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Gator

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  1. Gator
    Yeah, speed is really important. Talk to a buddy who has down speed to figure out if there's current. Often times, you can see the current by watching your rigger lines. It takes some getting used to though. As others said, try tracking a charter boat and matching their speed. Just don't get too close and don't fish in their back pocket all morning! Perhaps the best thing you could do is to take a trip with one of those guys or invite somebody with experience to show you the ropes on your boat.
  2. Gator
    Absolutely fantastic!
  3. Gator
    You only need the tx44 boards if you're going to run long coppers.
  4. Gator
    Not to get off topic, but if anyone is interested, the latest issue of Science has a series of special articles on the health of our forests, with the primary emphasis being the influence of invasive species and changing environmental conditions. It's not Lake Ontario, but many of the problems are the same. It's unfortunate that we need to "manage" ecosystems, but when you destroy something that took millions of years to find the right balance, it's not going to right itself easily. If ever. The other thing my wife reminds me of constantly is that "Nature deals in calamities". True that. But I don't have a million years left to let Nature right the ship...
  5. Gator
    Now, I'm not one who's apt to tell people that they're overthinking things...particularly given my job...but you're overthinking this. I get what you're saying about the pinch point and in theory you're probably right, but as you say, practice trumps theory. In general, our coppers last ~4-5 years before needing to be replaced and it may just be that they're more likely to fail from other causes before that pinch point hits critical mass. It probably helps that the dive bomb gets attached at a different spot every time out. And for the record, I think both Scott and Brian should take their comedy show on the road
  6. Gator
    Twist it six times and insert the loop. Click it shut. Done. As a side note, we still run Scotty clip releases off the tail of our balls and while we've never gotten tangled, there's a 0.5 mph difference in how the Moor speed probe reads depending on whether there's a rod attached. We compensate for it, but it took a few years to figure out what was going on and why our downspeed was slower than at the surface, even without current. We thought for awhile that it was the calibration on the probe, until we actually looked at the speed after we'd taken a hit. Epiphany! Like they say, always learning or never learning. It just takes some of us longer
  7. Gator
    There's no kink where you put the dive bomb on the copper. The line goes straight through a "sheath" and is held there by a plastic pin, which is at least two inches long. The contact point is quite large. I guess you could weaken the line there, but I haven't seen it so far. We did lose a 500' copper during the Shootout because we were clipping the copper itself to a Scotty release on the boards...it kept tripping in the waves when it was on the braid. Lesson learned. We now have 4' of 80 lb mono between the backing and copper. I don't see the same kind of compression occurring with the dive bombs, nor a kink. If anybody knows differently, I'd love to hear.
  8. Gator
    All good advice. If we just want one copper, we run it down the chute with Mag Dipsys off either side. We've also run double divers with copper without any issues. As is the case with the copper, letting the diver out slowly will also help to avoid tangles. Let out 20 feet of wire, then flip the drag on and loosen it so that the diver pulls out slowly on its own. We've seen divers tangle rigger lines when they're let out too fast! The Mag divers are particularly susceptible to this. I know that the dreaded copper/wire tangle sucks, but it's avoidable by slowing down. When a fish hits, you've got to figure out which side of the copper they're on, but this is generally easy and it's more an issue with the rigger rods than the divers. Multiple coppers go onto the TX44 Church boards or the Otter boats. Make sure they're WAY out there and don't run your divers on a three setting. Keeping it to a single copper per side is safe. Oh, and tying a short length of 80 lb mono between your backing and copper will give you something to clip your release onto. Use a slim profile knot; there's lots of information on here regarding this setup. And tangles happen. We get a mess every couple of years...it's part of the game. Not much you can do when a king rips across the spread at full speed! Maybe you just got lucky, were doing everything right, but your time came early. Back on the horse!
  9. Gator
