Sk8man

Good points Chowdaire.

One of the things that strikes me recently is how much we Americans especially these days look for the instant, simple answer to issues or problems, or new situations that may either be complicated or relative in nature rather than experimenting ourselves to find the best answer for our own situation. I mean absolutely no disrespect as I'm sure the above question is genuinely offered but it is a good illustration of what I am talking about. There are so many variables to consider combined with unknown information that it is impossible to answer the question accurately and the answer is totally relative to that situation. The bend in the rod depends on the characteristics of the rod itself such as the length, composition, and how soft or stiff the tip is for example and the boat speed, currents present, the type of setup, (e.g. wire vs. mono, flasher vs spinney vs. spoon or stick, size of dipsey and on and on. Basically, with a diver rod you want some stiffness in it but the length is related to personal preference mainly and the exact way you intend to set up your stuff. You may have different sized rods for each side of the boat or if running multiple dipseys different lengths on a given side to assist in line separation. I think the most valuable piece of info on any of my rods is what is happening at the rod tip. If you have experience with your setups or even specific spoons you begin to recognize familiar characteristics in the way the tip moves that can tell you when it is running the way you wish or too slow or too fast or if the spoon is spinning, or the attractor is revolving or swaying too fast etc.

Trevor Sumption is a great guy and really stands behind his product and that is the kind of company folks want to deal with especially these days. Service means a lot and says a lot about a company.

I think it is good to first think about WHY you are using the leader and how it best serves that function. The 30 lb (or plus) test main line is quite visible because of the diameter of the line and the fact that mono seems to show up more visibly in the water especially in shallow water and up towards the top of the water out deep. The main purpose of the leader is to provide stealth or less visibility in the water possibly adding to the action of lures. An additional characteristic of the fluorocarbon leader material is that it is a little stiffer than mono and usually a little smaller than standard mono diameter as well as less visible in the water. . One consideration is how to attach the mono leader because it needs to come through the tip and eyelets of the rod and also through the level wind mechanism of the reel so big inline swivels and large knots will be a problem. There are many Youtube videos of possible knots for transitioning between the mono and fluoro or braid and fluoro. Some knots are better than others for each situation. I use a #8 SPRO black swivel for nearly all these situations because it is small enough to come through the eyes but strong enough to work (50 lb test for the # 8 . If you use small strong knots or the #8 SPRO you can use whatever length leader you wish as it just winds right on your reel but if the swivel or knot is too big you are stuck with making the leader length to the length of your rod so you can net fish (especially if solo). I often use a 20 ft fluoro leader for most situations....just a personal preference as it is close to a boat length away so I figure the fish may not be spooked by anything such as the mainline, immediate prop wash etc. The specific leader length also relates to what you are running and on which setup (e.g. copper. vs. downrigger for example but again it is largely a personal preference issue like many of the "issues" on here. I use Seguar 20 lb fluoro for most situations on Lake O and 12 lb. test on the Finger lakes.

Jeff it isn't as simple as going for a boat ride any longer because of the security issues. You'll need to check into the new procedures before going to avoid problems (and even potential boat confiscation)

I've had Lowrance's for many years and Vexilars before that. Lowrance has never been known for "stellar" servicing and their manuals are a total joke but most of the time they work OK. Something that has really accentuated the current situation is that they were taken over by Navico awhile back and since that point everything has deteriorated both in terms of the quality control and especially the servicing. Humminbirds are not always totally problem free either as friends have had failures with them as well but the difference is in the servicing and this is an important difference. They seem to have their servicing act together and are customer oriented. My next unit will probably be different than Lowrance.

Garry - Paul makes a great point here . It is like the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words". Viewing this stuff firsthand you shave many years off the learning curve when you get to see things in person with a competent charter guy and then transfer what you learn to your own boat. Being able to ask pertinent questions and the give and take can be invaluable.

