Billy V

Merry Christmas everyone!

I'm not saying that the Stinger isn't a good producer. My point was just that with Northern King being made in Rochester that it tends to dominate the market here, hence the fact that Stingers aren't mentioned here as much as NK's. Stingers are made in Michigan and they tend to dominate the market in the western great lakes. I wasn't trying to plug NK, just stating what I've seen in most tackle boxes around here. I agree with L&M, best to have what's hot in your box rahter than limit yourself to one single manufacturer.

Lake Ontario tends to be a Northern King lake. Lots of guys are starting to use Stingers, but I knoiw quite a few guys out there are very anti-Stinger.

Has anybody looked at the Daiwa Sealine 450H? It's not a level-wind, but it does have a slightly better gear-ratio than the Penn. I'm looking at getting a copper rig myself next year and have wondered if I need a level-wind or not.

I think it's "bunk" as an attractant. To neutralize an electrical problem with your boat...that theory I might subscribe to....

Nope, no backing at all. As far as the snow goes....i'm REALLY bummed with this weather. We're still open at Greek Peak, but barely. I'll be there all weekend leading clinics for new-hires and returning instructors. I skied in VT a couple of weeks ago, but that's it so far. Prolly gonna make a run out West over the winter...maybe Snowbird & Alta.

I'd recommend 1000' of wire with no backing. I've been doing this on my Daiwa SG47LCA's for several years without so much as a single problem. I put a single wrap of electrical tape on the spool to keep the wire from slipping, then spool all 1000' up as TIGHTLY as you can get it. Spooling it up loosely is a recipe for disaster. No backing required. The line I use is from McMaster Carr. Seven strand stainless. You can find it here: http://www.mcmaster.com/ Type in product #3458T11. Maniac showed me this line a few years ago, and I've stuck with it because it just works, plus it's a bit less expensive to buy it this way than it is to buy it from the tackle shop. As far as the knot goes, it's real simple: pic 1 doubled line through eye of swivel, this gets half hitched to the eye pic 2 complete half hitch pic 3 overhand knot in tag and main line pic 4 completed knot Photos from Tim Brommund. As far as when to replace the wire line goes...if you run your fingers over the line and there are kinks in it, cut that section out right away. It'll break off at the kink the next time you get a big fish on if you don't. The line will get all pig-tailed at the end, but as long as there aren't any kinks, it'll be fine. I keep a lot of tension on the line when I'm handling it to avoid the kinks. If you take tension off of it, you're just asking for problems. Hope this helps.

Another day that started at 7am and ended at 9pm...yuck! I'm in Clearwater now, and plan to get up early tomorrow morning to go down to the bay and at least look at a few boats before my 10am meeting. I'll be back home tomorrow night....can't wait!

I'm sitting outside by the pool in a hotel in Ocala, FL.... no boats, no fish....today was spent traveling and in meetings....tomorrow is filled with meetings, then off to Tampa....for MORE meetings. Maybe I can swing a trip down to the water to at least look at a boat or two!! Sheesh! :roll: :roll: :roll: Guess this is the price I have to pay to be able to chase after Kings all summer...and to think I was skiing all day yesterday and today I'm sitting outside in 80 degree weather! At least there are a few girls in bikins across the way......

Nice job Jeremy. Congrats!!

Yep, the Heartland is the dipsy rod I'd recommend too. 9'6" for me. I don't replace the tips with twilly's until they need to be replaced. I ran two new Heartland's all of last season with the stock tips on them, and there was very little wear. I'll probably run them stock again this year. Great buy for the money. Bill

Sure thing Erin!

I'm gonna shoot upa bunch in orange, green, yellow, and purple for the spring!!!

Here's my Wobbler:

Well, there are SOME secrets here! The secret weapons I told you about Erbyjoe are something I painted up last fall that went berserk for me late in the season. There are only four in existence, and they're all in my tackle box! Shoot, I don't even know what I was calling them!

I might get started painting again this weekend after skiing. I have a few new ideas I want to mess around with.

Nope, no split rings. Green and orange wobblers...no problem! You got it buddy!

A: When taking GOOD photos, which is something you don't seem to be able to do, you take the line OFF the lure so it's not in the middle of the picture. B: That's EXACTLY where the hook was in the fish. C: Maybe you haven't paid attention when you've been running my spoons, but there's NEVER a split ring on the top. Rookies................. :roll: :roll:

Alright...I've been in Chicago all week and haven't been near my computer much lately....so I'm off to a slow start with the new board. I logged on to the site this morning, and this was the first post I've read....leave it to Yankee to start something while I'm away and unable to defend myself!! I think this pic pretty much sums up how good the Habanero is:

Purple was about thrid or fourth on my depth chart thsi year behind green, white, and black. Couldn't get it to go consistently this season.

The boat is currently being stored in a barn, and is available to be seen if you are interested. This is a 1988 Penn Yan 242 Challenger. She is in EXCELLENT condition and has been professionally maintained with an open checkbook. I've seen a lot of boats over the years, and I promise that you won't find a nicer boat given the year. I'm the second owner. She's been stored covered indoors each off season in the 5 years that I’ve owned her. The first owner kept her in a covered boat house in Henderson Harbor all year long, so she never saw the sun for more than a few hours each season. This boat has been pampered and it shows. A proven fish catching machine, she's fully ready to fish. Just gas her up and go. Here's a list of what she comes with: 2003 Load-Rite tandem axle trailer w/ surge breaks 265 HP OMC King Cobra stern drive (Chevy 350 block w/ approx. 1200 original hours) Professionally re-built heads in 2004 Outdrive professionally re-built in 2004 Lowrance X-105C DF fishfinder - 2005 New dual frequency transducer - July 2006 Uniden VHF radio - 2006 Ritchie Angler compass - 2005 Moor Sub-Troll 900 - 2005 180 Watt AM/FM/CD stereo - 2006 4 Cannon Mag 10 downriggers w/ swivel bases Planer reels Cockpit washdown 2 In-floor fish boxes 5 stainless steel flush mounted rod holders - 2005 Tite-lok adjustable rod holders - 2005 Dual batteries w/ switch Trim tabs Bottom painted spring 2006 Good Automatic Windlass Stand-up canvas w/ full drop curtains Windows replaced in canvas 2005 2 back to back fold down seats Bait livewell on transom Bolsters, seats, and cushions are all original and in excellent condition $20,000 Please email me at [email protected] for lots more pictures or additional information. 607-257-1804 Bill

Steve, Mark, Hank, Thank you for all the time and effort you guys put into hosting and maintaining this forum. I'm so glad you're finally back up and running. Bill