1mainiac

To my understanding you are correct however from my past experience as a Coast Guard Boarding officer we enforced the local rules as well as the federal laws. Also I am not a commercial vessel so the rules are different for me than other boats. My uncle is a 100 ton captain in AK he is required to declare what he is doing before he leaves port since the rules he fishes under change based on what he is doing. IE if he is commercial fishing he operates under one set of rules for the entire trip the rules for Subsistence fishing are different as are the rules for Sport fishing.

Ryan is also correct on the fact some areas consider them weapons. I was told by a friend of mine that he can't have one on his boat even with a carry permit because it is considered a weapon. Pretty bad when one of the most effective flares is not legal in some areas. Canada treats them the same as a pistol.

I alternate replace one then replace the other unless you have a ditch bag odds are you will only grab one a flare gun has further visibility however hand held flares mark where you are at. With the range you can see a aerial flare at night even though someone will see it they could still be many miles away.

Pro Troll 11in all day every day Big Weenie Poofster fly behind it. Don't be afraid to let it hit the bottom once in a while.

Ryan we were looking at a few bigger boats then my wife went thru my check book getting our taxes ready. Need I say more right now I would have a hard time getting her to let me get a free boat unless i had a buyer lined up for it. This is a annual thing every year she complains about how much I spend. Since we still have mot agreed on our next house she is even tougher on my fishing budget as she see's it as a road block to her getting what she wants right now. This could all change in a week but to be honest I am thinking maybe I should downsize as I would love a jet sled for winter Steelhead fishing. A bigger boat and a Jet Sled are not in my budget. What could happen is pay off the 26 quit pouring money into it sell the 14 and the other stuff and buy a used jet sled. Then I could budget in about 10 to 12 weekends a year for the 26 and call it at that. But spending 3 or 4 thousand a year on boat gas is pretty much out.

I have 8 of them and they have never caught a fish on my boat. This mostly my own fault I don't adjust my troll to them we ran them they caught nothing I watched a bunch of video on them. Ran them again caught nothing I have tried several scents and different baits with zero results. As soon as we pull them from the spread we catch fish. When I first saw them a few years back I was stoked thought they were gonna kick butt but I can't make a fish bite one so they now are in a dead lure box. I get a dirty look from the crew any time I mention fishing them again.

I guess from my point most of the talk was it was going to be less then other setups not just less than the most expensive one. Kinda like being told a new SUV was coming to the market and it would be cheaper than other SUV's only to find it is actually only cheaper than a Land Rover. I am not saying it is a bad deal just that the price point is more than I would pay. But on the other hand I will likely be selling the big boat and downsizing because this sport is just way too expensive. I could eat at Red Lobster every night for less than last years total fishing budget. I admit I overspent a bit last year but with adding the AP other boat repairs slip fees boat payments gas tackle and insurance I spent close to 11 grand on big lake fishing last year and it has gotten so expensive I can't afford to fish anywhere else as it takes me most of the winter to recover so I can fish the next year. This is very likely my last season of big lake fishing on my own boat. I wish I had just kept my 18ft most days.

If you want it done right use the dowels grind the area down and re glass it then top coat with gel coat and barrier seal it. To mount the new units make a mounting board out of 1in marine ply and use 5200 to attach it to the hull then mount the new units on that board, no more holes in your hull.

It is a GT 40 and if I remember there is a copy of the manual on this site http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28870&highlight=GT40+manual

The Android platform is not a real problem since there are gazillions of Android options. Lots of cheap phones and tablets out there and many people have older ones laying around.

Waiting for the weather to warm up and reminding myself not to sell the boat and buy a jet sled for the river which I would be using now. Running out of ways to convince the wife I should keep the 26 when she knows I want a jet sled for the winter.

Looking like a X4D might be in my future after all. Or at least going to upgrade to the torpedo wire for my Depth Raider and wait till I win the lottery.

I could have spent a grand there yesterday easy. Orange sale markers on lots of needful things. 58 bucks and change on Berts Rod Holders very nice price on Talora roller rods I don't even need any and almost bought 2. 300 copper setups under 160 same setup with cheaper copper line at Dick's 219 very good price on the X4D Fish Hawk as well. Don't know which day or days I will be at the GR show Aaron but will drop by and say hello.

Actually started yesterday I got a few good deals and there are plenty to be found. Great time to get some of those copper rigs as they have 300 coppers at a great price.

When I bought my Depth Raider the only choices were the Sub Troll which looks like the tack in a 70's muscle car or the Fish Hawk with a big ugly display and a huge probe that ate batteries like snacks. The Depth Raider had a nice digital readout a small probe with great battery life. It was also way cheaper than the Fish Hawk. Since then Fish Hawk came out with a new display and probe Cannon gave up completely Moor has no changes I know of. The new Fish Hawk had no features my Depth Raider did not have so why change? The new Fish Hawk X4D offers depth but still has many limitations I don't have with my current setup. This new Smart Troll sounds like a great setup and I will check it out with interest. So while I am aware the Fish Hawk is a great unit and I am very happy they are a sponsor of one of our tournaments I can't honestly say you must buy it.

