Billy V

I'm "over-stimulated" now! LMAO! I need to go fishing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing.

They run about the same. They're a bit wider than the Jr. Thunderstick but they dive to about the same depths. Awesome lures!

Depending on the size of the reel you'll be putting the core on and how much core you'll be putting on it you can run either mono or braid backer. For my two color core I run 30# mono then tie the mono to the core with an Albright knot, then another Albright knot to attach 20' of leader material to the other end of the core. I've always tied the Albright knot on my core set-ups but lots of guys use the Willis knot with lots of success too. For longer core lengths I use 30# Power Pro as backer cuz it takes up less room than mono does.

They definitely catch fish. But then again so do our Spin Dr.'s w/out the chip. Some days the Spinnys are hot, other days it's the 'chips. So we keep a bunch of both of 'em on board and let the fish tell us what they want.

I've owned both soft and hard top boats and after finally getting a hard-top after years of soft-tops I'll never go back to a soft-top. Hard-tops are warmer in the spring and cooler in the hot summer sun than a soft-top, plus they don't leak when it rains like a soft-top will over time. Plus you don't have to replace canvas on a hard-top like you do periodically on a soft-top. Another benefit of hard-tops is the option of mounting your electronics to the top and freeing up all kinds of dashboard space. One major benefit to a soft-top is being able to drop the top and cruise with the wind in your hair.....

Lots of interest in this but no takers yet....

Thanks Paul! Always room for a few more spoons on my boat!

Woodschurch, You hit the nail right on the head. Most of us are pretty passionate about our downriggers of choice. In 20 years of running Cannon downriggers I've only had one issue that required anything other than minor service. I had a PC board fail on a Mag 10 and Cannon had it repaired and back in my hands in less than a week at no cost to me. Needless to say I was quite pleased with the service that I received from them on that issue. Other than that my Cannons have served me well and I fully expect the same from my new Mag20 DT/TS riggers. As far as Humminbird's Side Imaging goes, I can't comment on it since I don't run it, but if you want an unbiased resource on it, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sideimaging/. There are over 5000 members of this Yahoo usergroup, which is not affiliated with Humminbird. All they talk about on the site is Side Imaging. There's lots of good info there. At the end of the day after we've all expressed our opinions, the truth of the matter is that all of the manufacturers named in this thread make fine downriggers that will work well for you. Best of luck and let us know what you decide to do.

Troy, Same as mentioned on the site.

She's a beauty Nick! Congrats!! Now get her rigged and get some fish blood on the deck!

Speaking of Goby patterns, I just got these from DW today:

I just had these two colors from DW show up at the house. They're really nice looking spoons and I think they're gonna be a sure-fire winner. We'll run them and see how it goes! About the only place you can find them online is http://www.greatlakestackleshop.com

SOLD SOLD SOLD I have a one-year-old Furuno 585 for sale. The unit is in excellent condition and comes with the original box & paperwork, screen cover, power cord, original mounting bracket, optional RAM overhead mount for mounting it to your hardtop, and a 600w bronze thru-hull 'ducer (model 525ST-MSD with speed, temp, and sonar). Buyer will also get the high-speed fairing block that we used on my boat although it might not fit your boat unless you have the same deadrise. $1,300 Buyer to pay all shipping costs or pick the unit up in Ithaca, NY. Call me at (607)592-9012 or email me at [email protected] to discuss. Here's a picture of it as we had it mounted on my hardtop last spring: The new Furuno FCV585 is ideal for all recreational or light commercial fishing use, boasting a high performance, dual frequency (50/200kHz) color digital echo sounder with 600 or 1000 watts of output power. The digital filter that Furuno uses helps adjust gain, STC and output power, and suppresses main bang (echoes just below the transducer) so that the fish echoes can be easily observed. This new technology improves performance in both shallow and deep water. The Furuno FCV585 is waterproof and has a 256 color, 8.4†sunlight viewable LCD display with an incredible 640 x 480 resolution. It features several operation modes including single frequency, dual frequency, zoom, bottom lock, A-scope, marker zoom and more. The 585 also uses Furuno's FDF technolody to identify the transducers wattage capacity and adjust its output power to match. Other features include NMEA interface, quick release swivel mount, rotary knobs for gain and mode, fishing and cruising auto modes, and more. Unit measures 9.2â€H x 9.2â€W x 4.3â€D.

Cannons here too. We'll be running Mag20 TS's with the killer new rod holders this year. 250fpm is the fastest rigger on the market.

OK, not a fishing report but an ice-out report. The bay is 95% open, with the only spot still being iced-in down in the far southeast corner of the bay and in front of Anchor Resort. Bayside was ice-free. With the warm rain we got today I'd expect the bay to be completely open any day now. I didn't make it over to the State launch today but I'd fully expect that to be ice-free too.

It might not make a lot of sense to troll with goby like lures but I can assure you that trolling with them definitely WORKS, especially in tight in the spring! Goby patterned spoons & sticks were easily one of our most productive patterns last spring.

We run 10lb Berkley Big Game and then tie on a 20' section of 10lb Berkley Professional Fluorocarbon for browns. Works great and it'll even take a King now and again:

I was sitting at the kitchen table tonight tying trolling fly harnesses and I was curious how you guys rig yours? I tie all my own up and I typically use 50Lb Ande mono and red VMC vanadium hooks: Last night I tied some up using some 55lb Seaguar Fluorocarbon that we got at a tournament somewhere along the line. It wasn't as stiff as the Ande but it was easier to snell. If you tie your own, what line & hooks do you use?

Nice!!!

Here's the link to Dave's lures: http://www.daveslures.com/ Note that they're not affiliated with Storm Lures any more. We've been running the shallow KA-BOOM's for several years now and really like them a lot.

Nice fish!! We might get back out again this afternoon, will report here is we do.

I took my boy William down to the South end tonight and we chucked some Cleo's and came home with nary a bite...but we still had fun! William was more than happy to just work on his casting. Water was slightly stained and looks like it has come up quite a bit in the past few days. There was no ice to speak of where we were. Here's a couple of pics:

Nice looking ride Scott! Congrats!

The Uber-Shark!