sherman51

i,ve never had this happen before. but 2 years ago i had bought some challenger 3d worm harnesses and hooked a nice hog walleye on erie, we got the fish close enough to see the fish behind the boat, and they seen the boat and started fighting, the fish got off and i brought it in and the hook had broke off. about 1/2 hour later we had the same thing happen again. i contacted challenger and they had me mail the lures to them for inspection. they sent me back some new lures to replace the 2 bad ones and a few extra ones. the only bad thing is i still have about 2 dozen of the first batch that had the bad hooks. so it scares the crap out of me every time i use one of them. but they do catch fish. sherman

i can tell you how we did it for many many years and never had anyone complane. the best way to prepair you fish is to fillet the fish with the rib bones still in the meat and the meat still on the skin, now take and cut the meat by making a slices about 1" wide going long ways on the fillet the cut cross ways making about 1" squares, then cut the squares off the skin just like you would normaly cut the skin off a solid fillet. now just take 1 pint or 1/2 pint jars and start filling the jars with the 1" square pieces. when you get them full take a tea spoon of salt and put on top of the meat and then just put the lids on good and tight, then fill your canner with jars. start cooking bring your canner up to 10 lbs of pressure, cook at 10 lbs for 1 hour, then turn off heat and allow the pressure to drop to 0. then open the canner. we like to spread out a towel and take the jars out of the canner and set the jars a few inches apart on the towel, then just wait for the jars to cool and seal. then you can take the rings off and reuse the rings. the meat will last for years. i dont really know just how long it will last. but i have had it stay sealed and good for up to 3 yrs. good luck and have fun. sherman

hey troy there is no way i could have said it any better. guys like frank are just hard to come by. but it does seem like some very good people on this site. sherman

i always like using the shortest rod at the back of the boat and go about a ft longer as i go forward. it just helps keep the rod ends and lines from tangling. i use a 7 ft rod in the back on a 1 1/2 setting the next rod is 8 ft on a 3 setting. then the next rod is a 9 ft on a 4 1/2 setting. then if im running 4 rods the very front rod is a 10 ft on a 6 setting. now i use all lite bite slide divers and the dials are just alittle different than say a dipsy. but this gives you an idea. if i go to the central basin and marking fish deep in say 70 ft of water. i,ll put my 10 ft rod out on a 6 setting 240 ft. then i set my 9 ft rod on a 4 1/2 setting out 210 ft. then my 8 ft rod on a 3 setting out 180 ft. then the very back 7 ft rod on a 1 1/2 setting out 150 ft. then i just do whatever the fish want. if im marking fish up shallow at say 50 ft, i like to fish alittle above the fish. so i might start out with my front rod out 180 ft then 150 ft then 120 ft then 90 ft. this keeps the deepest shortest divers on the inside. if i adjust my depth i,ll adjust the whole side. sherman

first off i would run the same size divers on one side. i usely run 3 divers per side, but have been known to run 4. but if you run the same size divers it just works better. if i was just running 2 divers, just run the front outside diver on a higher setting, like say a 3 setting. then let it out far enough to hit your target depth. then run the back inside diver on a 1 setting, and run it atleast 30 ft less than your front rod. that way if you get a fish on the front outside rod, you can let it back out without pulling your back inside rod. jest start letting it out on the far side of the boat then when you have it out about 20 ft farther than the back inside rod take the rod up and over the back rod and place it in the holder. that should put you out about 30 ft farther than the back inside rod, and just lock it down. and it will go out and over that line. one other thing i always do, i make sure to use the same weight line and put the same amount of line on each reel. this just helps keep your counters accurate with the other reels. hope i said something that helps you and doesnt just make it worse. its really pretty simple after you do it a few times. and i use the lite bite slide divers. if i want to get really deep they have a kit that has a big ring and a 4 oz weight you can use. but for walleye the standard ring and weight is all i ever use. if you have any questions about anything i said, feel free to pm me. i,ll help if i can. sherman

i really like the okuma glt,s i bought, they have nice large double footed stainless guides with titanium oxide rings in them. they should last longer than im going to,LOL. sherman

i went through this same thing not long ago. i guess you can use any rod for copper. but i broke down and bought a couple of the okuma leadcore/copper rods. i got the glt classic pro 8'6" m action. i may have paid alittle much for them but i liked the guides. 70.00 for 2 of them on ebay. sherman

i had a set of big jon sportsmans riggers and used the 13 lb pancake weights with them. i did have one rigger that would kick the braker once in awhile. i would just push the reset button and keep going. but i was only going down about 60 ft. sherman

it depends so much on how your boat performs now. if your already at peak rpm,s with the prop you have now, then going to a lower pitch can put you to high at wot. and may also hurt your cruising gas mileage. and it depends on how much slower you need to go. i have a 19 p high five on my boat, i tryed it with a 17 p high five, and only lost about 2/10,s of mph while trolling. this may not be typical with a 3 blade prop. but i just dont think reproping will cure your problem you might want to think about making the jump to a good set of trolling bags or a good trolling plate. i,ve tried both and i like the trolling plate. the best one i think is out there is the easy troller. it has the bottom half hinged and spring loaded. if you give it alittle to much gas it will swing up instead of bending like the old happy troller. you can just do a search online and find them for around 100.00 plus shipping. or i see one on ebay once in awhile for around 80.00 plus shipping. good luck, and keep us posted on what you do, and if it works for you. sherman

even tho i am a disabled vet i just couldnt make it with or without my boat. but i would like to thank each and every one of you that was a part of this. even the vets that showed up, it wouldnt be much without them. and theres just no words that can thank all you guys that took the vets out fishing and the guys who sets this up and makes sure everything goes as planned. sometimes the guys on shore just dont get there dues. so thank you one and all. sherman