I have had a Depth Raider for going on 5 years very few issues and I still like it. I wish it read actual depth but not enough to spend what they want fro the new X4D. I also have a GT40 that I can send down to get actual depth and temp. The new Smart Troll system is very much of interest to me and if it is priced in my budget it may be on my boat this spring. It would be cool to know where all my gear is running.

I sold both of mine they were always in the way and my boat had no spot they would store in. Now I use about 20 of the clear divider boxes and all spoons are broken down into fishing programs. So we just grab the box or boxes that match the conditions we are fishing and they are also broken down by color and brand. Most days we will start with a glow program then depending on conditions swap over to a UV or color pattern that matches what we want. they best part is they all store neatly away and we are no longer tripping over the big boxes.

Everything I bought 40 years ago will still catch fish some days. However conditions have changed big time for one fish are feeding out of temp way more than they used to, the water is much clearer, As such tactics have changed a lot. While they in many ways remain the same. Salmon are still low light aggressive feeders so many days anything they can get in their mouth will get hit. We are seeing much more light colored baits with UV and more flash than color work because the distance they can be picked up on is much larger than it used to be. Couple that with much reduced bait and you find areas where anything you run correctly will get hit. And next to those areas vast waste lands of nothing. So you can watch a boat near you kill fish while you troll empty water. The other thing I see a lot of is people trying to copy other people rather than learning how to make their gear work for them. This leads to a lot of frustration as you watch some one or hear them catch fish after fish on lures you have been washing for hours. the reason is none of gear really reads the same even GPS speeds can vary from boat to boat. I know Don's GPS reads slower than mine does because he will pass me when we are running the same GPS numbers. So if he tells me 2.5 I need to run 2.6 there are also differences in our down speed he has a Fish Hawk I run a Depth Raider so even running side by side at Quote the same depth and speed we are not running the same depth and speed close perhaps but not the same. This is where learning to fish your gear comes in Because 70 down at 2.5 on my boat might be 80 down at 2.3 on yours.

I have both Alberta clippers and have used rubber bands but honestly I use free sliders most of the time. They are pretty much hassle free easy to use and catch fish. The best part is when you get a fish on the main line and a second one hits the slider.

I have the Wilderness in 8'6" MH and yes I agree too heavy Mag divers would be ok with them. The TDR's are a better rod but for the money the Wilderness rods have stacked a lot of fish in my coolers over the years and I have never broken one. Get the medium or even the ML my MH rods with a 2 color are like pool cues with eyelets. I bought a bunch of the Wilderness rods 7 years ago for 14 bucks ea and matched them with a bunch of Madga 45 reels. They were dirt cheap I have 8 of them and they all still work reels and all. However Since I started buying better gear they don't see much time in the rod holders any more.

Don I run the same group as you most days but you left off Sprint Car which has been loading the box for me for 2 years so far. Also Moonshine RV series spoons were hot for us much of the summer.

4 years plus on mine but they stay in the cabin so not exposed to sunlight. Steve has not changed the braid on his as long as I have known him which is over 8 years.

A few years back I put glow tape on all my boards I could find them at any distance in calm water with my UV flashlight. Because each LED is directional it is tough to make a array that does as well as a single bright bulb. Also there is a safety factor built into them so that they never operate at full output. Many of the lights are rated for 10 to 50 vdc input you can bet they are much brighter at higher voltages. mine are bright at 13.6 they are blinding at 27.2 and are rated for 10 to 50. One of my secondary projects has been to build a set of UV lights for my lure storage so I can glow all my lures at once if I choose. I have a lure board under my port gunnel with a black light above it and it is cool at night to have a full rack of lures glowing in it. However the black light kept failing so i gave up on it a few years back. However if you want to see try a set of these http://store.arbusa.com/ARB-Intensity-LED-Driving-Lights-Spot-Beam-AR32S-P22767.aspx a bit pricey but no one will follow you at night LOL.

Actually none of the work lamp, spreader LED's have long throws. My Halogens would throw 2 times as far as my LED's. That is due to the design my LED's however do a much better job of lighting the back of the boat and use 80% less current to do it. You can however buy LED driving lights that will shine as far or further than your halogens. But inside the boat they will be a small beam like little flashlight. I have considered putting a set of the LED driving lights on the sides to see the planer boards at night.

The difference between the 1000 and 2000 is mostly how much force it uses to move the tiller. I have never tried one but did read the manual and rudder response is supposed to be adjustable and the unit should learn to drive your boat. However it will be a wild ride while it learns at times. The hard over time on the 2000 is faster than the 1000 so that could be a issue when teaching it to drive your boat. One other thing is if you look at how they are installed on most sail boats they can't turn the rudder as far as they will on a shorter linkage with your motor. If your kicker is on a bracket and has remote options you might want to consider running a steering cable to the kicker and using a ST1000 to drive the cable this would make the operation nicer. Or you could mount it on the kicker and run the Sea Talk to the dash with a remote control and network your GPS plotter as well. The next step up would be the SPX5 Tiller pilot which would be closer to the Garmin unit for about half the money. Without knowing what your kicker is and how it is mounted it is tough to guess what will actually work.