Sk8man

You guys both make some good points to really think about and pap's experience sure points up limitations as far as placing "blind faith" in anything including (people's word included) and a competent survey because unless the engine is entirely disassembled to look at before buying you never really know the status of it when buying used you are always taking a risk from a probabilities standpoint. The survey does however lessen the probability of detectable damage or wear that the average buyer might not be aware of. Everything has its limitations.and you are always left with taking some degree of "chance"

Sweet Jason. Those Great Lakes lures work great and here's another example

Thanks guys.

Hard to beat stranded steel wire for dipseys either 7 strand SS or the 19 strand Torpedo wire but your rod tip will have to have either a twilli tip or roller tip so the wire doesn't chaff or cut through and if a roller is used get one that is all Stainless steel not the ones with aluminum sides as they can be cut through on the sides by the wire. The wirec uts through the water nicely as John said and no "give" or stretch although braid doesn't have much either but mono does so it's not great with divers. Just remember to always keep tension on the wire to avoid kinks. The wire at least for me seems to be easier to take fleas off too.

Just as an FYI I have been using the great lakes 44's for the past couple years and they work great. The plain silver colored ones in particular have a very durable finish. I have been a Sutton spoon user for more than 40 years and still use them too but although the true silver finish is great in terms of being seen underwater for a distance it is not highly durable over time. I have had some tarnish anfd the "protective" lacquer coating deteriorate while still in the tackle box never exposed to water. The nice thing about the Great Lakes 44's is that you can tape them up with various colors depending on whatever species you are targeting and you can change tape without affecting the spoon finish.....not always so with Sutton's. In short, I LOVE them. P.S. I have also had a chinook rip the standard treble hook off the Sutton spoon despite the solid ring and bend the spoon beyond recognition and that was back when I changed everything over to stainless single hooks.

Thanks guys for all the great comments and congrats wishes. It is inspiring to be a member of this LOU community. I am fortunate indeed to have made so many positive contacts and friendships on LOU and it really points up the value of this medium in furthering our shared interests in this sport.

Thx guys.

Just a personal FYI I had over $5,000 of canvas work done by Geordie Magee and although some of it has stood up well over time the last mooring cover I had made by Geordie himself the thread has deteriorated in about five years from UV exposure. I hope he has changed his thread by now something to ask if you decide on that option. He is a good guy who has been at it a long time so I'm not bad mouthing him or his business but given the high pricing of this stuff ($1,000 for that cover) it is something to consider and inquire about before "jumping in".

Thanks bud.

Thanks Glen, Trouthunter and Ed (Mr. Seneca Brown) One of the really neat things that happened Saturday morning is that all three of the top fish came to the weigh station at the same time so we had a chance to chat for awhile while waiting for the scales to be set up etc. and one of the people was the guy from Auburn that won the Seneca Lake derby just a couple weeks ago and the young guy in his boat who had the 13 lb brown (2nd place) which was a beauty. Those folks and the fellow who had the 12 lb laker (a teacher from Honeoye) couldn't have been more gracious and were genuinely happy for us as we were for them. I think that speaks a lot for our chosen sport and the type of folks involved in it. Thanks to all the well wishers we have heard from on here and other places. Tight lines to all.

Thx fishook

A couple of things are important in thinking about it: 1) salt water is VERY corrosive to most metal. Most boats that are run in both fresh and salt water need to be "cleansed" or flushed properly of the saltwater after being in the salt water environment. Corrosion causes all sorts of electrical problems and messes up contacts on wires and batteries gauges as well as engines. 2) A lot depends as in freshwater specifically how the boat has been cared for during its lifetime....some of these problems are slow and chronic and some may be hidden and hard to detect until they start to fail. If you are talking significant money you may want to have a competent marine survey of any seriously considered boat for a few hundred bucks as it will be worth it in the long run.

Thanks Mark and Craig.

Thanks Brian

Wow! thanks so much for all the nice comments folks I really appreciate it. It was a real peak experience for both Mark and I. We have fished together since he was 2 1/2 and he is now 37 and we've placed a bunch of times in derbies but never the grand prize and breaking the record for this particular derby was special as well as it has run for 35 years. A special thanks to you Hop as our old school methods from fishing together for so long finally paid off with timing etc.and those words coming from you I view as "special". I am looking forward to the mount that came as part of the prize as I have never had any fish mounted out of the many caught over the years. I know the fish would be a "nice one" on Lake O but no record breaker but on this lake it was a pretty special fish and I am grateful for the experience of catching her. and being able to share that experience (and memory) with my kid. I should also mention that the folks that put this derby on are all very generous volunteers and the money goes to Mercy Flight, Hospeace House, and Camp Good Days and Special Times so it is a real family type event.

Mike said it right. The sharing of good information will help make the sport that we all enjoy a better and more enjoyable one for all. One of the really neat things I think is that a lot of the charter guys generously provide a wealth of useful information to the people here and hopefully they derive benefit from the forum as well. I know I always try to steer prospective interested parties toward the guys I feel confident know their stuff and I hope others here do as well. This forum is a rather unique one.