dremarquis

i recently bought 7-8 j-plugs at a low price at the northern king clearance sale and the colors are not what i would think would work (white with yellow and blue spots). i want to re-paint them. what are the best colors for j-plugs. when do you start running them? do you run them off of riggers, behind dipseys or what? thanks, dre

Thanks very much Tom. I understand your professional responsibilities, and take what you say simply as one fisherman to another. very much appreciated, dre

Hi Tom, So you're essentially saying that you don't think either the 10' radius or the 3.5' vertically above our heads are necessary? (more like the manufacturer is being overly cautious regarding law suits etc.)? thanks, dre

I just received my fixed-mount Cobra VHF radio and i bought an 8' antenna for it. As i was reading through the operating manual, it stated: 1. to avoid excessive exposure to (electromagnetic) radio frequency (RF) energy, that the antenna must be mounted a minimum of 10 feet from all people (noone should be within a 10' radius of the antenna while it is transmitting.) While my seat in the back of my 16' boat is more than 10' from the front of the boat, if i have a friend along, there is nowhere in my boat that is 10' away from both of us. 2. even more difficult for me to achieve would be the manual's instructions that "the antenna must be mounted so that its LOWEST point is at least 3.3' vertically above the heads of all personal during radio transmissions." Again, i know how easy that would be to achieve on the large boats that have different levels/decks, but on my simply, v-hull aluminum boat, i would have to mount some very weird looking extension upon which to mount the antenna in order to comply with the safety requirements in the manual. do ya'll have any advice for me on the 2 points above? is the manual being overly cautious or is it very important that i comply with those 2 points? many thanks (i want to be safe), andre

now that i also fish lake O, i have purchases some daiwa sealine reels - man they seem great - i only hope they last like folks say they do. i began fishign the fingerlakes last july and bought 2 okuma magda pro 20 dxs. the drag worked fine last year but now they suck big time - the drag will be way too loose, turn the star 1 freaking millimeter and it's way too tight. Finally find a spot where its just right, then check it 10 minutes later and it's completely tight. is there any kind of repair/maintenance i can do to improve the drag or should i just throw those reels away. i have heard mixed evaluations of the accudepth reels. what are the best reels for trolling the fingerlakes and/or for flatlining or running off of planerboards in lake O? many thanks for any info, dre

what's the best reel for running leadcore for kings on lake O? does the Penn 330 have enough line capacity for 10 colors plus lots of backing? thanks, dre

nice going Tom! - it appears that steve has converted a die-hard fly man. i'm sure i'll be seeing you on the genny after the chrome in a few months. how about that photo steve shared with you of you in the background of that pic of me with the salmon on the genny before i knew either you or steve - small world eh? at least for obsessed fisherman in the rochester area. i went out and trolled hemlock yesterday from 6pm till midnight. one hit at 11:30 - about a 2# crappie on a large stinger spoon - my first crappie trolling and my first one in NY. needless to say, not a great fight, but should eat well. best, dre

a buddy and i fished out of sandy; had 2 SD/flies and 2 riggers with spoons out by 5:30. Surface temps were 46-49 from 10fow out, as low as 43 over 140 fow. saw zero bait or fish (except for 2 lakers) for 2 and 1/2 hours. then decided to go in shallow for the last 30 minutes - zero!!! was the skunk a function of fishing after a cold front? i know the lake turned over - where do the fish go when that happens? dre

thanks a bunch guys - found one at dick's in henrietta the other day and it worked great. I need another now! best, dre

Hello all, i just began trollling the flx a year ago and started lake O last month. I recently got a wire set up for dipseys and flasher flies and i also have one rod and reel for lead core which i have caught several on. is copper basically a fancy version of lead core or is there a significant difference between how it functions/works. i was thinking i would be "good to go" with 2 riggers, 2 wires, and 2 lead core. part of me is hoping i don't also "need" copper. any info would be appreciated. best, dre

i agree with Lightning - let's support our local shops more - they're the ones taking the time and effort to stock what we actually need. Plus they know the difference between leadcore and wire! dre

