mr 580

I would look at replacing the tank for safety reasons. The tank would need to come out for repair (I don't know if plastic tanks are repairable) or replacement so that labor is the same either way. By replacing you'd have job done and no chance of having to do twice if a repair failed. Wouldn't be surprised if ethanol fuel is part of plastic tank failure. I have a Lund with plastic tank-no problems so far-knock on wood. Good luck with repair.

FYI that 47 size reels are not a match for 10 colors of lead- about 5 colors are max with some backing. A better fit would be a Penn 330 size reel which can be found in same price range as used 47LC's.

10 colors of leadcore is 100 yards or 300 feet so each color is 10 yards or 30 feet. Not sure how you are measuring with a level wind reel? My guess is that is where your problem is. Try measuring your leadcore with a tape measure for one color and I bet it's much closer to 30'. Level wind reels with line counters will vary depending on how full your spool on the reel is filled. It is best to fill your reels full and to consider the counter number as a "number" for repeatability not necessarily an accurate measuring tool. Hope this makes sense.

For walleyes I use my probe primarily for speed- temp I stay above the thermocline. If I'm looking for steelhead I might run a spoon in the thermocline. For salmon I put my probe in 42 to 46 degree water. I make most of my adjustments for speed vs depth.

Guys are correct that Long Point is nicest launch-deep water and 4 ramps. DEC has a double ramp in Bemis Point that is not too bad and is free. Only downside is that it gets busy in the summer. Prendergast is shallow and is tough with a north wind. I use Bemis until it gets busy then go to Long Point (I have a park pass) when I'm not on the lift.

As Smoke-n-Finn says its pretty tough to get any consumer electronics repaired today. At least Lowrance offered an option- not sure how features on Hook 5 compare to the Elite 5 DSI but it might be worth a look. On an out of warranty unit they could have just said "sorry". Not trying to stick up for Lowrance as I've had mixed experiences with their warranty and service. I do have Humminbird as well and they have one year warranty. For us guys in the north that only run summer months a one year warranty goes away pretty quick. Hope things work out for you.

I think you might have an issue with an OR16 on the trip arm of the dipsey and getting the trip arm to release properly. Years ago we used to use a Big Jon Jettison Release on a mono line with the dipsey attached to the line with a split ring on the rear. To deploy you'd hold the jettison and dipsey while the line was let out the split ring end on the dipsey. When you had enough line out you put pin in jettison and deploy. Awkward to work with and it didn't trip maybe 1/2 the time. I was going through tackle the other day and saw a couple jettison releases left from that "experiment". IMO opinion slide diver is a better option.

We were starting to get some ice, but yesterdays rain and wind took care of that. Lots on open water today in south basin near me. Has to stay cold for an extended time period for anything to change.

Don't forget having some dark colors like back purple, black pink. Not a bad idea to try to narrow selection down but it's a tough task. I find myself trying to organize and group so I can find it on the boat more than just taking stuff out. Good time of year to weed things out.

I'm putting my boat at Chadwick Bay this year. I had the new owner on my boat last season and I had a positive opinion. I checked on vandalism and reports I had weren't too bad. I keep my stuff locked up or off the boat to try and minimize that anyway. I had been splitting time between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie so this year I'm staying on Erie as it's closer to home. I think if you can do something by Feb 15th the rate is better.

I run my light bites on 40 feet of mono and do run the diver to the end of the mono most of the time. Running two divers a side I might put inside at 20 then outside at 40. With the SD you can adjust to any length you want. They take some time to get used to setting, but once you are used to it's not a problem. I've looked at Chinooks and like local made. Haven't run any as I'm comfortable with SD and dipsey numbers/dive ratio.

Slide diver light bites. Once you get triggers dialed in they trip even with the small fish that are "sleepers" on regular dipsey.

I use clear mono on rigger rods with a short fluorocarbon leader. My leadcore and braid rods also get a fluoro leader. On my slide divers I use clear mono for diver to slide on then a short leader of either mono or fluoro to the lure so the diver isn't right in fishes face. I tend not to be as fussy with divers as to me they aren't as much of a stealth approach as say leadcore.

I've been going to Niagara Show for a number of years. Show really evolving into a educational event. The "free" seminars that come with admission were varied to many interests (walleye, perch, ice fishing, electronics) with top name speakers this year. The separate all day LOTSA Salmon seminar was excellent and another sell out. Seemed like more vendors on show floor as well. Great event -if you missed it make sure to put a note on your calendar for next year.

Have been doing good. Haven't been in a few days-expect to get out next couple days. I was seeing them deeper last time I was out.

In front of the Bath House at Long Point. Just happened to see red flag sticking out of the water while I was jigging for eyes. Worth a few bucks so I thought I'd see if I could give it back to owner.

I found a right hand in line board today by Warner Bar. Have board and tackle- if it yours PM me with description of board and what you were pulling so I can get it back to you. No name or phone number on board.

Larry, I had 3, 4 and 5 out. Was a bit later in the am when I was out so fish might have been a touch deeper. I also lost a fish on the four color . I was surprised the 3 didn't have a hit. Was running mostly short shallow rats and thunderstick juniors.

Fished North Basin Labor Day- floaters weren't bad, picked up a couple eyes on 5 color goby bay rat. Boat traffic OK until noon. Expect water and traffic to improve after the holiday.