Sk8man

They also take some patience when coming from Cannons as the orientation of them is so radically different ( e.g. more horizontal than vertical operation). probably different when starting out with them but when used to cannons for a long time it takes some getting used to

Brian said it exactly right x2 Jeremy

The method of "jerking" or yanking" has been around for centuries and is still frequently employed on the Finger Lakes. There are many versions of it with many different kinds of line or wire and primarily weighted "sinking" lines and wire (e.g. single strand copper, monel, leadcore, or even braid with weights). It is still one of the most productive ways to fish for Lake Trout especially as it is a bottom oriented method.. The one caution though as far as Lake Ontario is that if using it wear finger and hand protection of some sort (e.g. leather glove or perhaps the first two fingers and thumb cut from leather gloves) because of the presence of the larger fish and especially Kings which sometimes are mixed in with lakers on or near bottom. Also there is the possibility of hanging up on bottom while trolling with wire and both these activities can result in severe cuts or even loss of fingers if unprotected. In the first pic the spoon on far left is the Sutton #38, next the #71, third from left is the Williams Wabler (actual spelling) while the last one on right is a version flutter type spoon specifically for jerking wire (note the hook positioned so it doesn't snag bottom). The flutter spoons were normally run just off bottom on a three way swivel with dropper weight and leader from 2-25 ft., The Williams could be run that way off bottom or by itself with a lot of wire out on bottom. A more frequent method involves the heavier versions of the Sutton spoons changed out to a single hook - or the main method of using spoons like the Pfleuger #4 or #5 or Great Lakes #4 spoons (2nd pic) right on bottom and tied directly to the wire with a loop and haywire twist without a swivel snap (middle pic). Another popular and effective lure type (3rd pic) is the flatfish, Heddon Tadpolly, or Twin Minnow (on or without leader) run right on or near bottom and the standard treble hook switched out for a single and inverted (stronger and less likely to hang up on bottom).

Good feedback too Bill

location? PM sent

One thing we know for sure is that the fish didn't get down into the weeds in 234 ft of water and the mystery continues....big laker or maybe snagged a freshwater sturgeon? (they are in there)

I sure can relate to holding on to stuff

Kathleen - I'm sure your dad would be very proud of you for tackling this task

Cool ....yeah they are real sturdy boats.

WTG Low Baller

Interesting brackets for the riggers. How about a better look?

It may depend a lot on what you are doing. A friend of mine installed one on his 17 ft. Whaler and he pretty much exclusively perch fishes rather than trolling and he had to take the T top off because he said the wind blew him all over the place while trying to drift or while anchored.

I once was fishing in 60 ft of water on Seneca Lake for perch in the Fall with ultralight rods with one rod in a holder and had doubles of perch on the other rod I had in my hand and got up quickly from my seat and my knee knocked the other rod out of the holder and into the water where it sank to the bottom. A few months later while jerking copper for lake trout in Spring in the same area (and having forgotten about the rod) I caught onto what I thought was a tree limb or something and pulled up my rod that had my name engraved on the reel. I took it apart when I got home and cleaned it real good and I still have it today. Thankfully it was before the Zebra mussels arrived on the scene.