back in the day they was as good as anything elce on the market. if they are in good shape now you should get many years of service out of them. just my opinion, and im sure there are some people that didnt like riviera. but the first riggers i ever had was riviera manuals. then i got laid off that fall and sold all my gear just before christmas, so we could have a good christmas for our kids. that spring when i went back to work i got a new set of penn manuals, then got laid off again that fall and sold them. the next spring i got some used big jons. i stayed with big jon manuals untill 3 yrs ago. and switched to big jon electrics. mostly because i got some awesome prices on the big jons i got. i got a set of sportsmans off ebay, one was a boat show display and the other one was new, i got them both for 425.00. then last year i got a set of pro tournaments with auto stop on auction with no reserve for 510.00 and 25.00 for shipping. then i had to pay alittle more for my second 2. but the first 2 didnt have rod holders or swivel bases, but i already had those. but i,ve heard good things about the riviera electrics back when all i could afford was manuals. sherman

i think the stinger is a great spoon, but the paint dont last for sht. i like the spoons i get from gale force tackle just as much if not more, the paint stays on alot better and they are much cheaper. and they,ve been doing custom colors for me. sherman

what more could a person ask for. great people great fishing and everybody made it back in safe. great report, keep them coming. sherman

how many of you have used it or seen somebody elce use it for motion sickness??

now thats just what he asked for. now tell us whats going on with the picture,LOL. sherman

its always good to hear your getting fish. and for a total of 6 hrs that was some pretty good fishing. sherman

not saying its your problem. but some years ago i was broke down on erie, and my radio did the same thing. i could hear others but couldnt get out. i had just put a new antenna on my boat. but i was able to contact the coast guard and talking through them i got a boat i had talked to before my radio had quit. he came and towed us in. sure enough it was a bad antenna. so they can cause this problem. if you have a friend with an antenna you could test your radio by hooking up to his antenna. i know thats alot of trouble, but you,ve got to start somewhere. or try somebodies radio with your antenna. keep us posted as to what you find wrong. sherman

i didnt know him myself but i hate to hear we lost another sportsman. my prayers are with his family and friends. may god be with you in this time of sorrow. i just lost 2 of my best friends and they were both great sportsman. i lost my little brother and my best friend on the 10th of may, then lost my oldest friend on the 26th of may. we became good friends when i was about 9 yrs old and he was 3 yrs older than me. i am 61 now so we were friends for many yrs. i miss them both every day. i try to celabrate there lives and not mourn there passing. sherman

i will tell you the whole story, then ask your opinions. i spooled my diver reels with braid and didnt use any type backing. and last year i had a problem with the line slipping on the spools. so i started to spool my 300 ft of 30 lb copper on my daiwa 47lc reels. the copper came with 300 ft of braid backing. so i was afraid it might slip on the spools. so i started out with 150 ft of 20 lb mono backing. then i stripped about 150 ft of the braid off, then tied to the mono. i got all the line on the reel but it is just about full, maby 1/8" of spool left. im not worried about running out of line because i am using this for walleye in the central basin. so should i take the copper off and strip another 100 ft of braid off?? it would give me alittle more room at the top of the spool just in case the line built up alittle on one side while reeling it back in. or do you think 1/8" is enough space?? any comments or opinions are welcome. i have never used copper before. 300 ft is sopposed to get me down about 50 ft. then if i use a crank bait maby a rr that should give me about another 5 ft. sherman

hey boltman you could look at it like this. at least you have a biiiig boat.LOL. all kidding aside. when are you going to get your valves for your boat?? how big of a job to install?? how fast are you running with one engine?? are you sure you dont want to try the bags with one engine. those cleats are pretty strong. but thinking about it im not sure i would chance it either. if they did fail it would really mess up a nice boat. sherman

hey frank i,ve been doing some thinking about filling some open seats. but just decided because i live so far from the water it just isnt worth it right now. i have a 200 mile trip just to get to the western basin. i would have the cost of the trip plus my share, plus i would have a 4 plus hour drive before and after the trip. maby someday i can plan a trip with you. sherman

i have used them all at one time or another. i have had better luck just using a carving knife i bought at wall mart on sale for 9.00. they work just as good if not better than any of the fillet knives. and dont strip the gears out near as quick as the regular fillet knives. sherman

as i think you have inboards the regular trolling plates wont work for you. but the trolling bags should slow you down just fine. they are just alittle trouble getting up on the bow and tieing them off on the cleats or bow rails. but i have used them, but i like the plates better for my mercruiser. but the bags works good, your boat will even handle better at slow speeds when trolling. just make sure to get bags big enough to slow you down to trolling speed. if you really want to troll then the bags are the way to go for you. i have read on here about some of the people that sells the bags can take your information and tell you what size bags you will need. just my opinion. but i would be trolling. if you tie the bags off up towards the front of the boat they dont even get in the way of your fishing. sherman

i just upgraded my planer reels on my mast. so i have the old planer reels. they are in very good condition, they were only fished a few times. i have them spooled with 400 lb mono line which worked reel good with my boards. they are set up to bolt together on a mast. but with the backing clamps they can be mounted to your bow rails or just about any rail. the new backing clamps are like 20.00 each at big jon. so i will take 100.00 for mine shipped to you. sherman

this would have to be a one fish day, because by the time you reeled in 1000' of copper plus a fish you would be done for the day,LOL. i could think of much better ways to get that deep. i fish 60 to 65 ft with the lite bite slide diver with the stock weight and small ring. im sure if you used the 4 oz weight and the large ring you could get much deeper. then you have the magnum dipsies, im not sure how deep they will go. but you could add them to wire and get plenty deep. then there is always the old trusted downriggers for going deep. i know there is no way im bringing in a 1000' of copper to check or change the bait,LOL. once its out it would stay there. sherman