Coq au Vin for sure for the old bird. They just aired a show where they made it on the food network 2 days ago as well. Good eats. Check it out and I’m sure the recipe is on their website.

I’d consider putting a trolling plate on the big 4 stroke and save the 2 grand. I run a honda 130 hp on an 18′ crestliner sportfish and I get 1.8-2.1 mph on a low end via GPS. (not apples to apples but something to consider anyway) If I want slower for running spinners I use the bow mount. 24v is the way to go there if you ask me.

Now going out on Lake Michigan there is always that comfort factor of having a 2nd gas motor on the boat. I know a few guys that would have had a hard time on the big pond as waves were picking up if they didn’t have that kicker motor when the big one decided it wasn’t going to start. If I spent more time on the big pond going out 5-10+ miles I’d purchase the kicker just to be sure I had a decent backup plan in case of trouble.

I have a trolling plate on my Honda 130 hp 4 stroke and it gets me down to 1 mph on calm days. If I want to go slower I use the bow mount to slow me down more.

Don’t forget to put the troll plate up before taking off full throttle. I did that the very first time I used it. When I finally did put it up it sure made a huge rooster tail until I could get the boat out of the water to fix the plate. I had to put all my weight on the darn thing to straighten it out again. Just glad it didn’t break right off doing that

12″ NE end, open water NW corner and by the river mouth in Oshkosh. Haven’t been down around Quinney or Pipe to check ice for myself but I’ve heard some guys are driving trucks out several miles. I’m sticking to an ATV.