Organized Slime

Bingo! Older circa 2006/2007 Fish Hawk transducer. So, I said two lowrance units not totally true. One Lowrance 480DF & an Eagle Fish Elite 480. The only difference I know in the units is 4 more watts on the GPS receiver for the Lowrance, dual frequency transducer, and it will transmit & receive NMEA 0183. I plan on using it for GPS because it will talk to the autopilot. The Eagle 480 will be sonar. If I turn the Fish Hawk off the Lowrance works fine but it completely rendures the Lowrance sonar useless if it is on. This place is a great resource I knew I would get some help out here as always. Thanks!

I guess I'm a bit stumped then. My old boat had the Lowrance DF, Fish Hawk & Hummingbird transducers all mounted together on the Starboard side opposite the kicker. If I ran the Fish Hawk, it hosed the Lowrance sonar at 50 or 200 kHz. I had to run the hummingbird for sonar & the the Lowrance for GPS only. The cables were also completely isolated. Sounds like there will be some trial & error?

Rigging an Islander I/O & have Bert's transducer mounting boards on starboard & port sides. I want to mount two Lowrance transducers and a Fish Hawk transducer. I have a kicker on the port side and one Lowrance transducer is a dual frequency, the other is not. I am concerned with interference from the sonar transducers & Fishhawk. Both Lowrance units are sonar/GPS combo units so the plan is to run one in full screen GPS & the other in full screen sonar giving me a backup sonar & GPS for that rainy day. As of now, I plan to mount both Sonar transducers on the port side where the kicker is and the Fish Hawk transducer on the starboard side. The kicker will be on a Garelick lifting braket. Thanks

Will the TR1 Gold work without the throttle actuator hooked up? I already have a Troll Master installed that works fine.

I run the older display unit with the newer, smaller clear probe. A couple of years back I was getting readings all over the place. It was so bad it made my unit useless. With the help of my manual, I did a "factory reset" which fixed everything. I wondered how many other fellow fishermen trying to nurse an old unit along in this great economy of ours were in the same boat? I came on here and offered a scaned copy of the complete manual and was surprised at how many people messaged me. Just thought It wouldn't hurt do it again. I see the older units going for next to nothing so for someone on a budget it might be the route to go. I am a firm believer having run both that the newer probe will make the biggest improvement. FishHawk Thermo Troll 840 Manual.pdf

I'm curious why you don't like buddies? I make 8-10 trips a season and my shortest drive is 4 hours, usually more like 6.5-7 from Columbus Ohio to Oak Orchard. I figured the buddies were good because I believe they give me a much larger grease capaicity? I haven't touched them since 2005 when I did all new everything. Sounds like I've been lucky? Tim

Time to do the ole trailer bearings & seals. I run bearing buddies, and have always used standard wheel bearing grease, should I be using the white litium stuff? Thanks Tim

Thanks Paul! I actually talked with you last August at the Black North. Yes, fear the Glutton pizza! I just can't make it next week like I had planned and am hoping it will be nice and quiet after Labor Day weekend.

Is there decent fishing in mid Spetember? I understand the mature fish do their thing usually around labor day. Mostly fishing out of Oak Orchard. Thanks

I have a Starcraft 21' center console with a 90HP & 9.9 kicker tied to the main engine, Raymarine Sport Pilot X5 and Teleflex NFB Rack steering. I think my steering is too tight, and don't use my auto pilot as much as I would like because I'm in fear of damaging the auto pilot, which defeats the purpose of having it. I also have a lot of "stuff" running in the channel under the floor where you route control, transducer, shift, etc. cables. I'm not sure I want to attempt to pull a new "rack" steering cable and am thinking of switching to an entire new rotary steering set up? The reason being I believe the new quick connect cable will be much easier to pull. I plan to unbolt the rack cable at the helm cut the old cable at the nut that screws to the tilt tube and tape the new caple to the old there. Then pull the new cable as I remove the old, pulling from the center console helm to bring the new cable forward? I am looking at the Teleflex NFB 4.2 & the Uflex Accura. Between the two I prefer the Uflex Acurra. Will I lose anthing going from rack to rotary and does anyone have an opinion on the Teleflex vs. the Uflex? Thanks

Almost everyone I talk to runs the flasher/fly behind their divers & spoons on their riggers. I do the exact opposite for the following reasons. I just think divers pull better with the less resistance of a spoon. I hear the flasher/fly pull fish into the spread but doeasn't the same apply when they are on the riggers? I know most run their divers on setting 2 but cutting my teeth on lake Michigan which has much more pressure setting 1 gives me a more compact spread so I can turn quickly when I get cut off. Also I feel setting 1 stays at the target depth better because it does not swing out as far from the boat so on turns the inside rod wont drop as much. Just interested in what others do & think.

