I'm not sure what size/brand motor you have (HP) but first of all I'd check to see which props the manufacturer of your motor recommends because if you get the wrong one it could create a problem with your motor (e.g. wrong size or pitch and possible over revving at top end).. The information may be in your operators manual if you have it. If not contact a marina that sells that particular brand of motor. If all else fails consider attaching a trolling plate to the anti cavitation plate on the motor (most bolt on). You wiould be able to get pretty much whatever trolling speed you need with that. You definitely want to have a correctly matched propeller no matter what you decide.
As I was first reading the post (before looking at the pic) I was thinking it was going to be a big brown because the landlocks are usually air born early sometimes even before you realize they have hit something of yours but big fish often do different things and that one sure is a beauty That pike isn't too shabby either
DON'T snip off the weights. The modification calls for cutting a section out of the white foam in the shape of one weight (on top of it) and placing both weights stacked together together.The screw will retain both weights in the modified slot if carefully done. Note: I tried the modification but didn't like the way the boards rode so scrapped the it and returned to the standard setup and adjusted my rod placement upward and it helped
You put me in the mood for the eyes Justin so I went last night with my son to Honeoye (from shore no less) casting Renegades and ended up with a 20 and change inch one. Mark had another right about 10 ft from the dock and it spit the hook. Not exactly wall hanger but a lot of fun on ultralights and Honeoye is a whole different ballgame than Otisco
Interesting about the Sutton lures.....I used to hit that trading post for many years even before they got into the new store and it was mind boggling then now it reminds me of LL Bean in Freeport ...an amazing selection of stuff.
I believe In that Blood Run article there is a section dealing with modifications to the boards when running heavier stuff if I remember correctly. For the TX 44's it involved repositioning both the weights in a forward position and modifying the release arm (carefully bending it upward after heating it). If running braid they also mentioned buying metal pins to replace the plastic ones that come with the boards to avoid cutting into the plastic. Calumet Marine sells them and I've had them for awhile and they work fine.. Additionally you want the boards to run along parallel to the boat at the sides rather than well behind it. At least in my experience with inline boards there may always be occasional "skipping" and diving along with significant changes in boat speed and wave action especially if running "active" lures with heavier/longer lines and speed will be different for each side of the boat (outside faster and inside slower) I keep the rod tip up higher when letting the boards out and pointed downward toward the boards when bringing in fairly rapidly to avoid the board diving.
There are also different grades of tires with different load ratings my D rated ones call for a 65 lb max and I keep them at 64 lbs and it is an 18 ft boat. It also depends on how much weight you are carrying in your boat on the trailer...mine holds 60 gal. of gas and I keep it full and I carry a lot of stuff in it as well so it need plenty of air in the tires to support it. The best idea is to go by the printed ratings on the tires.
Sounds as though you got into them pretty good John and that is a real pleasant surprise about the browns and bows. I was beginning to wonder if any were left in there but that is a good confirmation that at least some are left in there Thanks for the report I was wondering how things went.
Welcome back Nick and Theresa (and Tavion) Maybe you can get Tavion to lick the salmon when they come on board like Reba on Wicked Tuna Best of luck this season. Les
I've used the one Mark mentioned and it is great and well worth the money and on mine you can select either the standard starting battery or deep cycle ....does a great job.
I wish Jason "Good luck" with that stuff .....I threw out a bunch of new spools of it of various tests that had never been used because of the failures in knot strength (regardless of knot used). I have used Berkeley lines since the early seventies and this is the only one that I have absolutely no trust in.
The purists will say leader material (e.g. Blue Label Seguar) but I have also used the Red label Seguar it just seems a little less stiff and probably the blue label stuff has a hardened coating. Whatever you do DON'T use Berkley Vanish it totally sucks.
bandrus is right it used to be 12 lb test for years for me but the fleas changed that 30 lb Blood Run Sea Flee leadered down to Seguar fluoro 20 lb. (12lb for early Spring browns and kings).
Don't feel bad Kev....the scene seems to be the same everywhere on the Fingers right now...things just haven't heated up yet. It may be worthwhile exploring shallower than we are used to at this time of year though. I spent 5 hrs trolling Canandaigua Saturday trying everything I could think of to no avail. As I was quitting and had pulled lines in I accdentally went into the shallows and this is what I found.(note also the 51 degree temp- rest of the lake was 42-43.5) (Went back and forth but no hitters....may not have been trout but who knows?)