salmicropterus

Living in Rock Hill and working in Clayton

New to the area...just moved to St. Louis from Florida. I know, sounds crazy. Two weeks ago was fishing at Lake Okeechobee. I grew up (debatable) in St. Louis though and fished most of the White River impoundments, Pomme and LOZ back then. Keeping my house in Florida but will bring Triton 21 with Evinrude 250 HO up next spring. In the interim, I'm a back of the boater.

New to the area...just moved to St. Louis from Florida. I know, sounds crazy. Two weeks ago was fishing at Lake Okeechobee. I grew up (debatable) in St. Louis though and fished most of the White River impoundments, Pomme and LOZ back then. Keeping my house in Florida but will bring Triton 21 with Evinrude 250 HO up next spring. In the interim, I'm a back of the boater.

Saw that and I sure it was too

Ditto on what Fishing Daddy said. I monitor water levels pretty much daily and they have been pulling water and the Lake has dropped about 6" in the last several weeks. Be very careful running into creeks like Arbuckle and the one that runs into Henderson (forgot the name) as they all have a hump in front of them

Mike, It was a great job out there for you and Leo. I think it may be harder to figure out the consistent big fish bite in the canals at Holiday than up at the Lake. Everything does truly look the same in those canals. What differentiates the good stretches from the not so good is beyond me. Like everyone, I've caught the occasional hog on a random basis, but to do it time after time like those canal rat sticks like Steve and Rodd do amazes me.

I think it is. I am over there water testing boats a lot and I don't recall seeing a gate or anything barring entry

One of my clubs had their monthly tournament out there Sunday. We caught large numbers but only 10% were keepers and they were small at that. Our winners had 20 or so, next was 15, then 14 so there are fish to be caught. I'm doing the T on Friday but we will give it go at the KOTG on Sunday.

Bruce, how did you and Mike do? Saw you run by near end of the day.

From my perspective as a Mercury, Evinrude and Yamaha dealer, this advice is about as good as it gets. I would add: If it's an Optimax, I would check to see if the compressor has been replaced-they usually go after 300 hours or so. If budget allows, have the technician check the o-rings at the top of the cylinder block. Water intrusion through heat deteriorated o-rings is a major cause of failure in those powerheads. Evinrude, I would get temp readings for the on-board EMM (Evinrude for computer). Overheats of the EMM cause problems and failure. Early Yamaha HPDIs can have fuel lean-out issues which can cause powerhead failure. As stated if it's a computer controlled newer engine, downloads will reveal engine fault history and current existing faults. Beware of any "rebuilt" powerheads; "remanufactured" or "remans" can be acceptable. Good luck but go in with your eyes open.

If it's a new Evinrude, the injectors should be covered under warranty no matter how many failures unless it was determined that the cause of failure was chronically corrupted fuel tank. Our experience with Evinrude is that they are very good on customer support, even on items that are "gray area" on the warranty.

Fishing Daddy, a year ago Thursday we were poking around the south end of Okeechobee. It was a pleasure to meet you. Rob, I think I see you a fair amount at the Lake in your Big-O. Love that boat. I have to say hi this year. My friend Steve Daniel just took delivery of a new one this past week and loves it. At any rate, Merry Christmas to both of you and to all the Forum people

Couple years back I had a business trip to the area and stayed in a rental trailer on the River just south of the highway bridge. Postcard picture scenery. Didn't have time to fish but did scout out the area. Along with the river there is a small chain of lakes as you head into Inverness that has a fair amount of fishing boat activity on it. Also to the east of the river there is a lake (Panasofskee?) where I know Shaw Grigsby did a show out of. With all that time and all that fishable water, you might want to bring your boat.

Wow Roger, it is really good to see a post with your name attached.

32# for Giblets. Donny Bass and Mike Keyso. Don't know about the other