Paulywood

I use Convector's exclusively for my leadcore reels. As Jim said the handles and retrieve ratio are much better than the Daiwa's for core. I had 2 Daiwa Sealines for my wire divers and was happy with them, especially after I upgraded to the power handles. I recently replaced those with Tekota's but haven't had a chance to use them yet. I also use Convectors on my rigger rods and braid dipsey's and haven't had any problems. I'm not a charter captain but fish 15-20 trips per year and have had no issues with the Okuma's. I use the Magda's for walleye but don't really trust them for salmon. To me it is about matching the reel to the application, much like a tool. I am willing to spend more for diver reels because they have a lot more pressure on them and the drags need to be able to handle big runs. I don't feel that you need nearly as stout of a drag on core as fish don't seem to make runs like they do on a wire diver. And walleye don't really fight at all so I just want a reel with a linecounter. I try to find the right tool for the job.

Steve, these outings are at different ports every month. There is a list of them in the Outings Forum. Check it out here:http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16709

Yeah, I like walleye cheeks but have never had a salmon cheek! Marty's knee was actually better than he thought it would be. It was a great night out on the water, hopefully we'll catch a few more fish next time.

I am assuming this is a shoot-thru hull transducer? I'm not sure what they use to embed it. Does it come with instructions? Or maybe you can find a manual online.

The cheek was released as it wasn't long enough.

It depends, if you plan on slipping it then the bottom should be sealed to prevent water from penetrating the fiberglass. This can cause blisters. If you plan on trailering than I wouldn't worry about it. Interlux is what most people seem to use. It's not cheap. As far as doing it yourself, it depends. A lot of people recommend having it done professionally the first time. After that you can just repaint. But it's best to take the boat off the trailer.

Once the season starts not many people chat. More of an offseason thing.

Ever have one of those days where you should have just stayed home? Well, that was yesterday for us. Marty (ratchet) asked me to ride along so he could test out his new knee fishing on his boat. We originally planned on going sunday morning but canceled due to the fog. Headed over yesterday and hit the water about 4 pm. Ran out to 150' and set up on a NW troll. Trolled all the way out to 225' looking for some colder water but never found it. Heard a few guys on the radio who were getting some fish in 150-180' so we pulled lines and ran back in to 180' and set back up. When we pulled lines we found a salmon cheek on the hook of a Killer Tangerine on a half core. I guess that's close to a hit. Talked to the Wild at Heart guys and Sea-Mac who tried to help us out, thanks for the info guys. We started in 180' on a southeast troll and worked our way about 5 miles south of Pt. Sheldon without a bump. Turned and went back northeast and finally took a hit on a full core with a Moonshine NBK spoon. Got off. Pulled it in and it had broke off. Retied and kept going. In 155' a wire dipsey on 3 out 175' fired with a green SD/green fly. Marty got it into 85' when a mag dipsey out 150' on braid w/ a blue/chrome SD and blue fly went. I grabbed that rod while Marty got his fish close. Then I let the rod holder fight it while I netted the first fish. Marty grabbed the second rod and fought that one all the way to the back of the boat where it got off. And that was it. Trolled NE until almost 10pm without a bump. Got on the road and hoped to be back to Marty's by midnight. But between Ionia and Portland we blew a tire on the trailer. Got it changed and made it to Marty's by 1am. I cleaned our 4 lb catch and got to bed about 2am. At least the weather was nice,

Toward the end of the day guys found colder water out in 200' and there were more fish out there.

He fished with Jarrod in the Nee Hi

We fished this morning also. Launched and headed into Pigeon Lake only to find out that all of my waypoints and tracks were deleted when I changed to the new chip in my GPs this year. Plus no depth readings for Pigeon Lake. So after running into the muck once we finally got out to Lake Michigan to find 10' visibility. Called on the radio and found out it was foggy out deep. Set up just south of the pier head in 30' and headed northwest, or so. After a few boats did circles around us in the fog on plane and I gave my horn a good workout we finally got 6 rods set in 100' and had a hit on a Polish Blue Dolphin 60' on a rigger that the 31 year old rookie on board promptly released. Looked like a nice fish jumping behind the boat. After that he settled down and landed a nice king on a dipsey with a Moonshine Shelley Snack out 125' on 3. Steve landed a small king on a Northern King Purple Thunder 40' down on a rigger. And I think we caught one on the PBD. Then the other rookie got up and 7 year old Hunter showed us all how it's done. After a failed attempt off the rigger with the Purple Thunder he faught and landed his first king, a nice 5# scrapper off a dipsey out 150' on 3 with a Frog/Chrome Spinny and blue fly. A while later Brian landed a monster 13"er that rounded out our box. We had to head in early for a bathroom break but had a great time with a great crew. Thanks for going along Steve, Hunter and Brian. Best depth for us was 115-140'. Sounded like there was cooler water out past 200'.

40-50' of 20# flouro for me.

3.4 miles out of Pt. Sheldon today got us 100' of water.

Good job Paul! Nice looking steelie there.

You can see land out over 11 miles. 100' in Holland is probably 4-5 miles. I can check for you tomorrow.

Good job and thanks for the report, we'll be fishing out of PS tomorrow morning.

Good job guys! We'll be out of Pt. Sheldon tomorrow morning for the WMFL event.

Good job on the fish Tim and son!

Here's your pics: And here's a tutorial on how to post them in the future: http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219 Great job on the fish!

I don't know what FLIR is. Last I heard Garmin had made an offer, this was in the last month. I just talked to a rep at Raymarine and they said to send it in and they would either fix or replace it. She also said that they wouldn't be shipping any of the new X-5 units until fall.

I talked to the guys at Boat Services in Holland who were very helpful. They said it was probably never sent in for the recall on the clutch from last year. So I have to send it in to be serviced. Hopefully I can get it back soon.

I hooked up the new X-5 and used it saturday. After a few hours it started sounding a little rough so I shut it down. Finally got a chance to check it today and it sounds like the bearings are bad. I double checked all my torque specs and everything was right so I'm not sure what happened. After checking the Raymarine website it said I could take it to a service center. Has anyone done this or does it have to be sent in? I plan on calling around tomorrow but everything was closed tonight by the time I got in the house.

It was hooked up on saturday but after a few hours it sounded a little rough so I shut it down. Checked it today and it sounds like the bearings are bad. I'll have to figure out where to get it fixed tomorrow.

Good job Ken, I've heard those Atlantics are fun!

I alway struggled with it until I started using the mouth. All white mouth, steelhead. White mouth, black gums, coho. All black mouth, king. Now, sometimes when you first take them out of the water they can trick you, especially in the cold water in the spring. But after they have been in the box for a while the mouth will usually darken if they are a king or coho.