

look around for a used boat. you can pick up a small used aluminum boat for under $500. You might be able to find one on a trailer and with a TM and even a small outboard for around $500. I know in my local pennysaver there are 2, 12 foot aluminum boats on trailers for with TM's for $500 and less, and one with a TM, trailer and 6hp motor for $700. I know you said you would rather not have a trailer. believe me, if you can get one with a trailer, get it. you will not be sorry. It makes using the boat so much easier. Lifting a boat in and out a a truck bed gets old real fast, and sooner or later you will not want to use the boat because it to much of a pain to load it, also it saves a lot of wear and tear on you truck, and the boat.

It does help, but you will not be able to control it as good as you do a bass boat. We put one on my dad's 28 footer and it works OK. what we did was there is a small rail that runs in the front of the deck, abut 4 inches high. we built a plate out of plywood. maybe 12 inches long and 4 inches high. drilled through the rail and Bolted it to the rail and used L brackes to bolt it to the deck. and mounted a transom mout TM( Minnkota 50# 12 volt) we just turned the head around. we then ran power lines under the deck from the batteries and put a plug under the fron seat. This way when he doesn't need the TM it can come off and sit under one of the bech seats. Another guy by our camp, uses a bow mount foot controled MG. he bought a quick release mount. that looks like two small discs. when the motor is off you can walk on the mount and not know its there.

sounds like the carbs need cleaned/rebuilt, or maybe just adjusted running the gas out doesn't stop this from happening. You should always use a fuel stabilizer to help prevent the fuel sysytem from gumming up. when storeing. I never run the gas out of my motors, just add the stabilizer and fog them.

Humminbird Matrix 87C TM, and Humminbird 787c on the dash. The Matrix 87C and the 787C are almost the same unit, just a year apart in age. Both color fishingfinder/GPS mapping with cards. I will be adding the "interlink" in the future so they can be networked together to share info

If tha's good for top water. I guess a Corn cob would be a "flippin stick"? Just make sure your rider doesn't get hungry. You might be missing your new rod? ;D ;D

take the prop off and make sure there isn't any fishing line rapped around the shaft, or something else in there preventing the motor from turning one way.

Ground

the float might get stuck, but it can't be to saturated. It should float. You can discontect the sensor, just remember to fill the oil tank before every trip so you don't run out of oil. I know that every time I fill the gas tank , I fill the oil tank and rearly ever hear the oil buzzer come on

try to run your tm a little shallower. and run slower if you are worried about hitting something

fill it full of oil and see if the bizzing goes away

is the motor oil injected? If so the oil level might be low. on my motor there are two alarm, overheat and low oil. FYI: just cause there is water coming out doesn't mean its cooling> My suzuki would overheat when all kind of water was coming out. the thermo was stuck open and the water was flowing to fast to cool the motor. In reality it was pumping too much water.

It could be weight, also could be that one or both motors are not centered. Most bow TM don't mount directly in the center. usially on the left or right of the center line. When the motor is straight it will pull the boat to one side or the other. the motors are pulling at different angles than the way the boat wants to run true. You might have to change the angle of one of the motor to straighten it out. I know on my 14foot V hull starcraft with a 55# on the bow and 50# on the stern ( I also have a 15HP merc on the back) since the rear motor is not centered and the bow motor is off to one side I have to aim the rear motor a little off straight to get it to run true.

I think that means the seals are leaking in the lower unit and its letting exhaust gas in the oil which is heating it up and burning it. Burnt oil doesn't lub good. I would get the seals changed

2001 Chevy Tahoe 5.3L V 8 with a few mods. 300 + hp doesn't even know a 17'6" V hull or 28 foot pontoon is on the back. and 16 MPG is good with the ac on and cruise at 75mph. If I drop to 60 mph I can get 18mpg. Unless your truck is made to tow in OD do not do it. I tell everybody that and guys will say, its ok on flat land. then a few years later they have a big $$$ bill when the transmision goes south. I have a 1996 GMC jimmy with over 160,000 miles about 60,000-70,000 with the boat in tow and never have had any transmision problems, always tow in 3 rd gear. Now my Tahoe is made to tow in OD, but I use my tow/haul mode on the trans,. I towed that same 17'6" with a 4cyl 5 speed S-10 and had no problems, just couldn't go over 55mph and never could use 5th gear, and big hills, mts you could time me with a sun-dail, but I got there just fyi, the smaller the motor , and bigger the boat, the harder the truck has to work. That GMC Jimmy with a 4.3l V-6 only got 12mpg when towing, and that S-10 couldn't hit 10 mpg since it was working so hard

I found that if I leave my recuirc pumps on all day when a fish in in the live well, not on a timer, just on and running ( they are 500gph pumps) I have not lost any fish since doing this, even deep water SM in Lake Erie live to be caught another day.

Only have pictures of one of mine right now right now. Sea Nymph 176 GLS (Great Lakes Special) 75 HP Suzuki ( not running right now :'() My Other boat is: Starcraft 14 foot V hull 15HP Merc these are not mine but I borrow them from time to time Tracker PTX 175, 25 HP Merc Alumacraft Trophy 17, 125HP Merc

yellow creek is in Indiana co. just east of the town of Indiana on rt 422

Just like Triton21 said. Buy the biggest you can afford. If you are going to run a 24 volt the go as big a the $$ will let you. I run a 36 volt 109# MG Digital tour on my Sea Nymph GLS 176, that is 109# on a 17 foot 6 inch aluminum V hull. My father-inlaw has 45# 12 volt on his Tracker PTX 175 and he is moving up to a 24 volt TM for next season. I think He is getting a MG tour 82#. The 45# is nice but in high wind or current or heavy weeds its just not cutting it. If your out fun fishing its ok, but using it for club tournaments the 45# is just not enough sometimes. he would rather have more power than needed 75% of the time than not haveing enough power when needed. That is why I got a 109#. I could fit 3 batteries, and I could afford it so why not. I never have to worry about not having enough power or run time

check your ground wire, make sure its tightly hooked to both the trailer and Truck

If your looking for a small used outboard check out this site. they even have an article on 2 stroke VS 4 stroke http://www.smalloutboards.com/

shadmaster. I am not sure who told you about a 50hp rule to be a BASS affiliated club, but there is no rule. I know of clubs that are small boat clubs (10-20HP motors) and TM only clubs, I even know there are some float tube clubs also. I know in Pa there is a min HP rule for fishing STATE tournaments, not club tournaments.in club tournaments the club sets the HP rules, if any. In PA its 40HP min to use a boat in a state tournament, unless its held on a restricted HP lake. The 40hp is for safety . Not saying you should join BASS or FLW, some of the best clubs are not affiliated some are. Just letting you know there is no such rule in national BASS club rules.

It sounds like the oil gauge. a motor can over heat in a minute or so. so running it for 20 mins is way more for time to be up to running temp.

FishingPunk, good luck at Yellow Creek, have a great holiday.