Line Dancin

It waslooking back to when i switched to opti and it was about 5 or 6 years ago when i first started using copper. After using the opti i never had a need to go back to opti. Tackle haven sold me on it. It is a tenth of a thou thicker with a tighter twist is what i was told and will achieve the 80 - 90 ft easier. Dont know is it is true. Just what i was told when i was starting to use it and had issues.

I like the blue diamonds also. You can change the tip on the rod for another 20 bucks to the torpedo tip that is the same as the aftco swivel tip that rums 60- 80 bucks. The nice thing i found on the torpedo tip is they have a small guide built into the tip that keeps the wire centered better then the aftco tip. You don;t have to upgrade them right away but the extra 20 bucks makes it a lot nicer to deal with wire. link to tips on torpedo divers site: https://www.torpedodivers.com/scart/product_details.asp?ItemNum=H0010

I had problems with the howies copper breaking also. about two years ago. No matter what you did it broke at the knot. Talked to michelle at gold coast and she had heard of the same thing. Went out there as she wanted to try it out and it was breaking tying the knot. She contacted howies and they never replied if there was a problem. I switched to opti copper and never had that problem again.

I usually add about 15 ft of 40 pound that way when you have to cut out a bad section(sometimes the releases wear on the line and it will start to show) from where you keep placing the board you only cut out the section that is bad and tie one knot. just a little quicker to get back in action.

Welcome Aboard this is a great place to be a member of.

cant really decide on that one Mike. If there is one i will be there if two then i will be at both. It kind of also depends on what you can get lined up for each topic. The last one lasted quite a while with the five speakers just on salmon alone. If you are able to do that again for salmon and get enough speakers for a day of the walleye one i would think do two so that people can get more info on each, and they are not limited by time to get in just a couple speakers on each type of fishing. I think there is enough new people to salmon that could benefit from a whole day of seminars just on salmon, and the same for walleye. Just playing devils advocate here and trying to see both sides. To me i don't care either way.

A lot of people i know use this knot: http://www.lotsa.org/Wire%20Line%20Knot.htm if you have more questions or doudts don't be afraid to ask about it. you dont have to make it your last question because you think you are asking too many.

Nice job on the steelies. :thumb: Also thanks for calling me today mike.

welcome aboard. i also fish the holland area. this year again for june we will be on erie bay any other time give a holler. Don't be afraid to ask any question here no question is a dumb question and you wont get bullied for asking questions here. Mike runs a tight ship here and it makes it a comfortable place to meet new people.

basically with big boards you want to stay with the same length lines. like when we are walleye fishing we run four to five rods per board but all the same length to the mini disc. when we start we run 90' 80' 70' 60' back to find the fish once we find where they are feeding everthing is at the same feet back. In the old days on erie we never used the divers just hot n tots, and you can do the same in the spring for browns and steelies between the sand bars. You can get them way out beyond what inlines would pull depending on the boards you use. My dad used to use triples and they were a PITA to get back to the boat and put a lot of strain on everything. I was put on to the otter boats by big jon this year from a friend that charters on erie, and they pull out nicely without all the hard pulling on everything like my dads old triples. with copper and lead it would be the same way. if the fish are deep you could run like four 300 ft coppers withough worry of tangle i would assume i have not tried it as of yet but am thinking about it for next year as i now have 4 300' coppers rigged and ready. on your boat you could put the reels back on your trees or in that area but you need to run pulleys up front more on your boat so that they are running straighter out from your rod holders. you dont want your mono going over the planer line as it can tangle in the releases clips. so you would still want some kind of mast further up on your boat to get the planer line up high enough so that it isn't draggin in the water.

that brown would sure be tasty over charcoal with a little lemon butter basted over it a couple times. making me hungry looking at it.

I've been using the walker barrel type for years. and i am going to the chamberlains this year. My friend that runs a charter boat on erie uses them. Those things if set right will release with a silver bass, and you can preload them like crazy. I agree on band buster i hated when my dad used them or used rubber bands for stackers. just a big mess to deal with and if left in the sun they melt and make a bigger mess.

Nice looking fish!!

i am on the west side but my parents are on the east side so it doesnt matter where.

That answered my question i was just wondering if people were using anything stronger for pulling mags.

