SeaCatMich

Some stuff named BuggSpray works well for me. http://www.buggspray.com/ Heard about it from some guys in northern Minnesota a couple years ago and then found it at the local Menard's.

Here is another one http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/bod/4546541520.html

Biggest salmon for me was a 38 lb 7 oz King on Sunday, September 13, 1981. Fishing the channel in Ludington going upstream across from the Coast Guard. Fish hit a big green Lucky Louie plug off a downrigger down 18'. Had myself and 4 college friends onboard -- 3 of which had never caught a salmon and 2 of which had never caught a fish. To orient them on how to fight the fish I landed the first fish of the day and then we started a rotation. The first 5 fish were all Kings in the 18 to 25# range with a few getting off. Fortunately it was my turn again when this one hit. Due to boat traffic never let it get more than about 150' off the back of the boat -- had to slow the boat down to neutral since the line was 17# stren. Took about 20 minutes to land it. Fish had a big kyped jaw and a brilliant red down the side. Looked like it belomged in Alaska, not Michigan -- would have loved to had it mounted but was not in the cards for a poor college kid at the time. The worst thing though was that it would have placed first in the American Salmon Derby by 3 pounds, but it closed the previous Monday. Could really have used that $10,000

The "big" three for trolling speed are FishHawk, Depth Raider, and SubTroll. Actually yhe current low price FishHawk (X4) is going to be closer to $600. The Depth Raider and SubTroll are available for around $450. All do a good job and are worth the cost as without knowing how fast the lures are running relative to underwater currents it is much more difficult to reproduce a presentation and catch fish. If that's too much then I would start watching Craigslist and the for sale areas on GLF and GLA for a used model. Quite a few tackle shops will have a resale/consignment area where you might find one too. You can use your GPS's speed over ground (SOG) along with watching the direction you are trolling and the angles of your downrigger wires and/or diver rod bends to get a pretty good approximation to be able to reproduce a good speed once you catch a fish. Not as easy as the electronics but before the FH, DR, and ST units existed that's how it was done -- with a fishfinder paddle wheel for speed instead of GPS. .

Here is another Loadmaster. Down in Tecumseh. Not as heavy duty but still looks like a possibility and cheaper at $4,995 OBO http://www.trailershopper.com/page-33190.html

This one looks like it might work. http://holland.craigslist.org/boa/4539666965.html It looks good in the picture. Listed on the Holland craigslist but says it is in DeWitt, so it is very close to me if you want me to take a look for you Tony.

Jimcr, please post what you think of the Okuma BLT roller rods once you get and give them a try. I think I remember seeing them at the Grand Rapids show, but I'm not sure.

Go to a building supply (Lowe's, Menards, Home Depot) and get composite deck boards. Completely weather proof and can be cut easily to fit your space with a circular or jig saw. Comes in 8' lengths.

The more expensive Talora has the swivel tip AFCO guide. Just the guide is a $60 part. I have the 9' Taloras with the swivel tip. When you lock the rod into the rod holder with the gimbal butt it is nice to have the wire come off the tip on the roller. Without the swivel tip it doesn't line up correctly. The other thing I really like about the Talora rods is the lifetime warranty. Have sent 2 of the 7' rods in due to eye rings coming loose and one of the roller rods because the gimbal butt broke. In all cases they were replaced in less than a week. Just cost me the postage to send them in.

But, as others have said, at low RPMs you should not be stalling... whether trolling or not. You need to run the engine at idle speecs/RPMs when docking too. I am by no means a mechanic, but I don't see what your alternator would have to do with the RPM level either. Using the bags will let you run at a higher RPM and be at the desired trolling speed range (and give you more control in fine adjustments to your speed), but doesn't solve your root problem of stalling at low RPMs. How many RPMs is the engine running at when you nudge it into gear? How many RPMs is the engine running at when in neutral?

