chowder

The shakers are a real 'PITA' on sliders and other presentations in the 40' and up bracket.Cleaning these hitch hikers off high lines is a price you have to pay to 'search' the upper parts of the water column. It's pretty easy to drag these little guys around w/out knowing it - so check your spread frequently (some days are worse than others). Remember Cayuga LLs have to be 18" to be legal. Bigger Salmon and Browns are usually to be found over structure/bait pod combos. I don't typically run baits in just the top part of water I'm working, I like to offer presentations throughout, though this can get tricky over structure. -Andy

Greg, sounds like a pretty good fathers day outing to me . I'm jealous (spent Dad's day chopping 2cd cutting but we should be done soon ) -Andy

Chris, it made my day to know you are back on the water! -Andy

Vic, my thoughts & prayers for you and family. -Andy

Outstanding Brown! GREAT BALLS OF FIRE- THAT'S SOME FISH!

Sorry if I clouded up the thread. I was trying to get Mark some good basic speed guidelines that he can use w/o a temp/speed monitor for trolling on the FLX. I use 2 depth raiders (high & low) on the Fingers/ big O to deal w/ both temp and current considerations. I run DR down speeds from 1.7-3.0 on the Fingers and Ontario.-Andy

Great pics Sean! That's some quality steel hauling I'm jealous as all get out (stuck in a tractor).-Andy

Mark, I'd say these are gps speeds. I think you will find that for the most part you can go 2.5+ and target most species in the Fingers. Faster speeds cover more water if you are in 'search' mode. If you are marking good concentrations of fish and they don't respond to what you are showing them, then change speeds as well as lures + drive in a 'S' pattern. -Andy

Thanks Split, I'll stop at Barney's house tomorrow, anybody else need an entry form? -Andy

Give us some background info or link? -Andy

I'm hoping to get out tomorrow, sounds promising! Might have to do a solo run- if anybody wants to fish out of LP or Myers PM me.-Andy

Sounds like a great adventure, the heck with the fishing! -Andy

Mark, you want gps speed or down speed?

I agree w/ Okuma on maxing sensitivity for jigging, also check ping speed - you want to crank that up pretty good too. Another thing that could be a factor is where on the boat you are making your drops from w/ respect to the location of the transducer.Also, remember that if the boat is drifting a fair amount, fish marks will look like smeared lines, and the jig drop can take on an unusual look, especially if your drop rate is on the slow side.

Sounds like a good brown and a great adventure!

I like to run peanuts, spin n glows and squids behind the BW Grease traps, slower speeds seem to make this combo work better most days.

If you are only going to be running 2 rods, you might want to consider using at least one Roemer liberator instead of 2 free sliders just b/c then you will have more control over where the cheater baits sits in the water column.Also, you won't have quite the control over a large fish w/ a spinning reel that you do w/ a trolling reel nor will it be as easy to control your leads behind the weight.

Thanks for all your hard work on the fishery! Have a happy B-Day!-Andy

John, I can work Rocky Dock and other structure sites on Cayuga with my Lowrance 5200 + the Hot Map premium 08 but it sure helps to have a live wire tending the wheel. I'm pretty sure the new Lowrance HDS series will deliver the same or better performance w/ a premium chip in it. I'd like to add an HDS diplay w/ the BR24 radar but it's probably going to be awhile. Here's a link to the guy's Sean got his stuff from. http://www.boemarine.com/ I've seen other guy's refer to this outfit on this forum. Good luck-Andy

If you are serious about running multiple copper or long core lines the best way to do it is out to the sides off big boards (I like Auroralites, they really pull). It also helps to run Mag size dipsies on 1.5 -2.0. Mags dive steep and don't trail out behind the boat. If you hook up on one copper while deploying an other it's best to get the one you are letting out back in & out of the way.

John, I've got the Navionic's Hot Maps Premium 08 on my Lowrance 5200 Global Map and it's pretty good (not perfect)on Cayuga. The new Lowrance gps is the HDS series and Sean Brown (Hooked Up) has installed one on his Charter boat. I don't know what he's got in it for a map but I'd talk to him about his setup. -Andy

Here's an easy way to get setup http://www.greatlakestackleshop.com/products.php?cat=56

If the kicker is a 'remote' model I don't think you are going to have much choice about getting & installing the remote controls just to start & shift it but you will probably want to also install a Troll-Master b/c factory remote throttles are notoriously poor for precise speed control. If it's a tiller model I wouldn't worry about a remote throttle right now b/c most tiller kickers give you good speed control w/ the twist grip (no long, sloppy factory linkage = good speed control).

I spent a bunch of time looking for what you are looking for. After putting the pencil to the paper, a new Yamaha T8 looked like the best deal. Got mine from http://www.shipyardisland.com/YamahaSpecials-T8.htm I really like this kicker, it's got at least has much power as a 9.9 and I'd say more. -Andy

Better late than never- Happy Birthday Shawn!, by the way I think that willow branch was big enough to keep! -Andy