    I haven't been out as much this year as last, but my feeling mirrors Gill-T's...Rochester has been good when other places aren't and the bite has been somewhat inconsistent, but not because there aren't fish around...somewhere. We got lucky in that the Sandy Creek Shootout ended up being one of the better bites of the year and lots of boats did well. It's just that they're there one day, gone the next. I feel like the "pattern" that we've had the past ten years has been missing these past two. It used to be that the last half of July and early August were money at Sandy, then the fish disappeared, probably continuing toward the SR. I'm not sure what to think now. It's frustrating not being out as much as I'd like. Makes it tough to stay on top of changing conditions. But I think that the run will be better this year than last.
  10. Gator
    Ditto on the link not working.
  11. Gator
    I'm not sure whether I should be bothered or flattered that I have a pair of sweatpants that you "like" See ya out there in the morning!
  12. Gator
    Short evening trip. The temperature was deep and got deeper as we went east. At one point I had 71 degrees with 150 feet of (coated) cable out on the probe rigger. Our hits came in 150 fow down 135 on the riggers and 210 on the mag divers. The lakers liked the crush glow spin doctor and the kings liked the 42 second version and a raspberry taped NK mag on the wire. The kings were teenagers. Oh, and there's lots of current...
  13. Gator
    There's something to be said about consistency... hats off to you and your team!
  14. Gator
    A horseshoe in the lower part of the digestive tract doesn't hurt, either...
  15. Gator
    You can tighten your line like a guitar string and flick them off, but be careful how you flick them. You'll end up eating them, whether you want to or not. For the record, they taste more like chicken than shrimp
  16. Gator
    The tractor is a great idea and I'd do it, too, if I didn't already have one sitting out there. The problem? It's a New Holland DC55 and it's too big to use on all the trails, particularly if I don't want to tear them up. The guy who owned the land prior to me did a bunch of clearing with it and I bought it off him with the land. My management style is somewhat different, though. At some point, the tractor will be great for food plots and such. The kind of tow behind that I'm leaning toward is a rough cut Swisher or Kunz. Should be fine, I think, since it's what they're made for...and most of my trails are grass; they've been in place for 40 years. Still, you have a point. Maybe I should just trade in the big tractor and buy a smaller one. It's a thought.
  17. Gator
    Hey Nick, Congrats on your success! We finished just below you at 9th and we were glad to be in it. Lots of good boats out there. I really want to read Steve W.'s story on his 2nd place finish, just a pound less than Jerry, I know he has a good story to tell We donated a 500' copper rig to the fish gods... Gator
  18. Gator
    You guys are killing me! Anybody got a pull behind I can test drive? I'm probably opening myself up here
  19. Gator
    Hi Guys, This isn't strictly fishing related, but I'm hoping somebody on the board can help me out. We purchased some land this year near Brockport that has an extensive system of grass trails. I'd like to try out a tow-behind mower like a Swisher or Kunz prior to purchasing one to pull behind my Grizzly 700. Currently, I'm mowing with an old Craftsman LT1000, and it works but it takes >3 hours...and even though they're grass trails, they're still trails and I worry about hitting something on a "normal" mower. I'd be happy to take somebody out of Sandy on Nothing but Net in exchange for an opportunity to try out their tow-behind mower. Also, I'm open to suggestions as to other options. I've mulled over a zero-turn, but speedier is bumpier which isn't necessarily better on these trails. Thanks to all for their advice! Keith
  20. Gator
    Ditto!
  21. Gator

    I-Bay 7/21

    Gator replied to bosco's topic in Walleye

    Awesome! We should hook up one of these nights.
  22. Gator
    Tuna's Reel Troubles 78 N Nelson Rd, Ludington, MI 49431 (231) 907-0052
  23. Gator
    Seems like that new boat is treating you okay, Rob!
  24. Gator
    I don't, but Mudhole sells butt caps in many dimensions. Their shipping is outrageous from the website, but they also sell on eBay and if you call them, they will generally cut you a break. I think that the new Talora butts are designed to be removable, so I'm surprised that the gimbal would need protecting. FYI, if the rods are okay in the holders without an eva cap, Cush-It makes a foam butt that is too large to fit into a rod holder, but is great when fighting a fish. We keep a couple of them scattered through the boat and just shove them onto the gimbal when a fish hits. Just another option...
  25. Gator
    We went 0/1 last night on a three hour tour. Crap temps everywhere and a strange inversion from 140-180, where it was 2 degrees warmer on the surface than inside or outside, but 2 degrees colder down 40'. Go figure. Out again Sunday.
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