salmonquest

I have to agree with the previous posts. I don't get out enough so I try to watch the weather and temp. patterns on the net a few days before I go out. I also try to study depth charts and bottom contours and relate that to the predominate weather patterns. If the wind is on shore I go deep; off shore I look shallow. I like to think of it more like hunting (ala Dan Keating). I'll go to the most promising area first but I like to see something on the graph before I drop lines. Morning are tough though because it seems like you have to find them fast since the premium time is probably fading not approaching such as in the afternoon.

Yes actually we trolled out from the coast guard dock and past ther green bouy that marks the shipping channel.

Got out for the first time this year. It was great to be back out on the water. Went 5/5 with 1 coho and 4 lakers. They were in 60-80 fow 50' down. On cowbells, spinnies with flies, and evil alewife.

I was thinking of upgrading the swivels on my leaders to spro or sampo's. Not too thrilled about the price. Does anyone tie their leaders with a swivel on one end and a loop on the other. It would cut down on the number of swivels needed but would one quality swivel reduce line twist enough?

thinking back to my recent post I was thinking..... what has been some of your most embarassing or duh moments while fishing or boating. It should lend itself for some interesting reading and maybe some lessons learned. I'll start. When I first started trolling I would rig while my dad drove. I had a routine of hooking up the leaders for flashers and fly and then attatching it to the dipsy and kind of tossing the dipsy out away from the boat to clear the downrigger cable well one morning in my sleep deprived, but excited state I was having some problems untangling a few leaders so I was in a rush and hooked the leader I made from the fly to the flasher, then hooked the flasher to the dipsy forgot to put on a snubber unhooked the flasher hooked the snubber and re hooked the flasher to the dipsy I let out the fly over the side then the flasher making sure it was running well after all that prep I then chucked in the dipsy only to watch the whole rig drift down and away out of site. Forgot to hook the line to the pole up. yep there goes $30 the hard way. I just kept watching it sink not beleiving my eyes. It even took me a minute to figure out what went wrong...

Thanks for the tips guys.

Yeah there were a few times on my motorcycle when I would start it up and finally get to a stretch where I could open it up a little only to have it bog down and realize I had the gas still shut off. anyway I was laughing out loud about the planer boards.

Wow talk about one of those duh things.....I don't hate myself but I'm not sure I'll respect myself in the morning Yep like I've said never tried to hook one up just trying to help a friend.

A friend of mine has planer boards to use off of a mast. I have never used this type of set up before. I have looked at some sites and I think I understand everything except this. How do you connect your clip to the planer board line in a way that doesn't allow them to slide? I notice most of the clips have a release on one end and a metal ring on the other end that clips on to the planer board line. Won't this slide them all together out near the planer board?

Wow that is a scary thing Thank god everyone made it.

I don't walleye fish that often but I'm trying to set up two rods for jigging walleye and maybe also running some harnesses. To be honest I was hoping to use the same rods for some pike fishing. I was thinking of going with mono backing and use fireline and maybe flourocarbon leaders?? I was wondering what lb test most people use. I thought 6lb would be a good compromise for both walleye and pike. Also how much should I spool up?

This is going to seem incomplete but we run a Garmin Fishfinder. It is similar to the 340 C but I'm not sure the model 3. It is very sensitive refreshes quickly and shows great detail and it's black and white. I'd love to have a color unit. We have had zero problems in three years of heavy use and being stored outside with no cover on a Center counsole. Very rugged.

I'm heading up to Canada to fish Dog Lake near Missinabee. I'm looking to buy a new spinning reel for less than $100 that would handle walleye and pike. I am planning on using 6-8 lb fireline. Any recommendation of a decent reel for that application? What rod would you combine that with. I've heard the shimano spirex are nice and the Abu Garcia Cardinal 500. I don't know much about any of them so a little advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sleepy, Ebay usually has some good deals on Okuma set ups. Most are from a guy called Brett's place (sp). i got a good deal on rod and reel combos last year and they held up very well. Good luck.

I've used CD wallets to store crawler harnesses and I think they would work for Flies also. Cheap alternative and they don't tangle. If you buy the cheap plastic kind it doesn't snag so easy and if it does you can rip it out. who would have thought cheaper is better.

waddaya kiddin me that's a goodlookin craft.

Yeah I do like the the options a ht provides when it comes to gear. Last year we were looking at some 70's Tiara's sedans with the flying bridges. I almost pulled the trigger because I liked the set up so much.....Just hard to do with so old of a boat. I figured whatever I paid I'd have to double it in repairs and upgrades.....I also love the look of a center counsole with a t-top especially if you had the side curtains....That might be a great compromise.

So as I contemplate my perfect boat that I am going to buy in five years... I keep going back and forth on whether I like Hard tops or not. On one hand THe hard top seems to create more "cabin space" It's more secure more weatherproof and I'd guess more comfortable in general. ON the other hand the reason I like boatin is being out on the water. Out being the key word and I'd hate to feel trapped in doors on a nice day. After all wouldn't a canvas enclosure be enough to keep me mostly dry in any type of weather I'm likely to be out in. (maybe I"m not as die hard as I thought.) Keep in mind I'm talking 21-23ft boat. I'd like to hear your opinions on this since I don't have much personal experience with hardtops.

Last year I ran the exact same set up behind two different dipsy's one got consistently hit and the other never went off...a plain green #1 dipsy with a siggs rigs green holo combo was on fire I tried that combo on every other size and shape dipsy I had and couldn't get a hit. Same leader length, material, etc....Go figure.

What if you had a two stage rocker switch? Push it down a little and the contacts touch for the light; push it down all the way and it operates the motor.

Brian, I ended up getting a good deal on the cannon. Any thoughts on the termination end. I haven't really looked at it. Any tips on rigging it at the cannon ball?

mythbusters did a show on this and ginger seemed to work the best.

I'm going to the show in Novi this weekend.

hitman when you say shallow how shallow are you talking 15-20?? I don't expect down to 100 but what about the 40-50 range? thanks for the info.

Thanks. I've seen all of the prices and seen the testomnials and specifications. It's pretty cool. I guess I'd like to hear from someone who has actually used it for salmon or walleye in the great lakes.