Rick F

It's been a while since I have been down there but that is what we do in the summer. Too hot to just float down so we troll. Rapala's and other stick baits. We have done well the few times down there. It's a nice way to see the lake and other boaters. We averaged around 30-40 fish a day. This isn't or wasn't a common way for people to catch fish down there.

I don't know where you put the muffs on your motor because I can't see the water inlet holes in the lower unit from your pics. If you can find those then that is where the muffs go. Usually a set of 2-3 with some screen material behind them. Your screen material may be gone though since your motor looks to be quite old. I will suggest you should put some lubricant down the cylinders(2cycle motor oil, fogging oil, even brake fluid will work, etc.) Just a little so the top of the cylinder isn't metal to metal on initial start up. Unscrew the plugs and put it in there. ALso if you can pull start do this a few times slowly before cranking it with the electric starter so the cylinder walls are lubed up. You will probably need to change the water impellar as well. It is piece of rubber shaped like a star and it is probably hard as a rock. If this is bad your motor will overheat very quickly. If my memory is correct it will be in the lower unit. Hope this helps.

This is coming from a person who has ony fly fished 5-6 times ever. I will apologize early if I offend anyone but that is not my intention as I don't know all the ethics involved with fly fishing since I mostly bass and salmon fish. It is my understanding from reading this forum for the past 3-4 years that the trout "stack" up at the chutes sometimes so tight you can't step without kicking a fish. If I was a newbie to fly fishing or had a child fishing then I would fish at the chute because the numbers of fish are so high and catching them are much easier. However, if I were "fishing" for trout then I am not going anywhere near the chutes because that is like shooting fish in a barrel. Again, this is just my opinion and I don't mean to hurt anyones feelings especially if I am wrong ethically on my opinion but it sounds to me like people who stand shoulder to shoulder and snag salmon coming in to spawn in the rivers and streams with treble hooks. This happens around my area. Not very sporty.

Here is the "typical" wiring scheme. 4 way connector type Green right turn signal and brake lights Yellow left turn signal and brake lights Brown taillights and clearance lights White ground 5 way same as above plus a red wire is used for backup lights 6way same as above plus a blue wire is used for electric brakes 7 way sames as above plus a black wire is used for aux. power or batt. charge Again, this is typical not set in stone. If the same color wire is down both sides that is 99% of the time your taillights and clearance lights. The other color is for turn and brake lights and red is usually for backup lights. If Gomer did the wiring, strip it all out and do it yourself. One more tip. When you get the lights running make sure you disconnect the plug from your vehicle before launching your boat to help prevent and short.

Casey's here in Indiana sells E10 and list it as E10 but so do many other gas stations they just don't call it E10. It is called Premium Unleaded. Not allstations but some use E10 mixture for their premium. Last I read about 150-160 different combos of unleaded gas are available in the US.

3 1/2 crawdad color tube Texas rigged. That is if real crawdads aren't available.

There is a pretty reputable shop in town. Can't remember the name, I haven't been down there since 99 but I do remember finding them on the gatlinburg web site under fishing. They were pretty helpful then and I assume they would still be. Good luck and the scenery is incredible. Take a camera.

I bet if you stole 45 dollars worth of gas out of their police cars they would have enough officers to handle the case. Sounds like a podunk county lazy police department. No offense to the county you reside in but that is absolutely BULL CRAP. I think I would be getting hold of the local TV station.

Accelerating a little slower and getting off the gas a little earlier. With gas at 3.60 a gallon I need too. 65.00 fill ups are making me drive a little more careful.

Tyler As Wayne stated and someone else trim should be used when taking off everytime to achieve your results. My brother has an 18'6 foot Fisher with an 88 on it and if he doesn't use his trim when he takes off he burns alot of gas and takes forever to get on plane. Even as he is running down the lake and conditions change, mostly wind or chop he is still hitting the trim button up or down to maintain proper plane. That 90hp should get that Tracker on plane with no problem. I know my brother had to raise his motor up 1 hole on his transom and saw much better results. 2-3 mph and faster time getting on plane. It is hard to explain what it feels or sounds like when you are running at the right trim but I would say it is like the last 2 feet or so of your boat is just barely slapping the water when on lite chop.

Sounds like the 4 blade prop helped getting on plane. I found this web site www.kencook.net/Setupart.html and it gives you a formula for TMS(theoretical max speed) This is suppose to be the top speed of the boat period using this formula doesn't matter hull, weight of boat, etc... When I plugged in your numbers however it didn't add up because I got 44.9 MPH for the speed. You said the GPS read 47 which means you are getting better than 100% effeciency for your boat which is impossible. Maybe my numbers were incorrect but I used 5200 for max rpm, 21 pitch and 2.30/1 gear ratio which according to BWB magazine is what the 90 2 stroke mercs come with (not Opti's though). I would say you are right at the top speed of your boat and buying a jackplate would be a waste of money. You might get 1-2 mph or it could make it worse if that and how often do you run WOT? Keep us posted on your progress and I agree with the above, buy a water pressure gauge and have it installed if you plan on raising your engine even on stock transom.

