SPOONWASHER

If you go the red dot route, I would recommend spending a little bit of money. A 3 1/2" gun will wreck some cheap red dots in just a couple shots. I shoot Feds for just about everything. That gun should throw a great pattern at 50 yards with a little load work.

This. Instead of buying a red dot put the money into some different loads to see what your gun likes. If you feel like beating yourself up with the 3 1/2s, go for it. Otherwise the 3s will do the job just fine.

Many times I have a killer dolphin that is bent, has terrible action and just a tiny bit of paint left but it still catches fish consistently.

My budget auger is a Milwaukee 18 volt cordless drill. I bring a couple batteries with me on the ice and it has always done fine with an 8 inch auger. Also use it to drill in ice anchors for the shanty on the windy days.

I love shootin ducks in da cold! Way to wack em Kevin

Thanks guys!

Well guys I haven't been around as much, at least not posting. Ive been super busy with school and work and spending a little time in the woods when I could. Saw some nice deer this year and had a lot of fun. I watched this deer all summer behind my house then it disappeared about the second week of October, not sure where he went but hopefully he shows back up next year. We also own property nearby. Did not see the number of deer we usually do, but did see some very nice deer. Here are a few: The neighbor shot this deer at the end of October, it went about 120 Bow season was pretty uneventful. I took a friend of mine hunting who has never taken a deer before and he hit a buck in the shoulder. Unfortunately that deer was never found. Saw some great deer during gun season, also had the following buck sneak within about 10 yards of me and I let him walk. As he walked away I realized I made a mistake but it was too late. I still regret not taking a shot but he will be bigger next year. I also had one of the best days duck hunting ever:grin: No shots were fired from me or my dad at deer this year, but we had fun. Our season ended a little prematurely as we are currently over in MN at the Mayo Clinic. I had knee surgery yesterday and the doc said it went well. Ended up with a few nice slices and 5 screws in the knee (forgive any typos I'm on some heavy duty stuff). If all goes well I will hopefully see some of you at the seminar in a few weeks. I hope everyone had a fun and safe year

I use Photobucket with my HTC. Upload to Photobucket then copy and paste the IMG code. The only downside is that the pictures don't have the GLF watermark.

Congrats Jimmy!

Looks good Ed!

How long will the chat go? I work until 9 so I can pop in afterward if anyone is around.

Ill try to address a few to the best of my knowledge -Most guys like a speed of 2-2.2 at the ball -I like long leads, usually 100 feet for spoons and 40-50 on plugs. -Temp breaks will generally hold the fish, not always a given temp but salmon tend to like 48* and thereabouts -Run as long of leaders as you can and still be able to successfully net the fish, 10-12 feet for me but a lot of guys are running even longer leaders and handlining the fish in -My fly leaders are always changing, some days its 23" and some it 48" depends on the fish -Meat can be very successful when no other setups are, you can buy strips to give it a try without having to use a brine -Any other advice? Get out and fish, you will learn a lot on the lake. If you can get out and fish with another experienced fisherman; offer to pay for gas, bring snacks and drinks for the crew, etc. The amount of information you will learn with another fisherman in one trip will be more than you can learn in days on the internet.

Very nice videos! Do you have any pictures of how you attach the GoPro to the ball? How far back is the rig, 10-15ft? That sure is pretty cool.

VN as usual Frank:thumb: You sure know how to catch fish out there!

Way to put the smack down on them Jason!

Not sure how I missed this but this is simply awesome!! :thumb:

William, your videos are outstanding! If you don't mind me asking what camera are you using, I see a few GoPros on the boat but how about for underwater footage? How is it attached to the ball and what is the blowback like? Again those are some awesome videos, I subscribed to the channel!

That was a very well put together clip, thanks for sharing!

Sounds like fun, Mark! Nice job.

Awesome job Adam!

Nice job Frank!! I hope to hit Au Gres Monday morning for our first bay trip of the year.

Thanks guys.

We've been perchin a few times the past couple of weeks and have always seemed to do decent, never had a great day though. Seems like there wasn't too much of a pattern but some of our old waypoints were good! Our best day we kept about 45, nothing under 8 and the biggest around 13 1/2:thumb: Friday after some perch fishing we salmon fished for awhile. Ended 3 for 5, first fish came as I was setting rods in 75 FOW. It was about a 7lb king on a BD out 125 on 2 with a UV PK Special. Not long after the downrigger 45 down with a UV Blue Tux went, 12 lb Steelie. These new UV spoons from Stinger have been hot:) After that old faithful (full core and Killer Dolphin) went, another 7lb king. Also lost 2 on a a regular old Moonshine 50 down on the downrigger. One of those spooled the reel, I believe it was foul hooked. Have fun and stay safe out there!

Welcome aboard! I would definitely try to have someone stop by and go over a few things with you. If you can't do that take pictures, and lots of them, of the things you are not sure about. It is very easy to post pictures to this site, especially with a photobucket or smartphone. From there we can determine exactly what you are referring to and give tips how to run it:)