I dont like freezing eggs as it does destroys them fairly quickly. Thaw them soon and treat as follows: What i do is use a commercial egg cure from atlas company treat the eggs right away, Or a mix of borax and what ever color jello you want to cure your eggs. an odd color but one that works is grape with yellow mesh also mix in some granulated garlic. pour them in to a jar put a cup of aluminum foil over them take a piece of wax paper and light it with a match or lighter drop it in and cap it up. the burning wax paper sucks up all the air and seals the jar put in the fridge and they can keep for over a year. Someof you old river fisherman may kno this man: An old river fisherman named Tom Schneider nick named Corky Man(the original corky man, field tester for yakima worden and helin products) Got the nick name because he wouldnt fish a steelhead without a corky on his spawn rig, near the Au Sable in oscoda taught me that trick. he claimed eggs would last two years doing that. I never kept them over a year. Another method Tom taught me was brig to boil a pot of water mix in salt till the water wouldn't absord any more add half that amount in sugar. let cool to room temp. place eggs in water they will sink. when they float up take them out and dry them on and jar as above.

on my lowrance hds fish finder gps i have the sirius weather module and it is all real time weather. you can set up alerts on it so when things are changing it alerts you. I can see almost everything on it. the thing missing in the great lakes is the wave height on the gps screen in real time. For the Oceans they have it just not the great lakes yet. It does have what is called marine zones and when there is a change in the marine zone that you are fishing it lets you know. I have picked up rain storms before my buddy with the new top of the line radar from ray jeff couldn't see yet. They are to be putting up a new satellite in the next couple years and they are saying when that happens you will be able to get real time wave height also right on the gps screen. it also has lightening alarms that sound when lightening is heading your way and 15 miles out. i know some ray jeff units and furuno units have the sirius available for their units also.

I agree with what he is saying about layering under the 5mm waders. I have hodgeman 5 mm and flyweights. For most general fishing i wear the 5mm. I do like the slip on boots though. the difference is that you can get felt for rock gravel or other slippery surfaces or cleated for regular bottoms. I like the boot tight on my foot as if you get into muck you dont pull your foot out of the boot like booted waders. This is one of the main problems with people falling in that i have watched. boot gets stuck in muck the person tries to pull out of the muck pulling foot out of boot losing balance and in they go. I experienced it a few times carp shooting and no thanks. I saw someone mentioned weariong out a pair at the heel. to stop that from happening they make a 2 mm sock that goves over your wader. that gives you 7mm on your feet which is the hardest part to keep warm while wading. the socks also take all the abuse and when they wear out you toss them and get another pair for like 20 bucks. the ones i got from franks great out doors last time were 17 dollars (5 years ago) have gravel cuffs sewn on them and they have held up great.

i got one and my brother got the last one they did do a great job i just dont think they expected as many people as had shown up...

what lb test power pro are you guys using for pulling mag walker or dipsy divers. I have 50 lb test that i am using when using the large divers but typically i run my mags on wire. I am thinking of trying to run my mags on braid some this year

I would be there:thumb: with possibly my dad and brother.

I agree with Frank. After a blow how it affects the temps and where to set up. I am planning on being there again. Oh Yea more hot dogs this year for lunch time from the youth group.

I have my Truck and my wifes SUV with AAA, been with them since i was 16 but after the way state farm has been on this... i am really considering moving my house insurance and both trucks to state farm.

State Farm- Drew Condon in grandville.

there are a lot of factors when looking at different rods in different price ranges. All rods will catch fish. The differences if whether the rod is fiber glass with graphite or pure graphite. what type of graphite and the resin used in construction. what the grade of cork is or foam. how the reel seat is attached. the better graphites will give a better feel you will be able to differentiate between the split shot hitting the bottom or a fish picking up the bait. you'l be able to feel more what your bait is doing under water also better. Anoter facto in feel is the way the reel seat is attached on a spinning rod. Most cheaper rods use a build up of masking tape and epoxy to hold the reel seat on which transfer very little feel to your hand. Better rods use either graphite (used on most manufactured better quality rods) bushings that fit tightly to the blank and to the reel seat wih just enough epoxy to hold it in place therefore transfering almost all the energy in the blank to your hand. Then you can get into high end or custom where hardwood bushings are used and they transfer all the energy to your hand. also cork grades and fitting come into play. A well made rod will have a tapered fit to fit snuggly to the blank were cheaper rods use a general taper and are built up with masking tape. Masking tape and epoxy are by no means bad but they dont transfer the greatest amout of feel and energy to the hand. St Croix is a well built rod for the money. Also shimano has some out around a hundred bucks that are pretty nice. When i used to build i hand tapered all my crok to fit nice and snug and always used graphite bushings unless they were downrigger rods where that feel it necessary. Hardwood bushing are a pita to deal with and take forever to get the fit right. thats why you pay more for that feature. As far as quality of blank you have graphite, im6, im7, im8, imf, imx. any im6-im7 rod would be good for rolling spawn. im 6 has come down so much in the last few years with the better graphites coming out. I have been out of building for abiut 15 years and reall dont keep up on wat is being used in blank manufacturing anymore. My personal fav is a penn imx i was given to build up and field test. it is actually a 6 weight fast action 9 ft blank that i built into a steel head rod. you can just about feel the fish breath on the spawn bag. As far as a do all rod the st croix you are looking at will do anything from spawn to casting cleos in the spring for browns off the piers. Only thing about it would be for low clear water you cant drop to 4 or 6 pound test.