Gator

If you decide to go with the Down East, give me a shout. I have a pair of track mounts that we used on the boat, and we universally hate them. Having the butt of the rod sticking into the cockpit is a kiss of death for your "you-know-what" when you go running for a rigger rod...they're just the right height We have both Berts and Cannon on the boat, both in the track, and I think that the vote goes to the Cannon for now. I can't speak to their durability, since the Cannons are new this year, but they are easier to move up and down with their one-handed pistol grip. The other issue that I have with the Berts is that on hard turns if the wire pulls enough, the inside rod holder can ratchet up into a vertical position on its own. Scared the crap out of us the first time it happened! Not a dealbreaker by any means, but the difference between brands when it comes to rod holders is measured in millimeters...they're all pretty good.

Wish I had the recipe. It was one of those "mixes" that I got as a present one year, I think it came from Maine. You added fresh corn, potatoes, cream and whatnot, along with smoked salmon. Got to tell you, if I could remember where it came from I'd order a bunch of it. That was the finest chowder I ever tasted.

I have frozen it vacuum sealed, and it's okay but loses some of the texture. Still, it worked fine for mixing with cream cheese and in corn/potato chowder.

Is this L. Ontario memorabilia? Was one of these the rig that Kurt used to catch the 34 lb slob? Do they come with the patented Gambler lake trout mojo? Inquiring minds want to know

Well, it wasn't the worst day ever, but it sure wasn't on fire either. We started our troll right out in front and just kept heading West in 85-105 fow. The marks got better as we made it past Devil's Nose, but a couple miles past Eagle Harbor the traffic from the Oak scared us back East. We were four-for-six with two of us on board running two divers, two riggers and a copper down the chute, pretty much all rigged with some version of white flasher/SD. Two kings, two nice steelhead and two hard rips. The temp got colder the further West we went. This may have been the last trip of the year for us, except for a brief foray to calibrate the new Raymarine X-10 autopilot that's being installed. For those in the marina, just a heads-up: Bruce told us that due to the low water, all boats have to be out by October 1st.

Wait a second? There's an option to wearing the same shirt three days in a row? I only take one pair of clothes and just burn them when I'm done. Of course, I don't get invited on many fishing trips anymore...

Tuna Tom has some instructions on his website...parts, step-by-step, etc...for at least one model reel. I think that his intent is to demonstrate that it's a complicated process, but, hey, why not give it a go, right?

Since screws are fairly inexpensive, I'll most likely try the thumb screws first and keep an eye on them to make sure they don't back out. Most of the use they'll see will be flat water, since it's for my 17' Lund (Gator's Den) rather than Nothing but Net, and if there's an issue with loosening, then I'll go the socket route. Triple S uses the socket for his mount and I know it works well for him, too...maybe I'm trying to "save a couple of seconds" lol, and probably over-thinking it to boot.

Anybody have a source for thumb screws to attach a Big Jon planer board mast to the mounting plate on the boat? I know a buddy that uses hex head bolts, but I'd rather be able to do it by hand.

Remember that you're going to need curtains for at least the front and side of any non-glass enclosed hardtop that you add (more $$$). Frankly, we have a hardtop and it makes very little difference in terms of "storage" on our Wellcraft. I do like the rod holders up top and the ability to mount our planer reels there, but I think that Great Lakes Planers makes some stand-alone arches that incorporate both of those things, and that may be a cost-effective solution at ~$1200.

I see that somebody bumped it from the top...nice run though! I finally watched the video and fell out of my chair laughing at you guys. Or maybe with you guys

Wasn't there a behemoth near 40 lbs that was caught off the Niagara maybe ten years ago? On a jig too, if I'm not mistaken. That's the only other one that I can remember (which isn't saying much...).

A couple miles West of Sandy Creek, just past Hamlin Beach State Park.

Our own Kobe Catcher is not too bad at snagging the silver fish, either His king was leading the Orleans derby for awhile, and I think it will end up 3rd or so, and he was the top amateur boat in the Sandy Creek Shootout behind Yankee, Rebel, and Trout-N-About. Not bad company to be keeping... If he ever moves up from his beloved 22' (heretofore known as "Chicken Coop"), watch out!

The CG 90 DR is the heaviest rod in the Lamiglas "Classic Glass" lineup and may be suited to pulling Dipsy Divers as well as downriggers. However, that's really a matter of preference. Mine would be to run the CG 86 MHC on the downriggers at this time of year and the CG 82 DR earlier in the year. I don't fish these rods, but have heard very good things about them as well.

The CG 90 DR is the heaviest rod in the Lamiglas "Classic Glass" lineup and may be suited to pulling Dipsy Divers as well as downriggers. However, that's really a matter of preference. Mine would be to run the CG 86 MHC on the downriggers at this time of year and the CG 82 DR earlier in the year. I don't fish these rods, but have heard very good things about them as well.

