IRISH56

HF - another strong recommendation for the Depth Raider - no complaints and/or issues. As far as the necessity of having a speed/temp unit is concerned there are a couple of trains of thought. Some guys use the blowback on the rigger cable, bend in the dipsy rod and a thumper rod (if you're running one) to gauge speed, some guys just adjust speed until they start catching fish, some use GPS or fishfinder speed and some use a speed/temp unit at the ball. Personally I think speed and temp are critical to catching fish consistently and trying to judge speed 100' below the surface is pretty tough unless you've got a lot of hours on the water watching blowback etc.. It's especially critical if you have strong underwater currents. Hope this helps. DAN

Nice going on the gear. Especially thought the thong was a nice touch I only spent a little cash ... too close to fishing season. DAN BTW - thanks for the $10.00 coupon - very much appreciated.

NAME: Dan Murphy BOAT: 17' Trophy Dual Console w/90hp Merc RESIDE: Freeville NY area (between Ithaca & Cortland) FAMILY: Kathleen (wife), daughter's Caelan (5) & Maggie (2) & soon to arrive daughter/son ????? I fish mainly Cayuga L. with my boat but am gearing up for a bigger boat and the bigger lake - some day . Numerous trips every year to the west end with my brother who fishes out of Wilson NY.

Splitshot - thanks for keeping us up to date. How ya doin' by the way?? I won't be slipping the boat @ Myers this year, had to cut costs somewhere - new house & new kid on the way :shock: I happen to have that weekend off so hopefully I'll get to fish. Hope to meet up with you this year, c'mon spring!!!! DAN

Thanks guys. Last spring most of my days out were running gin clear & cold water & rough going, fish wise! Ray - yeah I brush up on their "Springtime Brown Tactics" every year :!: You're good to go in Fall Creek until you get close to CU, if you shoot the rapids underneath a big stone bridge into a big 'ol pond (aka Beebe Lake) you won't make the next set of rapids .... there about 150' straight down. DAN

Didn't look right having no posts at all here so .... Even though I'm not that new to the game my early season brown fishing has been rather unproductive. 3 anglers on a 17'er ... what would you run for early season browns?? Thanks. DAN

RK - I'm actually in the suburbs of Freeville Freeville is a couple of miles off RT 13 but Fall Creek (if that's what you're referring to) runs through it. Fishing is so so but gets better the closer you get to the headwaters (L. Como). Canoeing is popular in the summer, kayaking is very popular from the Lwr. Creek RD bridge over RT 13 (just south of NYSEG) down to Cornell. It practically runs through my backyard and is mostly put & take trout. DAN

That's exactly why I don't ski - if god had intended us to go flying down a mountain in the middle of winter he'd have given us bigger feet. Where does Billy get all those cool emoticons??????? :?: DAN

Man you guys are quick :shock: I will have to admit to going through a little withdrawl though. Board looks great. DAN

Not quite as old as Spoonfed-1's but my Sunbrella top is still in great shape after about 5 years. It's forest green and doesn't show any fading at all and is still very tight. Last year I had the boat slipped so it was up pretty much all spring & summer. Sitting at home it was up most of the time as well come to think of it - good stuff, well worth the $$$$. DAN

Some guys like rollers and they seem to work just fine. Wire is really not as abrasive as you would think, I thought the same thing until I fished a while with standard rods w/twilli tips - no problemo. I use both the Daiwa's and the Okuma's and like them both. I use the Okuma Classic Pro rods though. DAN

Do yourself a favor and get the book "Precision Trolling: Big Water Edition". The book has dive curves for all the different divers using braided line, wire and mono. This will give you a good starting point when trying to figure out what amount of line to let out for your target depth at what setting and speed. Watch your drag also - you want the drag to be set just beyond the point of creeping when the rig is set. If the drag creeps a little when you hit a bigger wave or every few minutes you're in good shape. As far as rod holders - depends on how much $$$ you want to spend. I've been using Tite Lok's for quite a few years with no issues. DAN

Alright - I'll chime in for the Nissan Titan. 4wd w/the tow pkg. rates it to pull 9000 lbs. Took the boat on family vacation to Schroon L. in the adirondacks last year and the Titan pulled the boat through the mountains without a hiccup, passing just about everyone the whole way (Dodge's and Ford's mostly ) Like the new Silverado's though - probably be going back to Chevy in a few years. DAN

Boy that kid can fish Great pic!! DAN

PMjasper - if you're headed to the western end of Lake O. then the Niagara Bar is the place you want to fish lakers. I fish Cayuga L. pretty steadily during the year and we mostly target lakers, they are by far the dominant species, and you can catch a lot of fish and some real beauties. The Niagara Bar holds a ton of lakers with some real monsters. A few years back when my brother had a smaller boat we would head in to 20 - 40 fow when it got too rough off shore (I should add in the spring). We had multiple 20 - 30 fish days targeting lakers. DAN

No other cops on the board??? 13 yrs. policing the mean streets of Cornell University. DAN

Man I can't come close to competing with you guys, but I'm gettin' there: Riggers - 2 Planers - 3 Wire - 1 Braid Diver - 1 Soon to be added: 10 Color Lead - 1 2 Color Lead - 1 Planer - 2 Rigger - 1 More fly rod/reels then I care to count and figure how much $$$ I have invested in (used to be a hard core fly fisherman) Spin combos - 2 Barbie combo's - 2 (w/another one likely in June :shock: ) DAN

Looks like a great big lake boat Rocket launchers, rod holders and riggers and she'll be all set. I'd be real leary about the salt though, especially if it's been slipped in salt or brackish water. DAN

You can price one out with options on the web site ... www.trophyfishing.com. I'm guessing 50k or better. DAN

OK - the boat's nice too DAN

Ahhhh - we can all dream DAN

Motocross - For what it's worth to you, my brother has an '03 (I think) 2352 w/the factory hardtop and Pro Package. It is a great boat to fish from and has handled some pretty rough seas, mechanically no problems. I have an '01 Trophy 17' dual console (prior to the Bayliner/Trophy split) that I really like. I fish Cayuga L. and occasionally Lake O. in the spring with it and it fishes much better than I expected for a 17 footer. The Trophy line took a lot of hits before the split from Bayliner but I've been nothing but impressed w/both boats. When I trade up for a bigger boat I'll probably stick with a Trophy. DAN

Good point Clark - no matter what Joe Canz. says about you you're on the ball DAN

Classic Rock w/some newer rock mixed in - country music NOT allowed on my boat uuuuuuuugh!!!! Crowing about the dog dying and the "old lady" leavin' how do you listen to that all day :shock: :shock: I'm not even gonna comment on rap :roll: :roll: :shock: As much as I hate bluegrass though we started slammin' fish whenever one of those CD's got thrown in No wonder we don't catch any browns in the spring!! DAN

Black's at the ball with Scotty Powergrip stackers although I've found I just don't use stackers much anymore. The Black's releases are consistent - once you get the tension down where you want it you really never have to worry about it. Started out with Walker pinch pads (hated them) and used Cannon pinch pads on my brothers' boat until I convinced him to switch to the Black's. Like the Scotty's as stackers though!! DAN