Looking for any opinions of Angler Boats? They look nice on the computer just wanted to hear from someone that has 1st hand knowledge. Looking at a 204 WA LE. Thanks

I just re-spooled all my downrigers and was wondering what the terminator of choice is? I run a probe and just purchased #12 sharks that I don't want to loose. I have Cannon terminators, Tru Trac Klinchers, & Scotty thimbles & crimps. I personally like the Cannons because I have used them in the past & they are very user friendly but now, I will sacrifice that for the strongest connection. Thanks

Looking at some new downriggers and wondering if there are any drawbacks to having the auto stop feature? I'm thinking it would be nice when I'm fishing with newbies and the back of the boat gets hectic?

Thanks L&M along with everyone else. I just checked the anode(trim tab) and it was loose enough to turn almost a quarter rotation in either direction. I'm going to center it and tighten back down. For future adjustment if needed, you turn the trim tab fin away from the hard steer???(i.e. hard steer port, swing tab fin to the starboard) from the perspective of standing behind the boat.

I have a 21' Starcraft center console with a 90hp Mariner and 9.9 kicker with the steering link conected & steering with a Teleflex no feed back rack. When I run on the big motor with the kicker tilted up steering is pretty tough to the left with the kicker steering link connected or not. When I'm trolling on the kicker steering is a breeze in both directions. I grease both engines on a regular basis with white marine lithium. I have an autopilot I like to use once in a while on slow plane but worry I will overwork it. It lust seems like under decent power on the 90hp steering is too tight to the left? I have looked at going to the Teleflex rotary system with the quick connects but dread pulling that new cable & am not sure that will fix my problem??? I plan on pulling the steering cable from the turning tube on the 90 to inspect & lube this weekend but sitting on the trailer both engines steer easily?

Gain Control the gain control is a 20 turn pot with no end stops. Gain only effects the probe temp & speed readings. If the downrigger functions are only displyed as dashes more gain may be required. Adjust the pot in 1/2 turn increments and allow 30 seconds between adjustments for circuit stabilization. If the downrigger readings are very erratic sometimes being unbelievable then more or less gain may be required. Reduce gain in 1/4 turn increments. Adjustments usually do not require more than one full turn of the gain pot in either direction. If you feel you have lost touch with the original factory gain setting turn the gain control about 20 full turns counter clockwise & then 6 full turns clockwise to duplicate the factory setting. Just dug out my manual, have the 840 with the new X4 probe and & having the exact same problems you mentioned. Hope this helps? I have the 840 manual scanned & would gladly email to anyone in need.

Even though I bought a pair of nice roller guide wire set ups I just find the braid much more user friendly. I know the diehards swear by the wire. I sure I will bring both just in case? Thanks for the info!

Haven"t been up since 4th of July when the fleas were brutal. Sorting through tackle & wondering wire or braid dipseys? Have the fleas been bad as of late? Thanks

I have been told the overhand loop gives the fly a little better darting action. That being said, I have put swivels on most of mine for the reasons stated above. I feel it is a better connection over the long haul.

Some spoons dont have a ring. I prefer to hook a quality snap swivel directly to the spoon with no ring because it is one less thing to fail. I do wonder if the spoon action suffers from doing so??? What say the experts? Thanks

Waypoint Enterprises $549 probe for $210

Just got an e-mail from Raymarine. SAFETY RECALL on the Sport Drive & control head!!! Stop using product and return to dealer for replacement or refund. They have discovered a component failure with the mechanical clutch. I read all the talk on here about the old SportPilot woes and figured Raymarine would have fixed them with the new unit? After all, mine said Made In Hungary??? What a joke! Raymarine 1 Organized Slime 0 I've used the thing once with the best fishing ahead THIS SUCKS!