Thanks for all the input Tom, Ray and Jim - i appreciate your help. dre

thanks for your input muskybob and ray; only problem now is that muskybob votes for the 25 watt fixed mount and ray says perhaps the 5 watt handheld is fine. d Ray - were you using a 5 watt handheld when you were communicating 5-6 miles away? Do any of ya'll know what the range differences are for 5 watt vs. 25 watt VHFs? Also, what kind of difference will the 8' antenna make> thanks for your knowledge and advice, dre

today was my first day to try my new hummingbird handheld VHF. I was out of sandy and i'm pretty sure i was talking to boats less than 1/2 a mile away and the static was so bad i could barely make out what they were saying. It was on high (5 watt). I guess i need to get a fixed-mount VHF. i'm considering the Cobra MR F45, which has 25 watt/1 watt switchable. it's $100 at Overtons, and i can get it with an 8 fott antenna for $130. Will that be a big upgrade from the handheld? how important is the antenna or will i be good to go without the antenna. My hesitation about the antenna is i have an old 16' starcraft and an 8' antenna is gonna look hysterical on that little boat (not that looks are that important to me) anyway - any advice on VHFs is greatly appreciated. I want to be safe, but it would also be nice to be able to communicate clearly with other fisherman - even those a few miles away. thanks a bunch, andre

I managed to get my girlfriend to join me today (because i had a bday this week and this was one of my "gifts") - so i got to run 4 rods for the first time on Lake O (she has a fishing license). Had all 4 rods set up by5:45 and by 6:00 my brand new wire diver set up fired. I handed it to erica and as she was struggling, there goes a rigger rod. Our first double!!! after about 5-6 minutes she lost hers and i ended up landing a 25 pound king - my best to date. after a few minutes of water through the gills, it swam away forcefully. green dipsey with green SD 170 back on 3 setting. rigger was down 65 - both over 75 fow. those were the only hits, but for me just getting one is worth the trip. man those kings put up a fight. nice day out there for me. unfortunately, even though it seemed about as calm as it gets out there, erica was close to nauseous the entire time (even though i gave her a dramamene on the drive before we got to the ramp) so she won't be joining me on the "O" anymore. best, andre

I have seen the heartland downrigger rods at gander, but don't know where to buy a good diver rod. any suggestions? thanks, dre

Billy V, I think i understand your frustration about most people getting info but not sharing it. I'm a newbee to Lake O - i landed one King the first time i went out a month or so ago, and i haven't had a hit the last 3 times out! Believe me, i feel a moral obligation to reciprocate the help i have received from board members such as yourself - unfortunately, i haven't felt that i had anything useful to share the past few weeks. I'm sure you're right that some peole will never give back, but there are also folks like me who want to be fair and give back but know so little compared to experienced fisherman such as yourself that we don't know how to meaningfully contribute to the board. Do you have any suggestions for how i can contribute to the board given how little experience/success i have out on lake O? thanks for your input, dre

hello all, i'm in the process of getting set up with wire divers. I read that becaue of the no-stretch wire, i should run a snubber between the diver and the fly. Are there certain brands you recommend of snubbers? what's the best length? 12", 24" ? thanks, dre

thanks a bunch everyone! I'm gonna order the malin 7 strand 1000' now! dre

thanks Bill. I jsut went on the cabela's site and didn't see more than 450 feet of malin wire. I think i read mention on this forum of 1000 feet. Will i be fine with 450 feet of wire plus about 500 feet of backing? thanks, dre

I am transitioning from finglerlake trollling to Lake O. I was using Okuma magda 20Dxs on the flx with no problem (and running size 0 divers) the okumas aren't working well with the #1 divers and it looks like my "diver" rods are gonna break (i am not currently running wire). i want to get properly set up with wire and a good reel. I know some folks use the diawa sealine 47 series. what are your opinions about that reel or others? is that reel big enough to hold 1000' 30 lb. wire? it sounds like the heartland or ugly sticks are used by many. any opinons/adivce on those. thanks a bunch, andre

Skunkaroo! I tried lots of spoons of riggers and atomik flies off of dipseys - from 30-100 down over 35-150 fow - not a hit. the only fish i marked was in 70-75 fow - and quite a bit of them, but no takers. I got into a few nice ones my first trip out of the Oak, and now i haven't had a single hit for the last 3 trips!!! it took me nearly a year to get a handle on the fingerlakes, now i guess it's starting from scratch again. Fortunately, i'm persistent! good luck out there, dre

Hello All, i haven't been able to fish for more than two weeks (i'm dying over here!) fortunately, it looks like i can get out this evening for a 6-9pm troll. i'm gonna fish out of sandy creek for the first time. any recommendations in terms of heading east or west? sounds like some have been doing well in 40-60 fow whereas others are fishing much deeper. I guess there's no consistent pattern right now so i'll experiment around. any info (esp. regarding heading east or west) is greatly appreciated. best, andre

thanks very much for all the great info, experience, and advice. i really appreciate your sharing, andre

Hello All, Now that i'm heading out on lake ontario, i need to get a VHF radio. Because i have a small (16') boat, i don't have good spot to mount one, so i was thinking about getting a handheld VHF. Do ya'll recommend or caution against the handheld VHF radios? Before i make my purchase, are there certain features, brands etc. that you recommend. many thanks, andre