fishman08

it looks a lil bit better then mine last year so i'd guess 145 150 ish beautiful buck i can see y u'd be a lil down, now go get that 10!

billybono come to champlain we can use 15 tipups already!

dewey i am also a big fan of okuma reels, for copper sections up to 500 feet i went with the clarion 553 reels.

power pro usually 50lb backing for our copper/leadcore and 30 lb with divers

it's all about preference they all work and it's not like you will catch more fish with one unit over the other. i don't want to drill any additional holes in the boat so i went with the DR and it works just fine. As for how deep each goes...who cares once you go below 150 you really don't want more than two or three riggers deeper than that or you'll be asking for tangles, so we will keep the prob up a little higher in the steelie range.

i have the hds10 and love it. The company did have a minor problem with a few of the units at first but just make sure that the unit is updated. I believe lowrance held back the hds 10 and 7's and the problems were with the smaller units that didn't get the update. As for mine i haven't had any problems with the unit, it is very reliable, it is very user friendly and i think you would be very pleased with it. As for maintenance, just unscrew the knob and bring the display in during the winter and you are good to go. As for service you will hear tons of horror stories about the company. I personally have dealt with them twice in the past, and haven't had a single problem in fact it was my fault one of the times as i dropped an older unit and cracked the screen and they fixed it for free, maybe i'm one of the lucky ones who knows. A friend of mine bought his unit through cabelas and says it's a good way to go because they will take care of the problem for you. Hope this helps

i too think they are counting on losing people due to the increase in licenses, but the spring/summer/fall season is a long one especially once the reports start coming out about people killing the fish and i bet most people will be back.

not sure how true it was but i was told that the derby went bankrupt because who ever was running it decided to use the money to buy a new truck and once he wasn't able to pay out he disappeared

good news rick...it's amazing how the body can heal its self

nice buck i was in the bath area over the weekend as well but all our bucks went undeground last weekend along with some other guys i talked to, so any buck this past weekend was a good one!

We have the hds 10 and love it. Lowrance gets a bad name from their customer service but i'd put their product against anyone elses anyday.

When looking at cowbells the verticle and the common type that goes on your line are two different animals. The verticle one's have become popular with atlantic salmon and brown fisherman especially here on lake champlain and other small inland lakes while the regular one's still rule as the best lake trout setup.

our thoughts and prayers are with you!

ditto, god bless!

Otters!

Hey guys. stating working with the slideshow program for a presentation at work and i did a small lou one as a test. I know chad usually does it so sorry chad! lol

nice fish! i'll have to make my way out there someday

supercrazy hammertime and a custom one i made from a glow blank that looks like carbon 14 spoon but with a silver ladder

scotty!

good luck, after watching the pro/am video i'm ready for spring!

rod do you fish these guys in the spring? the guys i go down to jersey tuna fishing with say the last couple springs have been amazing with atleast one 30 or 40 pounder every trip usually.

There are a lot of holes like the one you are talking about in the ausable river up near lake champlain where i live and the only time i've gotten these giants to bite are at first light or last light, they are very picky. With these big fish it's all about hitting the spot when a hatch hatches and being able to match it. hope this helps a little

i run otter boards and they aren't bolted though i used toggle bolts

This is something we made our self and it's easy to make and cheap. The reel mount is a scotty downrigger gimble mount with the plastic mounting plate tacken off that is mounted upside down bolted to the hardtop with a plastic cap on top, and the big jon reel fits perfectly on it. The pulley mount is a stainless steel base with a 1 inch stainless tube thats capped off. The pulley is mounted to the tube with a stainless steel U canvas strap holder that is bolted through the pipe.

officially on my favorites list...unfortuneately spring is oh so far away