Mickey Finn

There are lots of variables but one thing I do alot, especially when fishing near bottom is after I've been trolling for a minute of so is to drop the ball to the bottom and see what the counter says. If I was trolling in 130 feet of water, I might hit bottom with 145 or 150 feet of cable. Now I can just lift the ball up say 20 feet if thats where I want to be. The key is to give enough time for blow back to be set. I drop till I hit bottom, lift it one foot, then wait 30 secconds or a minute and then hit bottom again. Now I know where bottom is and can just bring the ball up from there. This doesn't work that well when fishing way above the bottom but works great if you are near bottom. I don't however recommend doing this with your probe rigger. I try to keep that one from hitting bottom.

The internal antennas don't work that well. My brother-in-law has trouble with his even in a soft top. I guess they are ok for open boats but thats about it.

Hank, I had some extra time last night, so I got it all installed with the exception of the wiring. The QC II cable fit right into the AP12R with no adapter needed. There was an adapter that came with cable but I didn't need it. I took a look at the bezel from my old steering system and in about 5 minutes with a flat file, I made it fit. So, now all I have to do is find a few minutes to mount the compass and wire it up. Can't wait to try it out. I'm putting on a new Nissan 115 next week. I'll be glad to get everything done and get back to fishing. My wife and I will be headed for Henderson Harbor for a week beginning on July 12th. Hope those salmon get going before then. Thanks for you help. Steve

So, the AP12R came today by UPS. It looked like they played pass with it and dropped it. The box was busted open. The driver was going to make a note of it incase something was wrong with it. Looks like all the parts are there although there was no bezel kit but that wasn't listed in the contents list. The only question I have is with the compass. It sounds like there is ball in the compass unit. Should I be able to here it moving around in there, like a little rattle?

What temp does everyone look for at the probe when setting up for Kings? Also, do most of you run the probe rigger as the deep rod or do you set other riggers above and below it?

OK, thanks. That solves lots of head scratching. It "should" be here Monday. We'll see what's included.

If it is Torpedo Wire, it is the same diameter as the 7 strand. I aksed them that question and they told me it would reach the same depth.

Hank, I called Teleflex and asked them about the 304411 cable and was told that the only cable that will work with the Simrad AP12R is an SSC52 which replaced the old 304411. Well that one is not much easier to find either. I see that the QC II is a replacement for the SSC62 and SSC72 series cables. So, you have used the QC II on the smirad and it works fine? Thanks, Steve

I too just ordered a new Simrad AP12R for my 22 foot starcraft holiday, mainly because of the great reviews I've seen about it on this site. I have a teleflex nfb rack steering system so I know I need to replace the cable. Not sure about the bezel kit. It sounds like it comes with one? The biggest problem is that I can't find the cable that they say I need anywhere. Is the 304411 cable obsolete and if so does anyone know what I need for a cable and or adapter to fit the AP12R. Seems like the CMD 290 that they designed this thing for doesn't exist anymore. Their customer service was not very helpful when I called.

Had the same problem with my Lowrance. I drove myself crazy trying to figure it out. Changed the transducer and all my problems were gone. Wish I'd done that sooner. If it was working fine and now it isn't, I'd bet on the transducer. They have a way of crapping out during the off season. I've had it happen quite a few times over the years.

Just finished installing my new Depth Raider and tested it out on Monday. The first thing I noticed was it was about .5 MPH slower than my GPS. I tested it only down a few feet so as not to be affected by any currents. I looked for a way to adjust it but didn't see any. Now that they may come out with a unit that is adjustable it kind of makes me wish I'd waited to purchase one. I wonder how much it will cost me to get that upgrade or if I'd just have to buy a new one???

Will the Scotty weight retriever bother the coating on the coated downrigger cable that came with my Depth Raider?

Notice that I changed the picture as you requested.

Careful now...that's my step-daughter. It was the only pic I could find on my work computer, showing the downrigger board. I figured you guys could control yourselves. ???

Not sure how good you can see this one. I made it from pressure treated lumber. The upright piece is a 2x4 and the top is a piece of 5/4 decking. My Starcraft had a thin aluminum bar running across at the front of the motor well. I tried mounting my riggers to that but it was too flexible, so I made this and bolted it to the existing aluminum. I also used pieces of aluminum angle to bolt it to the gunnels for extra support. You can see part of the one on the Starboard side if you click on the picture to make it bigger. I may have a better picture of it at home but this is the best pic I have on my work computer. So, to keep you guys from drowning in your drool over my step-daughter, I have changed the picture as you requested. Well, there still is a fish in the picture but you can see the downrigger board better. Guys, meet my lab, Duke. He's really nice looking too, don't you think?!?! And yes, I know that the piece of aluminum angle is on the port side in this picture.

Thats a nice one. Check out this "near state record" caught in Maine earlier this month! http://solidhookups.blogspot.com/2009/03/moosehead-record-togue-part-ii.html

Has anyone had any problems with the Sub Troll or Depth Raider interfering with your compass? I've got limitted space but I do have room enough for either one but if I went with the Sub Troll, it would be very near my compass. I've got to make a decision soon on this. I've got a $20 Cabelas coupon that runs out in two days. I'm leaning towards the smaller and somewhat less expensive (at Cabelas) Depth Raider, but I've got a couple concerns that maybe someone could ease: There's the compass issue. Would one or both of these cause issues with my compass? Will Depth Raider be around in 10 years to support these products? How long have they been making these units? Sub Troll has been around for quite a while. I haven't been able to get an answer to the slow speed operation of the Depth Raider. I've heard that the Sub Troll works well at slow speeds like 1.0 or so but I wonder how the Depth Raider does with it's smaller paddle wheel. Thanks for all you help.

Thanks for the input on the Sub Troll's. I still would like to hear if anyone has any info about using the Depth Raider at slow speed if anyone has experience with it. Also, it looks like the coated cable actually rides through the entenna on the Sub Troll. I assume the DR is similar? How will the auto stop clips on my Scotty's slide through these? It looks like they wouldn't. Is that what the optional antenna that Sub Troll offers is for?

I'm leaning towards the DR myself. I'd just like to hear from someone that it works well at slow speeds like in the 1.0 range. Subtroll claims theirs works better for this due to the bigger paddle wheel. They say the smaller wheels just don't turn as well at slow speeds. Anyone have any experience with this?

I'm looking to buy either the Depth Raider or the Sub Troll from Cabelas. Sub troll claims that their analog reading is much more steady than the digital readouts. Does the digital reading of the Depth Raider jump around? I've seen so many digital "paddle wheel" type surface speed indicators, that jump around so much, they are useless. Also, Sub troll claims that their paddle wheel has much more surface area and will work at much slower speeds. I often troll as slow as 1.0 or slower for lakers when using bait. How does the Depth Raider do at slow speeds?

Yes, I was waiting for someone to reply about the fleas. I thought of that after I asked the question. I'll give it a try and see how it goes. Thanks.

Has anyone tried fishing dipseys with the Berkley FireLine? It has very low stretch and 30# fireline is the diameter of 12# mono. I've got it rigged on SG47LC's for other throlling that I do. I didn't want to bother to rig up with wire as I will only be fishing for 3 or 4 days. Just wondering if there were any issues I might run into. I'd think it would get me down in the same depth range as the wire. Any thoughts or experience?