A plate will work but after using them for quite a few yearsback in the 70's and 80's have now gone to trolling bags. The bags do a better job of slowing the boat plus help to reduce the side to side rocking of the boat by holding it down. Bags can also be used as a sea anchor if you loose power to keep the bow into the waves. The bags come in various diameters to fit different size boats . Big Papa Sportfishing (bigpapasportfishing.com) makes very good bags and if you call them will get you the right size for your boat. There is a big difference between trolling and drift bags -- drift bags are not made to hold up to the strain that trolling puts on the seams and lines while trolling bags are.

It is big enough if you pick and choose your days. Personally would not want to be out on Lake Michigan in any more than 2' seas with that hull. Going out to 150 FOW will also depend on your port -- that depth is a lot further out off St. Joe than it is from Holland north. Not that you can't go out that far in the southern part of the lake but it is far enough out that it will take longer to get back in and in 3'+ waves it will not be fun in a hull of that size and freeboard.

To clarify... 3/4" thick plywood

If there is nothing below the 1/4" fiberglass then I'd be concerned about not having a thicker backing. The track will distribute the force of the downrigger over its length but that can be a lot of force with a 4' boom, a 12# ball, plus the weight of the Cannon rigger and the up/down of heavy seas. I would suggest reinforcing the length of the track under the fiberglass with 3/4" of treated plywood and then use the fender washers. Quarter inch thick aluminum plate can also be used. If possible I would try to extend the backing a beyond the ends of the tracks to further distribute the load.

As shown on Blood Run's dive curve chart, copper depth is very dependent on trolling speed. 2.0 vs 2.5 mph can result in 30% more depth at the same length out. The depth achieved can also be affected by currents quite a bit. Since currents can be different at various depths a current at 40' can make a 300' copper that in no current runs at 70' down loose 10' of depth. From hearing how Gregg at Blood Run did the tests with the Smart Troll probes, the depths should be very accurate. He was as surprised as anyone that there was not more difference in depths between the 32 and 45.

It can, but for me it isn't nearly as pleasant of an experience compared to a roller rod with the AFCO guides (Shimano Talora, Daiwa Heartland, Okuma BLT-WR). The regular guides have a lot more resistance. If you have never used a good quality roller rod you may not see the difference. The Torpedo 19 strand wire is finer and does provide less resistance on regular guides. I have also used some of the roller rods with guides with less tolerances and it was not fun with the wire getting caught between the rollers and the frame. Most are also quite heavy due to the weight of the guides. As for the reels, they should have very smooth quality drags. I wouldn't use a Magda for wire -- especially on a regular guide rod.

I would say that 1.7 - 1.8 mph is pretty slow and typical for lake trout. They will hit at faster speeds and often do when I'm trolling faster (2.4-2.8 mph) in theory for salmon. I'd go 1.5 to 1.8 mph on the downspeed if targeting lakers with lures that run effectively at those speeds.

Make sure your settings are configured to save sent messages. 1) In the upper right corner click on Quick Links and choose Edit Options from the menu 2) In the Private Messaging section look for this option: When sending private messages the forum can make a copy of the message in your Sent Items folder. 3) Then make sure the check box next to Save a copy of sent messages in my Sent Items folder by default is checked. You can send me a PM to test if you want.

On the PM inbox screen you need to switch to the sent folder to see the sent messages. Use the drop down selector to do this. See the screen snip below. Click on "Sent Items" and you should see the PMs you have sent out.

Could be the nets that were off Whitehall. The last I heard, quite a few of those have not been found.

I have had success using Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and CLR diluted to 1/3 CLR, 2/3 water.

So that's too fast for steelhead???

Torpedo or Sampo ball bearing snap swivels with welded rings. I really like the desgn of the Torpdo snaps. With a "screamer" I almost always slow the boat to just enough forward motion to not foul the other lines. Tighten the drag a little at a time and pump the fish unless it is on core or copper. I really wish that there was a line counter reel with a lever drag so that a max drag to match the line weight could be set as well as the adjustment range.

Mike, how far of a run is it to the buoys from Au Gres? Coming up to Au Gres for Tuesday & Wednesday.