Todays 4 strokes aren't that much heavier than the 2 strokes. E-tec is the top of 2 strokes and fuel economy would be like counting pennies. You will pay a little more but you put it on your boat and go fish. No break in period. All 4 strokes have a break in period and some are pretty time consuming.

You will get a little more hole shot and top end. 50 is possible. If you can, check out the magazine BWB(Bass and Walleye Boats). They have a ton of info on props and jackplates in 2 or 3 issues last year. With your prop you will need to make sure your are running at or near max rpm's. Your 90 hp should max out at 5800-6000 rpms at WOT if my memory is correct. BWB also had an issue with all motors and their specs. If not then you need to find a prop that will get you there. One thing, are you going off your speedo or GPS? Speedo's can be up to 5-8 mph off. I read an article where this guy added a jackplate and correct prop to his 16 footer with a 60 hp 2-stroke and hits 60 mph. Do your research and ask around or you will waste a lot of time and money for nothing.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. Mine has always been pleasant with law enforcement. But, as stated above, you can't be too careful. If you break the law they have to enforce it. Maybe he was having a bad day who knows. It is just like I tell my kids in school, if you don't want any problems, don't put yourself in a situation that that causes a problem. You knew you were breaking the law and you got caught. That doesn't give him the right to treat you like a mass murderer but he doesn't know you aren't. Remember, you are a stranger to him.

For the best information look up Ray Scott on the internet. He is the king of building and stocking ponds and lakes.

You don't necessarily need 4wd. It is a misconseption that they can pull more weight when in fact usually the 2wd models pull more. I have been told this is do to the fact 4wd adds more weight to the truck reducing the towing capacity. Some models only tow 200 pounds more and I have seen as much as 400 pounds depending again on truck, tranny, and engine. I do agree, trailer brakes are a big help. Much cheaper to add the brakes now than tranny or engine later.

When I fished down there a few years back and had my ID checked by the game warden I inquired about the possesion limit. He told me that I can have the possesion limit at the resort I was staying at including what was in the live well and that was it. At the time it was 10 (5 in the freezer and 5 in the boat) Now, I traveled from Indiana and was staying a lilley's so it was a temporary residence. I agree with the previous post that if you take them home then you should be alright, just don't stash them in a freezer in your motor home or cooler. The warden did tell me if I wanted to keep more then all I have to do is eat the ones I got. No problem.

Stikrz I have fished out of Gatlinburg TN about 6 years ago. There are endless places to fly fish. I hadn't learned how to yet so we fished a jig and float. We actually fished in downtown Gatlinburg in the Little Pigeon River. We caught a few trout in a couple of hours but if you go into the mountains you will have the time of your life. They have maps of places to fish and places off limits. I have heard they opened up some old streams but there are still some off limits due to the brook trout population. As usual I would recommend a half day guide and then ask all the questions you can then venture off on your own. Beware if you go into the Smokey's they do have a healthy black bear population.

Excellent story indeed. I hope I live to see my 90's, look that good in my 90's and still have the ability to throw out a line in my 90's.

Very nice. Can't wait to see it. I hope you will post some pics. It has been a while since my family has been down but I sure do miss the peace and quiet along with the scenery.

Looking at the web cam looks like the walkway at Lilleys is on the boat ramp. Did high winds do this? I can't imagine water flow could do that.

I hope I am not stepping on toes here but since Missouri is known for trout fishing I thought I would throw this in. Just read in the paper this morning that a gentleman broke the state record for brown trout. 4th time since '99 it has happened. It was caught in Lake Michigan in Indiana waters in April. Measurements 29.35 pounds 3.35 feet in length and was caught on a Smithwick Rogue.

I concur with the other gentleman who said they don't have to go anywhere because they do so well. The times I have fished there(boat only) we have caught our limit and then some within that 1 mile stretch. Jigs and rapalas did us well. When we wanted a change of scenery we would go down by the bridges and had good success down there as well. Don't know how it is since construction began in Old Branson. You should tear them up in front of lilleys landing. For us when the jig bite slowed down the rapala bite picked up. I have heard that spinners do well also but only tried that by the dam. Good luck.

I saw a fishing show on TV about 3 years ago and the guide on Lake Castic said it isn't uncommon to find 1-2 pound trout in there mouths when a big one is caught. He also stated that big on this lake isn't until you catch 14 pounds or bigger. I was amazed when he said 10 pounders are a dime a dozen. Too bad this fish didn't make it. Could have given another person the time of their life.

Sounds like you already have a good idea. The only other option I would offer is if you have a boat take her trolling for trout in the morning or in the evening. We did this a few years back and caught well over 200 trout. She is always moving and more than not catching trout frequently.