You might want to look into the electric start Tohatsu 9.8 kicker. It is basically the Merc 9.9 (Tohatsu actually makes the small Merc motors). They are a bit lighter (if you don't get the electric trim model (92 lbs vs. 117lbs.) and they are a few hundred cheaper than the Mercs. www.onlineoutboards.com Something worth mentioning on here is the fact that you don't always need a steering setup if you match up your kicker to your boat real well. I originally had the EZ steer connector between my 25 inch shaft 135 Opti and my 9.9 Johnson 2 stroke 20 inch shaft and after getting pizzed a few times disconnecting on the water I tried not using anything and it worked steering with the big motor by just tilting the kicker slightly toward the big motor. I recently bought a new 9.8 Tohatsu and it works beautifully just steering with the big motor even into the wind (the older 2 stroke didn't do as well into the wind). I'd try it before investing in the steering connector.

Luke those downriggers are pretty sturdy and I have friends that have used 12 or 14 lb weights on them for some time now. The major concern with weight is usually with the electrics because of the motors and their potential frailties (especially the older ones) although having strong booms is also important and perhaps most important to have them anchored well at the bases so they don't flex with the increased torque. The only thing to think about is the amount of effort winching them up all the time....it may have you changing lures less frequently and have the side effect of having a Popeye arm

Nice job Rick

Jeremy it sounds as tough you have a twisting problem with the cable for some reason. I've had the same standard 150 ss cable on one of my downriggers for over 30 years without a problem and the others for many years too. I don't think it is the SS cable itself unless you happened to get a defective one or something. I wonder if your terminal swivel is messed up or if your weight is spinning for some reason? I can understand your frustration however especially in light of a probe loss. One of the things I have wondered about though is whether these probes somehow twist the wire back and forth over time and weaken it as I have friends who have lost their probes as well and never had problems with the wire before putting the probe on there...

Yeah you're lucky whether you get any fish or not Good going all the way around!

There are lots of good reasons he has many friends on here

Maybe place them in a box and place a box of baking soda opened along with all your lures inside and close it up for awhile. More work.....wash them in Dawn Ultra dish soap.

One of the things that you will find as you go along is that chinooks may have a preferred temperature range but when hunting food in the summer months especially they will go nearly anyplace temp wise and can be found way out of their expected range such as the ones you will see printed someplace. They are often found in the "ice water" of 42 -45 degrees down deep so consider the preferred temps as at best "guesstimates" in terms of real world fishing experience. Look for the marks on the screen and fish them hard and look for bait pods and fish around them hard rather than going by the preferred temp info and you'll probably be more successful

I use a ball bearing swivel at the end of my main line. A leader will be necessary at the back end of the flasher when running a spoon and attach the spoon with a ball bearing swivel at the spoon end of that (fluoro) leader. When running a flasher from a downrigger I attach the flasher directly to my terminal ball bearing swivel on the downrigger line but if running it from wire I usually have a 30 or 40 lb test leader (Big Game mono) about 3 or 4 ft long in front of the flasher so that the action of it is right. I use a heavy duty barrel swivel at that leader end attached to the ball bearing swivel of the main wire line.

Your fly leader should have a loop at the end which you attach to the swivel at the rear of the flasher. If using a spoon you'll probably want to use a flourocarbon leader with a #8 SPRO swivel between it and the main line rather than the ball bearing swivel which would go at the very end connecting to your spoon..If a spoon is connected to your flasher I usually use a small barrel swivel at one end of a fluoro leader and attach that to the back swivel of the flasher and have a ball bearing swivel on the lure end. You need the swivels that come with the flasher to prevent line twists.

Keep experimenting. Don't get stuck in gear running the setups the same way all the time. Remember you may not be running as deep as you think especially with the riggers because of the strong underwater currents etc. As far as your speed vary it up and down as you go and keep an eye on it and when you do get one that could be the place to run at but also the currents vary throughout the lake and the water column so it is important to keep varying your speeds in the absence of a probe. Keep changing out your lures colors sizes, types etc. until you strike gold I'd keep at least a rigger down 100-125 all the time in the cooler water either with slider and spoons or flasher/spinney /fly. and although you'll probably encounter lakers too the chinooks like the ice water as well so some of the marks you see suspended down deep may be them. Always keep your eye out for bait and fish iot hard around it. Often the big boys may be cruising outside your fishfinder cone so you may not see the ones that are active and roaming. Good luck and you'll quickly know when it isn't a little one on the other end and it isn't a laker