Sk8man

That's great MIke. Ed - Kevin doesn't work there at the boat place but in Canandaigua itself. Really sorry to hear about the accident Ed and I certainly hope all turns out with you and the boat bud...... I know that is your "baby" Ed I think there are also a couple of boat repair places on Rt 96 heading toward Ithaca as well but I know nothing about them.

Oh man....that sucks Brian I've donated some rods and equipment over the years too and it isn't a warm fuzzy feeling. Guess it is all part of the game though...it did take me a few days to get over losing 30 Sutton spoons (mostly 44's) tangled up on the guy wires of the naval research barge on Seneca in the old days (60lb stainless wire too requiring wire cutters while my boat was being pulled backwards Good luck with the fishing. Les

This is probably why care is needed when hauling in those big lakers

Hey Ed I know it is a bit of a travel but the place Kev mentioned does repair boats and I have never heard anything negative about them.If you get up this way stop in for a beer or coffee. You have my cell # give me a shout.

The really big browns can't resist the small honey bee lures for some reason....sometimes smaller IS better

A six to ten foot section of heavy duty chain attached at the anchor end will help set the anchor into the bottom and assist in keeping the angle of the anchor rope right too not allowing the anchor to slide on bottom. You could get some of the small yellow and red colored plastic anchor line buoys to attach to the visible section of the anchor line above surface at the boat end

I believe the auto stop board has three connectors vs. the one with out only having two wire connectors

I had the same thought as Jason...is is a pretty common situation in older boats (bellows).

I do exactly as Chris does and have done it for many many years and have never caught another downrigger or other equipment with it only occasional winding up the main line and cleared as Chris stated. I do more fishing these days on the Finger Lakes where the currents can be somewhat different too and the kings aren't a factor etc. but I'd say about 1/3 or more of my rainbows ,browns or landlocks come on sliders on the riggers......well worth the effort in my view.

Yes its own transducer.The Fish hawk operates at 70 khz which shouldn't normally significantly impact any of the standard depth finders.

WTG Nice fish! Maybe things are picking up now....

Nothing like a positive report.....you do have a strong future here

You know the original question was whether to buy a Fish Hawk or not and a lot of folks both have them and love them. I think that like many of the issues on LOU the critical question becomes: "Do I actually NEED a Fish hawk X4 or 4D"? The folks that have become used to and perhaps even dependent on or "addicted to" them obviously feel very strongly toward the "need" part of the issue and it much akin to the autopilot issue. Many of the guys who have fished for a longtime may view things from the vantage point that "We never had those things in the past and we still caught fish" . I admit they are really nice, useful and handy as well for gathering data and formulating strategies or changes in tactics out there. With that said it boils down to whether you are prepared to layout $800 for one and whether it isTHAT useful to you (your significant other might also ask you what would be the price per pound equivalent buying fish ). I have personally witnessed a $300 probe going to the bottom of lake O on my buddy's boat and we were both speechless for quite awhile ....not a pleasant circumstance and to some degree they need careful handling because parts of them can be fragile...you need to know that this is a potential reality of owning one so they may end up being $1100 at some point too. If you are chartering I'd say it may be more useful financially (as any useful "tool" might be than certainly to a weekend warrior out there). So far my Fish Hawk TD at less than $150 can do fairly well with temperature/thermocline estimates, water profiles as well as specific depths/temps setups may be running at, and the use of my fish finder combined with close monitoring of the angles of my downriggers, and wire rods and the downrigger rods and lines themselves, the ripples created in the water by the wires and the boat speed itself and a lot of experience with the lures and tackle I use seem to offer at least something better than just pure "guesstimates" without having either the Fish Hawk or if someone without a lot of experience. What I am getting at here is that the Fish Hawk may be highly desirable to me to have but it isn't essential and when you are committing a lot of money this may be important in the decision making.

As usual Paul's comments are dead center on the target. There are some parts of the season where water temperature is basically irrelevant as fish will move way out of their so-called preferred temperature range to either feed or perhaps "attack" lures (e.g. pre-spawning kings staging). It's always best to look for bait or fish on the screen to increase your probabilities of catching....it is still no guarantee but you're playing the numbers game and the chances improve with those things present. Many on us sport fishermen spend a fair amount of time out there especially us retired dinosaurs but the guys chartering as a rule spend much more time out there actively fishing than the average fisherman so from just that standpoint alone it may be worth the investment going on a charter and watching closely what is being done and asking carefully thought out questions so that you can fine tune your setups according to your own particular conditions or rig. When I've been on salt water charters in the distant past I actually took notes in a notebook and took pics of particular setups (with the captains permission). It all helps...and for the price of delaying buying a fancy setup you may be light years ahead of the game with the equipment you currently have.