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Sk8man

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Everything posted by Sk8man

  1. Sk8man
    I'll be there for some stuff Harv
  2. Sk8man
  3. Sk8man
    The 1-3 settings are on there for a reason. The higher the setting the further out and away from the boat but the shallower it runs. The changes in settings are necessary to adjust along with your target species and what you are running along with your boat speed. The more line you let out the deeper the diver goes....to a point...then it merely goes further backward on the same plane or even slightly upward from the belly in the line when running something as light as a single spoon so you may be missing where the fish are actually located. The trick is to try to get down to the place where you are marking fish OR keep adjusting your divers to find them. If you are constantly using the diver on a 3 setting without any others set deeper or changing the setting to run deeper any fish located deeper will be missed. I generally run the 3 setting for the outside diver and then only when targeted fish may be up in that range otherwise the inside divers are set to 1 or 2 and I use Deeper Divers to achieve greater depth as well as maintain distance between them and the outside divers. Good luck.
  4. Sk8man
    Good summation
  5. Sk8man
    After fishing more than 60 years without one I can tell you that a Fishawk is not essential to catching fish. It is however very desirable to have to be able to more efficiently fish for trout and salmon while trolling. I bought the X4D a couple years ago and it allows you to determine roughly where your lure is running, how fast in comparison with the surface speed of your boat. From a temperature standpoint it is most useful when the thermocline sets up, and when water temperature inversions (e.g. lake flips) take shape. It also helps in the early Spring in seeking out the minor changes in water temperature changes near shoreline. Whether it is worth the money to you in particular depends on what if anything needs to be sacrificed to buy one. It is a quality product with very good technical support from a reputable company. Some of my fishing friends and other LOU members consider it their most valuable tool in their fishing arsenal, but it is just that a fishing tool; and it is most valuable in conjunction with other items such as trolling experience, available set-ups, and attention to detail while fishing. If you have a good fishfinder already it is a valuable addition....some folks feel that they would even give up their fish finder before their Fishawk. I consider them of equal value but both less valuable than intense fishing experience over time while incorporating what has been learned in the process.
  6. Sk8man
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lake-erie-ice-walls-huges-walls-of-ice-burst-ashore/ar-BBU3ZDf
  7. Sk8man
    Could very well be pockets of gas (e.g. methane) or upwelling of some kind.
  8. Sk8man
    The rationale is a valid one... trying to conserve space and money etc.. The practicality of operation of the idea may not be....try it and see what happens we may be wrong. But if it ends up a mess....it wasn't our fault I sincerely wish you good luck that is what experimentation is all about "swimming upstream against the current"
  9. Sk8man

    Keuka lake

    Sk8man replied to burton418's topic in Ice fishing

    Not great the dinks are the main issue....loaded with them... unless you want something for the goldfish bowl
  10. Sk8man

    Keuka lake

    Sk8man replied to burton418's topic in Ice fishing

    I don't know whether there will be any ice after this wind but we got several while fishing for perch in 27-29 ft of water on small jigs and spikes and waxies last week. The Branchport section has been open water pretty much all along.
  11. Sk8man
    If depth is your primary objective and you don't intend to run a whole bunch of other stuff out back with it use one of your downriggers and either braid or Sea Flee mono ( a lot of stretch though) as the backing. I've used coppers and leadcores plenty of times this way. You just have to set your release correctly and make sure your other stuff is compatibly selected and placed.
  12. Sk8man
    But on the good side....it takes quite a while for the inside screw to loosen up. Just make sure it is good and tight when installed
  13. Sk8man
    Sometimes you have to let things play out for the results to take shape Rob
  14. Sk8man
    That is a very good point! I had to wait until I got home to do anything to mine in the way of adjustment.
  15. Sk8man
    I was kinda messing with you a bit, but I can understand your rationale as far as the amount of equipment and I plead guilty to all counts of having too much of it myself
  16. Sk8man
    Congrats... you guys earned it in this wind etc. Ice fishing isn't for the feint of heart right Dave? Keith seems that the fish are skittish everyplace I've fished lately....a lot of lip hooks even with the gills and have to constantly pester them to bite. Historically though this has characterized things in mid Feb before the late Feb/March heavy bite onset prior to ice-out.
  17. Sk8man
    But with a dead fish at the other end by the time it comes in? You can achieve pretty good depth with a 300 and weights I guess I'll leave this one to you to figure out Good luck.
  18. Sk8man
    I just replaced the batteries with new lithiums in the outside component of my weather monitoring system so I don't miss the thing maxing out
  19. Sk8man
    One of the best shows around and great chance to connect faces with LOU names
  20. Sk8man
    I know that some folks may be running stuff this way with19 strand to weighted steel but why complicate things by running two components that are usually run by themselves (and are quite stiff etc.)? The additional depth can be achieved by applying snap weights near the junction of the backing and weighted steel with braid and still have the flexibility of the braid as the main line without the concerns of kinking (remove the weights on the way in)? The only concern with the braid is the possibility of cutting through a release but this can be dealt with by wrapping the braid around the release a few times before clamping it. I also think braid would be less of a potential problem in rough water conditions
  21. Sk8man
    There are at least a couple manufacturers making what may look like identical rod holders like these. I have 8 of the Perkos and although they were a little more expensive than the "lookalikes" there is an inherent problem with some of them and that is that the threaded screw hole part that attached to the rail appears to be made from cast white metal and the screws (allen headed) are stainless steel where they attach to the rail. When you torque down the heads of the allen screws the threads of the base can strip. I originally had 10 of them and two had this problem so I have been "cautious" with the others. I bought a couple replacements for them that were the cheaper ones and they do not have the problem...trouble is I don't remember the brand of the others but the Perkos are the ones with the problem. I've had mine for 15 years so they may have corrected it by now just a "heads up". I don't use them for real heavy set-ups. I think my Perkos were close to $100 each while the cheaper ones were about $40.
  22. Sk8man
    Might want to check here. Very competent folks for servicing and they carry all sorts of parts for Mercs Barrett Marine 485 West River Road Waterloo, New York 13165 315-789-6605 or 1-800-924-8940 Fax: 315-781-2401 E-mail: bmarine@capital.net
  23. Sk8man
    If using the Offshore release with the pin place a sufficiently strong rubber band (this is something that often takes some experimentation with to determine) behind the pin and loop knot the other end to the wire. It shouldn't damage the 19 strand if the right strength rubber band is selected. You just want it to hold the setup and break when a fish hits. There are many different applications for rubber bands in fishing and in each case the strength of the band and amount of stretch should be right for that particular application (e.g. from downrigger release, on fixed sliders, or from boards etc.). If the band selected is the correct strength the wire shouldn't kink. I've even used bands in the past with seven strand from boards experimenting without damage, but again the correct rubber band strength needs to be chosen. On my boards I don't want the thing to release as I take the boards off when reeling in the fish so a different set-up.
  24. Sk8man
    Here is what Ready is talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eIdZWT1-CA
  25. Sk8man
    Although the 30 # braid may cut through the water and breaking strength not being a major factor as most braid is very strong anyway the reason I use 50 lb is that the smaller diameters of braid can develop loop knots from out of nowhere sometimes and the 50 is much less prone to it and still has a pretty small diameter compared with mono. There are many effective ways to do this stuff so whatever works on your particular boat set up the way you have it is fine. We all get kinda used to our own systems and perhaps think it may be "superior" but it still boils down to whatever works for you is the way to go
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