Sk8man

Mike the guys make some good points to consider before investing your money. The zebras and quaggas weren't there for much or most of my copper jerking and now you may also have to consider the gobies as well carpeting the bottom in the shallower reaches. Maybe see how it goes for awhile first with the more fundamental approach before getting too far into it too soon.

Mike here are some pics I posted some time ago of the relevent items: variety of spoons, twin minnows, and basic victrola and A and S automatic reel

Very cool Krystian....nice job on the paint too

Mike that spoon is an Ace #4 with the spade logo on it. The original spoons were the Pfleuger that came in a #4 and a #5 (little larger). There have been a number of look alikes over the years such as the Hong kong version Pfleuger (very similar to the original), and the Bladerunner among others but the closest (and best) current replica is the Great Lakes #4. The original pfleuger came in the nickel finish, herring finish and blue mullet finish. Great Lakes Lures makes the silver one and the blue mullet in size #4 and they work great. the Ace that you have is stamped from stainless steel so the finish is not as reflective as the original Pfleugers or the Great Lakes version but the action down deep is similar so it does the job. If you are going to get into the copper pulling you might want to contact Jason at Great Lakes Lures or Fishy might have some in stock or be able to get them..... they can make a difference in your results. When using this type spoon it is best to tie directly to the copper wire with a small loop so the spoon can freely move and a haywire twist. If flutter type spoons are used a leaderis often used both with or without a weight attached to a dropper line suspended a foot to two ft below it.

I think you'd be amazed at how it simplifies things fishing solo especially Mike.

kayslay is right the victrola is the way to go when pulling copper.The rods are better used for pulling cowbells or running Seth Greens than for copper jerking. The action imparted from a rod is quite different from the artfully delivered hand motions and can make all the difference in the world once you develop the right feel and rhythm. For shallower wire use using monel or copper is the A and S automatic reel but the victrola will get you deeper when the fish go deeper. The thing to check with victrolas is the strength of the spring or springs as some have 2. There are also versions that hook up to battery power. The important feature is that they take up the slack as soon as you release it from your hand eliminating the coiling of the copper where problems can occur (e.g. kinking).

Yeah the ole headshake sure has helped out a bunch of them. I guess the thing to remember is the only thing between you and the fish is that copper wire so when they start the shaking you have to adjust the tension on the copper as much as possible to maintain the contact. They will get tired after a while and usually once they get to that point they will come in without much of it....the trick is to let them do it while maintaining contact through the wire by gently easing off not too much of slack but aafter awhile you get the feel of it. Copper jerking is really an art form and it takes a lot of experience and time to get all of it down solidly

Boat speed is critical Mike especially so you don't get a big bow in the copper and lose feel of the bottom Your speed should be so that you get the tick ticking of the lure on the bottom. Sometimes you need to adjust your boat speed up or down when you have one on to prevent slack in the copper and the hook coming out of the mouth.Steady retrieve on the wire with the fish on can't horse them especially the big ones

Mike if you decide to go in the direction of a victrola Fishy is a good and fair guy to get one from. They make life a LOT easier than coiling on the bottom of the boat

Nice going Mike It can be real addictive esspecially after a few big ones shaking their heads all the way to the boat

The Fishawk uses a 1 amp fuse. They probably feel that it might be less subject to voltage spiking when hooked directly and less likely to be taken out by other electronics with higher amperage draw. I have all my electronics and downriggers hooked directly and fused inline to the battery despite having a fuse box/breaker system present which other things are attached to such as courtesy lights etc.I believe it keeps trouble shooting potential problems simpler too with a direct connect for electronics.

Yup

When I mentioned very close together this is what I meant but it works

Mine is directly next to my Lowrance finder on a transducer mounting plate with my Lowrance set to 200 khz and it works flawlessly. There are some variables such as hull design etc. so it could be different for you but it worked for me.

I agree Ed. That sunfish could make a nice mount Ed

VERY cool Kevin there is no feeling like having one of those fish on copper. I remember being in those sites a long time ago with my kids. Racoons used to have a big nest in the hollow of one of those big trees along there and used to raid my minnow bucket at night

Don it is located on a diagonal southeast from the Country Club out from Glass factory.

Are you still straightening out the copper from the floor Kev?

One of the first tyhings I would do is closely examine the counters on the Mag 10s. The little plastic gears on the counters should cleanly mesh against the gear wheels on the downrigger. There is some play in them naturally but look to see if the gears on either are stripped or missing teeth etc. If not press the platsic gears inward toward the other gear to make sure they mesh together as that is where the slipping occurs giving rise to the inaccurate readings. You may also be able to get new line counters for them isf they are broken at Fish307.com. and replace the counters. The Fishawk TB measures depth in 5 ft increments in response to changes in water pressure on its sensor. The TD is good for quite a few things but may not give you the info you are seeking because it doesn't measure in real time so changes in your motor speed or current etc. will not be reflected in it....its a one time measure at that point in time. My hunch is that you might go bananas trying to count all those 5 ft intervals on the way down....but maybe your attention span is better than mine For many years I just estimated the difference in blowback by looking at the degree of arc in my downrigger cable and the weight position indicated on my depth finder and "gusstimated" where it was actually running and usually kept it at about 30 degrees. One of the things I have recently noted using my X4D is that my estimations were pretty close and that with the shark type weights the blowback effect is not as great as I once thought.