Yeah, that is the only knock on the Saltists, the position of the linecounter. I have no idea why they went to such a goofy setup when the old 47s linecounters were fine. I guess I don't notice it as much now as I did when the reels were new, and it never bothered me much to begin with, but a few weeks ago I had a bruise on my wrist and I certainly noticed it on that day. I managed to get mine for $125 from a vendor off ebay this past winter, but it was a funny thing because the vendor is one of those places that are almost always more expensive than anywhere else. They only had the cheap price for about two weeks...I think during that time a couple guys from here took advantage of the tip that I posted. I've never seen anything even close to that price since then. You won't regret buying them. We've been slowly switching over and a couple of other guys (Silver Fox and Gambler for starts) are doing the same. Don't get me wrong, I love my Tekotas too, especially since having tournament drags installed by Tuna Tom, but you shouldn't have to put a different drag system into a brand new reel, just to get it near what you consider acceptable....

I'm insured with State Farm and when stuff got ripped out of my truck they cut me a check for something like 80% of replacement value immediately, then the rest when I provided a receipt that I'd actually replaced the stuff. No complaints. Also, no experience with any other companies...

This thread is killing me You guys love to yank the chain. I saw the ad, and yeah it's kinda goofy, but who advertises stuff by saying, "Come on out and learn from a couple of guys who barely know how to tie their shoes"? In advertising, it's all about hyperbole, and you don't need to prove much in order to state that YOUR stuff is the best. I know I cringed a little, but from the sounds of it, so did the Finders Keepers guys. Oh, and TripleS has the Cliff Notes, he's just been too bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, getting up and POUNDING the salmon every day, to read them

Hey Scott, even a blind squirrel finds a nut some days... We figure that Jason was either basking in the glory of his win the day before, so he wasn't trying his hardest, or he mistakenly thought that he had to weigh in his smallest salmon rather than his largest

Wow, Mike, that's a heck of a picture!! Based on our experience on big fish Sunday, here's some advise on ice: have it on board. We weighed that fish fresh and it was 30.86 on the digital scale. However, neither Capt. Skippy nor myself were bright enough to grab ice for the cooler (you'd think we'd have learned from Saturday, right?). A couple hours later, Keith wants to get a picture of the fish...it was caught admist a Chinese fire-drill...so we weigh it again. This time it's 29.5, and there's a bunch of blood and water in the (previously dry) cooler. And it ends up 28, 14 on Tom's scale. We found out Saturday that our scale is dead nuts. So, that fish lost a pound and a half sitting in a dry cooler for six hours. Luckily, we didn't learn this the hard way and she held up, but next time there will be lots of ice. As an aside, we considered putting her in the live well filled with water...anybody know if that helps or hurts weight loss? Once again, kudos to the organizers of this quality event!

The trig would work great if the angle of the cable off the downrigger were consistent all the way to the ball and easily determined. What ends up happening is the cable arcs as it descends, and this effect is exacerbated at increased speeds (or with thicker cable, like for the Moor probe). It's tough to accurately measure the true angle, as well, especially in waves. What you do is keep going shallower until you hook the ball on the bottom...note the depth where you break off, and Bob's your uncle.

Wow, Larry...there's some real scumbags in this world. I'll echo your hope that they're stupid and put them on Craigslist. A couple years ago I had a bunch of rods grabbed from the back of my truck. Here's the kicker: three of the rods they took, they only stole either the top or bottom half. Idiots. Now the rods are of no use to anyone.

My advice: Take a trip with a charter. Watch what the captain runs and what he pays the most attention to, then decide for yourself. I don't know where you're from, but you can look at the results page from the Sandy Creek Shootout and get the names of some great captains. IMHO, a third rigger with temp/speed is invaluable given the currents on the lake and the way the thermocline moves with the wind. Not essential, but definitely a great tool. Jigging is tough because of the currents. You can do it (butterfly jigs work...there's a thread on here), but it's not as productive as trolling. As with every technique, there's a learning curve. Just get out there and fish! You'll catch some and learn on the job, then decide what you want as you figure the boat out. Even if I tell you what I would do, it might not be what works best for you, or even what you eventually decide you prefer (ie copper vs wire; 2 vs 3 riggers; boards vs down the chute). Or an autopilot, like Gambler keeps trying to convince me to purchase Good luck and have fun!

Hey Matt, It could happen!! I'm throwing around the idea of a second shootout type tournament out of Sandy, but with somewhat different rules. Still four fish, but the four fish would need to be four species: a salmon, brown, laker and a steelhead. Mix things up a bit. Obviously it's just an idea as of yet, but if there's enough interest then I may take the little I've learned the past three years watching Scott, Keith, Rob and Mike run this tournament and apply it. I'll put out feelers this winter.