Gator

Who needs rod workouts when you have those Daiwa Saltist Linecounters to make a man out of you? You should have seen the bruise on my forearm the night I ran solo and fought five kings to the boat! Best two hours of fishing I've had this year, but it left a black and blue mark the size and exact shape of the linecounter on my left arm. Ten foot or seven foot rod, wouldn't have mattered...it would still suck Best reel I've ever owned John, I took your advice and contacted Roger regarding the lathe, and he's setting me up. You the man!

We never got into fish out West this Spring. Our experience at Sandy was that the "normal" July flurry never materialized and IMHO August was okay at best. Now it seems that the skunk has hit up and down the lake. I keep thinking (and reading) about weather patterns and staging and wind, but...what if there's just not as many fish? Does anyone have the stocking numbers from 4 years ago? Was there something strange going on that year, like higher water temperatures in the creek during the pen-rearing? I seem to recall that the salmon were only kept in the pens a very, very short time one year. I know that we had an exceptional year last year, but this seems more to me than merely a reversion to normal. I'm just throwing it out there for discussion.

Which Batson blank are you building on for Dipsys? I have a couple downrigger rods, but they're obviously not suitable. Thanks!

So, do you guys strip-set on the fish? Whoops, I forgot they're not tarpon...though with the mouths these kings get in the fall, they may as well be. Seriously, though, that's some good information. I'd run 7' diver rods if they cleared the riggers a bit more easily. What are the 7' rods you have in your photo, Miss em? Any issue with false releases running Dipsys in high following seas? John, you make a good point regarding diver blanks, but it seems like these things are constantly evolving, so there's hope.

I hear you guys on the whole "fishing alone" thing...I was out last Sunday by myself and I ran one of my 9 1/2' rods with a wire dipsy along with a couple of riggers. Wouldn't you know that the wire rod was hot? Watching me trying to net the first of five kings was like watching two monkeys try to screw a football. I ended up dropping 3 fish, two at the boat because of rod length. We run double dipsys, but taking a page from Gambell, I think next year there will be two 8' rods for the inside divers and two 9 1/2' rods for the outside. And as mentioned above, shorter rods can be an asset in the right situation. We run 7' downrigger sticks and I love them. Finally, there's lots of rods and reels that will work, but we still have Shimano TDR rods from 20 years ago that we run sometimes (the 1802 is a favorite) and they're probably in the $30 range new, quite a bit less used. The Convector reels are fine, as well. And if you can get your hands on some of the old metal Daiwa 27 and 47 reels, they are fantastic, especially with a drag upgrade from Tuna's Reel Troubles. We may have some stuff to sell cheap in a few weeks once I get the boat sorted out. The absolutely best thing that you can do is to hitch a ride with an experienced fisherman or two and get a feel for what you like!

Not an expert by any stretch, but longer rods will help prevent your dipsy line from running across your downriggers and will also absorb some of the shock when you're trolling in big seas, preventing false releases. As you've experienced. Presentation-wise, the length of the rod is less of a factor than what the reel is spooled with (too obvious to make a joke). Mono is better suited for shallow depths, whereas 7-strand wire is generally preferred this time of year. There should be a bunch of threads with information on how to rig wire.

Only if you're running it straight down the chute and don't mind a reel that weighs more than an elephant's a@@hole. Single 300 and single 400 if you're West of Rochester, or a 500 if you're East, maybe. Personally, I like double-Ds.

Yup, that's where the pic came from...we lease land in Orleans county and routinely see some big deer out there, as well. If a few of the guys we have on trail cams from last year made it through, it could be an excellent year.

Great buck, and really distinctive! I think that somebody may have shown me a trail cam picture last year of a buck that looked like that...did you take him local?

You sure know how to take advantage of the area where you live! I love seeing the updates on walleye, crappie, ducks...it's some beautiful country up North. I make it that way once a year to duck hunt, public land unfortunately and the hunting seems to have declined lately, but it's about as pretty as you can get. I might get my 11 yr old daughter up this year, since I'm Mr. Mom the weekend season opens. She'll be just shy of being able to shoot, but loves to canoe. Keep the reports coming!