laker1

Thank you every one for your input. I live in Western Canada so there is not much selection! I want a dependable reel, not one picked out by a box store buyer motivated by bonus and price point. jim

My price range is approx $100.00. Thank you Magnum Lure and FDB for the replies. I want to be able to measure how much line I have out when using planner boards for walleye and lake trout.

Looking to upgrade my walleye reel to a line counter version. Current reel catches line once in a while in the side and is more a caster than a trolling instrument. Have any recommendations ? jim

Slip Prepare Thought Consider keeping your zincs clean if you can and maybe adding a sacrificial anode or two to either the slip (quietly) or also to your boat in case there is an unwanted electrical discharge from your neighbour.

Greetings everyone, I am seriously looking a buying one or two 3rd generation units and would run using all the sonar options. If it is two units the large draws 2.8 Amps and the small draws 2.5 Amps. I understand that a 12 volt battery has to be dedicated to power one of these units. But the question is can I also include the smaller unit with the same 12 volt battery or would there there be too much distortion or power loss? In anticipation of a few questions I would mention that I would be running my dedicated 12 volt battery parallel from my 12 volt cranking battery with an isolator. And that the charging system of my 90 Honda and my 8hp Honda maintain my cranking battery. The experience/expertise found in this forum is very helpful. So I hope you all can help me in completing my exercise in due diligence. Thanks again jim

Sounds like old or bad gas. Magnum Lure is right we need more information. When my motor died on two separate occasions I had my tank pumped and installed a secondary inline fuel line filter that allows me to collect and dump bad gas. To this day I regularly add Sea Foam or Stabil. Winter storage is with a full tank of premium gas and lots of S F or S. Good luck and hope this helps

I might have already reported this. Two years ago Bob and I were musky trolling in Lake of the Woods. We both let out our Jakes at the same time close to Forest Island. Suddenly Bob’s line rose to the sky , followed by mine. We looked up and there was a bald eagle struggling in the air with a Jake in each talon. We reeled it in and Bob put on his leather gloves. The bird was somehow placed on its back on the water and this seemed to calm it down. Bob grabbed a pliers while I held a paddle between him and the bird’s beak. Carefully the bird was released to half swim/ fly to Forest where it perched itself on the highest tree. Bob and I continued to troll.

A SUGGESTION If you are like me , prone to losing things. My Knipex and pliars both have fish floats attached to them with both heavy cord and duct tape. So when entangling fish I won't lose a tool to the depths.

It would help us all if every downrigger manufacturer placed a video on how to spool rigger line on Youtube and had a download from their site illustrating this too. I am afraid that I am part of a large group who are all "thumbs" and have no one close by to assist! Downrigger cable kinks very easily and messes up despite your best efforts. You can not even imagine the frustration!

Thankyou Big Bass. Merry Christmas to you and yours from Canada! Already looking forward to next year with all that karma.

Sharing a memory from this year. Its late September and Bob Holden and I are fishing in Canadian Esox's Musky Tournament. Bob is an accomplished multi species angler. Fishing was really difficult. We fished in fog and rain in the morning and a bluebird sky in the afternoon. You all know what this means. Its now late in the day and there is only enough time for one last troll. We were at Forest Island. Bob and I released our cranks. Bob had a white Jake made by Drifter Tackle. I had Live Target's Sucker. Both lures were released at the same time. Suddenly my crank went skyward and then Bob's was also overhead. We looked up. There was an eagle trying to get away with our lures attached. What to do ? We reeled it in. Bob put on his leather gloves and I found a paddle. At the boat the eagles wings beat like hammers across the stern. I placed the blade of the paddle between Bob and that great beak. Upside down the bird began to quiet down. Bob carefully removed the cranks, one from each talon. The bird was let go and it half swam and half flew to Forest Island. There, it rested a bit and then flew up to perch (in disgust) on to the highest tree. We continued our troll. Wish we had a camera. jim

Hi, How do you protect your transducer when loading your boat onto your trailer? Do you cut back one of your bunks or just move your transducer sideways? jim

A dash of Stabil or C Foam added to the fuel tank from time to time can't hurt. It depends upon on how cold your winter is and if your engine is left in the water. I sometimes like to regrease those zerks from time to time. New crank case and bottom end oil is usually a good idea. Up north across the border we have also found having new spark plugs installed can be helpful for cold weather starts - you don't want a dead engine when you are cold and far away.