Sk8man

Vogel you have a PM

Although folks attempt to do it themselves it really isn't the best way....very easy to ruin the blades. I get new ones sent from Fish307 and then send the old ones in to them to swap out for a resharpened pair (my backups) and they ship pretty quickly. They are located in Lake George and I've had good luck dealing with them repeatedly over the years. They also have Cannon downrigger parts and service them.

Vince makes some great points especially about backing off the drags and potential weather related issues (leaving them out in it etc.) and if anyone here has intensive and extensive experience with the equipment it is him. In reflecting on this issue it seems that most of us including me may have some strong opinions about what we feel works ( or doesn't) and we tend to "personalize" our own experiences and think they may be very solid all encompassing views when in fact they may not be. Misdemeanor is right....this posting is (and should be) more about experiences with good reel repair than a complaint about personal experiences with specific brands of reels....I plead guilty and suggest we move on

If the conditions are real rough you may have luck right in the bay itself trolling from the channel mouth over to Newark Island and along Eagle Island to Bonnecastle Point and then cut across the middle heading northwest back toward the channel. I've had success in the past in there when I had my smaller Whaler when it was 6 footers out in the lake. The occasional Chinook or Coho may also be in the mix. (as well as large northerns in the shallower areas). Just be careful near the west side of Newark Island if you go in real close because there are old cement dock remnants in there that could mess up your prop.

The new one also now has surface temp which I believe was lost in the previous 4Dand the screen is red instead of blue with many levels of brightness so it is supposed to be a bit better on the eyes. It also has the ability to record a bunch of data such as what you caught and where etc. I saw one in demo mode the the tech from Fish hawk presented and it was pretty sweet.I think there is a bit of a boost in price though ($800-850). Hopefully it will be offered cheaper......

You may have better luck with either the Chinook divers or the Walker Deeper Divers especially the 124 mm size

bandrus is right....and the best way is to run lures right near the boat and check the action and correlate it with whatever speed device you are using. It is a good GENERAL measure but once the lure is down under a lot of other factors are at work (e.g. currents etc.) Also your speed will depend on what you are running for instance most spoons may be pretty tolerant of medium speed while some jointed sticks may be more tolerant than solid sticks. If you are running both together you may have to "compromise" to get both running together acceptably at certain speeds. I have usually had better luck with browns at slower trolling speeds in the Spring with the lures run way back from the boat but I know that is not always the case.

Basically ALL the Evil Eyes work well and especially at lower speeds (just before they start to spin too). I have nearly every color and pattern in the standard size and have caught fish on nearly all which makes me think it is more the action and speed than the particular color or pattern. The smaller sizes are real good for rainbows and browns and steelies and can tolerate higher speeds better than the standard size. The magnum ones seem most bothered by higher speeds. Evil Eye standards work fine in Laker O and in the Finger Lakes and they are one of my favorite "reliable" spoons whether on downriggers, Seth Greens rigs, or occasionally trolled behind an attractor.

I have roughly 20 or more Daiwa's of different types and a handful of Okuma's and Penn's and I have never had even one issue with the Daiwa's drags or otherwise. I basically don't give a rats butt about brand names or having the most expensive or popular equipment....I just want something that performs well day after day and is reliable and lasts. Most sport fisherman give their equipment moderate use and they don't have constantly changing people operating the stuff so some of the requirements are different than that of charters. For the novices on here with a tight budget looking for advice in getting into the "game" I'd say don't get discouraged by comments that suggest that less expensive equipment is total crap. Many of the reels out there work fine for the type of sport fishing we do (e.g. Daiwa 47H's and Okuma Magda Pro 45's). Ocean fishing for marlin or bluefin tuna require expensive reels with exceptional drags but I've seen people land king salmon on medium duty spinning rods plenty of times so knowing what you are doing at the end of the rod can be more important than cost of equipment. Most of us get "fussy" and "particular" and some can get into the habit easily of always wanting or getting the latest and greatest new thing and we justify it in various ways (especially to wives) and we may become "Daiwa guys", "Okuma guys" or "Shimano guys" so for the person new to this sport get a reel that is functional and does the job for the specific fishing you are going to do. One of the best ways to get a sense of this is to go to a sporting goods store where they have various reels and actually handle to reel and listen to the clicker. feel the smoothness when reeling, manipulate the drag wheel and see if is seems smooth or "clunky." and scope out the over all appearance of "quality".It may increase your chances of getting something durable over just reading reviews online etc.

I believe that you will find most folks using both. They have different action and sometimes the fish seem to prefer one over the other just as they may prefer a spoon over a fly but you never know which one on a given day or moment for that matter. It would be wise to have some of each in your arsenal as well as both spoons (of various sizes and colors) and flies. There have been a number of threads on here discussing which combinations seem to be popular. Be advised that the hot color or combo also is subject to change at a moments notice so in the long run having a variety may be fruitful.....with that said this is not an inexpensive sport