chowder

I might have a line in the water tomorrow morning by 8:45 (if I'm lucky)

I put 200lbs in, gonna probably put in another 50.

Mark, I'll be in my 16', running a low profile, so look out! -Andy

Up till Tues (7/20) I was doing good on steelies & browns & terrible on mature kings out of Port Bay. Steel @60 down over 100-300FOW. Browns in tight pods 50-100 down over 60-120. On Tues there was a lot of warm water down all the way to 80' from shore out to 500 FOW. 0-steelies,0-browns, found a bunch of juevy kings to 20-25" in a a break of 56 deg water out at 200fow. I'm hoping to have my probe back working below 75' asap & will be back up after the weekend. -Andy

I use the the 7' Talora Med. fast action (it's actually listed by Shimano as a rigger rod) w/ a Twili. My 12 year old can handle mature Kings w/ this rod. Remember; the longer the rod, the less leverage you have on the fish!-Andy

What Gambler said + what are you running for a leader? Your leader is the only 'give' in a copper line and if it's not long enough fish can tear themselves off.

Eskimo 'Steelie' Joe, wow, now that's a name & a half! Nice pics Vic.

Thanks Rob, Hank and I were talking about it today and he said the same thing. I've actually got a Depth Raider w/ Moor brand cable, but the same thing happened last year w/ DR cable on an older Cannon rigger. Hank said he has heard that some guys put a damp cloth over the antennae when they are having problems picking up the signal.

I run my coppers out to the side, the chute gets busy when you get into the fish and even though the board lines wind up in the chute w/ a fish on they aren't in the way for every rigger or diver hit. I'm very happy w/ my Auroralite boards -they really pull. I use Otters in the winter on the Fingers w/ my 16' but they just don't pull as good. http://www.auroralitestackle.com/planerboards.html I've got the 'Original' size and they are all you will ever need!

Oh shoot Ray, I saw a real big one just today when I was up at the Bay, but I didn't have your number handy, sorry! -Andy

Mine does get on plane pretty good. I put a smaller 4 blade prop on it and it goes right to work, + a lot cheaper than tabs. I put the sandbags in today after talking w/ MuskyBob, who did the same thing last year and I can tell you that it all ready looks better just sitting in the water.-Andy

O.k, I'm gonna try to get over there for this despite many complications. My plan(if you can call it that) is to bring the 16' over and even though I'll probably be too late to do much damage, I am looking forward to seeing all of you at the weigh in. -Andy

For better or worse I have a fair amount of experience w/ 'reman' components, from inexpensive electrical stuff to very expensive engines and hydrostatic transmissions and all I can say is that the overall quality (if you can call it that) of most of this stuff has declined substantially over the past 15 years or so. Whenever we have the chance I try very hard to get our local and very skilled Ag mechanic to rebuild our components himself. Then we know what we have. Although most of my commercial experience is in Ag equipment, my fishing/boating hobby has steered me to believe there are few differences between marine and Ag rebuilders. You are close to an excellent marine mechanic (Hank at L&M, right in Port Bay) - be wise and consult someone who really knows what he is doing instead of being 'penny wise and dollar foolish'. -Andy

Bob, I might have to come over and 'inspect' your rig -Andy

Hey Bob, it's a whole lot better thinking about you out in 6 footers than in a dressing gown! Here's to you for showing us all how to get back on track and live life to the fullest P.S. What's the bluegrass schedule looking like?-Andy

Mike, I wish I had a picture of me, Ray K, MuskyBob, and Schools Out (Nick) trying to get Ray's boat up on plane last year at Olcott, now that baby needed some tabs allright! I'm going to eventually get Hank at L&M to put a Tab system in it , but I'm trying to ride out the year in 'low rent' style. See you on the water sometime!-Andy P.S. How did the big steering/AP project come out?

Greg's program is spot on. I'd be happy to take a run in your ride & see if I can get you 'dialed in' on Cayuga w/ your own stuff, or you can take a spin w/ me sometime. Take Greg's advice, and get set up w/ a pair of wire dipsy diver combos b4 you put too much more time in, they have a bit of a learning curve but it's time very well worth spending. Simplest solution is to get a pair assembled by A-TOM-MIK. http://www.atommiktrollingflies.com/dip ... _combo.htm I'd go w/ the Daiwa combo unless you just hit the in the ground...-Andy

I ran into this last year and I thought I had the problem solved but, IT'S BACK! I've been fishing Ontario lately (fished the FLX spring/early summer) and now that I'm consistently running my probe rigger below 70' I'm seeing 'skinned' off coating and now I can't get readings below 90' due to lost signal ( bare wire). I've used electrical tape b4 to deal w/ minor scoring down by the probe but these are sections 2-3" long. This problem either occurs starting at this point in the season- or only when my probe rigger is used a lot below 70' down. Has any body successfully 'doctored' up their cable with this kind of extensive skinning on it? What did you use and how long did the 'fix' last? Long term it seems like an X4 is the solution (budget constraints make this option unfeasible at the present time) -Andy

Sounds like a heck of a great father & son adventure. A story to tell & retell, and a far more valuable experience than finishing in the money. Congratulations on achieving one of life's most coveted moments! -Andy

Hey mjb 377, Just use a 'Slide Diver'. Slide Divers allow you to have a leader as long as you want.When it trips it 'slides' back to a bead that is just in front of a short (2') leader that goes to your flasher or spoon. I have several sets of these for different purposes and use them instead of regular dipsy divers. http://www.slidediver.com/cart/home.php Also, for any of you guys that are interested in running a long leader behind short lead cores to make them more versatile, you may want to consider 'Snap weight'. http://www.offshoretackle.com/weights.htm They are easy to remove from the line (I usually attach them to the backing). When you have a fish on , or to change out , you just remove the snap weight and continiue on w/ the business at hand- much simpler than trying to wind a long leader around your hand (don't even try the hand wrapping trick w/ a Chinook!) -Andy

Sounds like a great time! I think we're in the same boat- trying to figure out what's up with the matures! -Andy

And a really helpful guy too!

Greg,I'm far from an expert and I don't want to start a controversy but, my experiences w/ my 400' copper tell me that 2.5 gps speed it runs at around 80' down w/ a DW reg size spoon and a bit less w/ an 8" spinnie/fly. My 600' copper picks up Zs in less than 100 FOW (have not pinned it down any closer than that & not planning too either).-Andy

58 Johnson's putting you in the right spots for sure, drop shot works good on those Skinny bronze backs too!

I have put so much gear + kicker in the stern section of my little Islander that she's pointing up quite a bit. I'm thinking 150-200Lbs of sandbags placed low as far up as I can get? Thanks, -Andy