Al Wolbach

I may have misread the Army corps website before. They are reporting the lake level at 12.89 this morning so its not as bad as I had reported but still treacherous.

First thing I would do is rotate the shaft in the mount until the pedal is level and the motor is going straight. This will allow you to push down with toes to go left and push down with heel to go right. Should make it much easier and will become natural.

I'm not an expert on Istakpoga by any means however I did fish it twice last week. The first day we loaded the boat including two over 6lb and many in the 3-4lb range, all were caught fishing around bull rushes that surround the islands, primarily the big island. The second day the water was not clear and we struggled to catch fish. I assume the wind direction the day or two before you are fishing is very important but I do not know the code. Maybe someone with more experience can advise on the wind. I ran out a lot of gas looking for good water and could not find any the second day. Nearly all of our fish the first day came in areas that had bull rushes and lilly pads together or very near. We did not see the varied vegatation on Istakpoga or big o compared to years past. The few days we spend on Okeechobee were spent in the Moonshine Bay area primarily so judge accordingly. Although a lot of fish were caught the quality was nearly as good as Istakpoga. Not sure this is a good/fair comparison, but the only one I can make with my limited experience. BTW Airboats were spraying weed control at Istakpoga last Thursday around the islands. We were also shiner fishing so not sure what difference it may make to compared to artificial.

Just returned from Okeechobee and the water levels were a problem for us but we do not know the lake well. We fished the lake area around the Buckhead Ridge canal one day where my buddy bent a prop ear, fortunately I brought a spare prop on the trip which I loaned him. Fished one day out of Harney Pond where we ran aground trying to run a canal toward Moonshine Bay, only took a couple of hours to get out, but no damage. I ran aground attempting to run a trail from Indian Prairie to Horse Island. This only took a minute to get free since it was right at the main canal. Fished the other days a Lake Istakpoga, water levels there well fine but still a little low. Good trip overall but those of you that do not know the lake well beware of low water levels. The lake dropped every day we were there and now is below 12 ASL. BTW The trick about taking off by steering in a circle as recommended by geo g works well.

You guys need to move to Tennessee, no plate required.

It varies for state to state. Tennessee does not title boats or trailers. Bill of sale only

What is the sentence for bringing across state lines into California?

Concord Park is an excellent choice as is below nearly any TVA dam. I'm not familiar with Meads Quarry Lake. Local tackle shops can help when you arrive for the area you want to fish. Within a half hour of Knoxville there are literally hundreds of miles of shoreline and 5 or more lakes with hundreds of miles of shoreline each. Concord Park on Loudon Lake is an excellent place to start.

If you are talking cable steer models I like the MK motor/shaft with the MG pedal. I do believe the MK has an edge in weeds as Roger stated above.

I don't believe any Yamaha outboards have had a problem with fuel line ethanol problems. Yamaha fuel lines are compatible and always have been, at least mine are, back to 1998. I would suggest going to *** and check the express boat forum for advice. Maybe if you pm me I can give you the website, apparently it's blocked

That's a better price than I got for Deka's. I paid $155 ea for group 31

Great info geo g, don't plan to go as far south as Clewiston but you never know. My partner weighs around 250 lbs so I will have him on the bow if necessary. Never heard about steering in a circle to get the boat up in skinny water but it makes perfect sense, can't wait to try it. Not much skinny water in these parts. Thanks for the help.....Al

Thanks Roger. The lake has been dropping about an inch a day for about a week that I have been following it, which has me concerned with about 2 weeks before arrival. I'll ask a similar question the first week of March which should provide more accurate info. We will be fishing only shiners for a week so fishing info isn't really needed, but my concern about water levels will be important to us. Thanks again.......Al

That is the reason I ask the question. About 10-15 years ago I ran a long way into the hay fields on plane and took forever to get out because I could not get the boat on plane. Just trying to make sure that doesn't happen again. Spending the night on Okeechobee is not on my bucket list.

Great to hear!!

I will be fishing Okeechobee the week of 4 Mar. The water level now is around 13.5 feet. At what level does navigation become a problem? If it matters we will be launching out of Oka-Tantie or as far south as Harney Pond. Thanks in advance.

I believe you have the blades backwards. 2 for power and 3 for weeds.....

What a lot of folks do locally is by a clam pack reel that is new for $5 and use it as a trade in. When I worked at BPS the trade ins where given to the Boys Club, not sure now, but a good condition bait caster is probably overkill and a waste of a good reel. Every year at my local store they have had a $5 reel(Zebco 202 I believe) on sale during the spring sale. Check your flyer for your store.

Check with authorities. I live on Douglas lake in East Tennessee and a permit is required to throw a rock in the lake, lol. I own the lake bottom but must have a permit to do about anything, even the land I own. A dock permit here is $500, not sure about a ramp. A floating aluminum dock for a pontoon boat runs about $30K without a lift so be prepared to spend some money and you will need someones permission, and at a cost.

The insurance company gets its info from boat vin number/hull s/n provided by the manufacturer. Just like the vin number on a car

If Ranger will do it this would be the easiest solution.

Good advice. You might want to contact the coast guard as well. Number listed under us govt. They may not have the answer but can give you a number to call. In East Tennessee there are a large number of high hp motors on the Allisons and Bullets running up and down the lakes. The ones without a trolling motor are a dead giveaway. If you fish Cherokee I'm sure you have seen the Aillisons racing up and down the channel near the dam. These boats are probably insured, you may want to ask one of them or call Jimmy Hensley at tri county marine in Morristown. He could advise you about the possibility of getting a new boat tag.

Ditto

FWIW Yamaha engines did not experience this problem. Their fuel lines were compatible with the mix.

We all must make life choices but we really should be a little more respectful of other folks decisions. I don't exclude myself from this statement. We all do something we should not do.