Sk8man

Top end speed and quicker out of the hole and more durable. On the downside more expensive to buy and more expensive to repair

I have a 2002 Merc 135 Optimax with stainless prop and it will troll down to 1.8 mph or so at about 560 rpm's but the motor is not really designed for trolling. I use it pretty much only for getting from place to place. I can use it for trolling into significant wind if I have to but if done for extended periods of time it will load up and you can tell it by the "carbon" smell when it is blown out afterward. I have a 9.8 Tohatsu for trolling and that is what I use 99.9 percent of the time and a 9.9 Johnson before that. My thinking since buying the 135 Opti and boat new is that I want to extend the life of the engine so very little trolling with it has been done.

It is probably related to the current phone app not being supported by the recent website software upgrade. May not work until the new app comes out? I am a computer guy not a phone guy on here so I'm guessing.

Here is Rich's phone number which he previous;ly posted Call or text 607 346 4782 Rich aka bikini bottom

You have a PM

Same to you Mike and all the LOU crew. A great time to celebrate all the good things this country offers rather than all the stuff on the news etc. Have a fun day everyone.

I'd take him up on the offer John. He is a very good fisherman, with all the right equipment and the right attitude as well from everything I have seen. great opportunity

Of the three weights the fish shape will probably track straightest 15 to 50 ft for spoons, 4 - 15 ft for flashers or attractrors with fly or spoon depending on circumstance, targeted fish, depth run, etc. I usually shorten the lead the deeper I go. Deepest lines usually should be closest to boat but that may not be the riggers; wire divers may be your deepest again depends on circumstances and what you are targeting and running for lures etc.. Easiest way to run multiple lines from riggers is to use sliders. It has been covered multiple times on here so may want to search for the info. I'm sure others may have other ideas or different info but this is off the top of my head for starters.

I guess my question would be: "if the other shaped weights track fine why bother running the cannonball weights at all"? I use 10 lb shark type or torpedoes = no problems

I'm with Frogger and Longline. Not sure how much weight you are running but maybe also going a bit heavier and go with a torpedo or shark shape as they will resist fanning out more horizontally. The round cannonball type in the lower weight range especially had a tendency to do that and even spin around in strong current sometimes depending on what you were running for a setup. I ran them for over thirty or more years and since switching to the shark type and torpedos have never looked back and have zero problems with them. My Black releases have always been on the cable itself. In the old days when I tried hooking up to back of the weight itself and ran an attractor of any type the blowback was awful; not so when run from the cable. I'm talking about weights in the 8-12 lb range (common in previous years) and I believe the heavier weights used today (15-20 pounds) may be a different story.

As mentioned the Atlantics often like smaller stuff presented at a little higher speed. They are more of an incidental catch on Lake O but in the Finger Lakes where they occur and there are no Pacific salmon available they will respond to some "Coho- like" presentations like small dodgers (e.g. 6 inch) with meat strips trailing or small sawbellies but placed up higher in the water column generally than the stuff you'd be using on Lake O for kings or lakers etc. Another avenue for running bait is to use Sutton Hemlock Spinners (old school approach) with frozen bait either smelt or sawbelly or in a pinch a shiner run higher in the water column than for lakers. Both Atlantics or Browns respond to it. I have made up small sets of cowbells with Colorado blades that can be used to trail a meat rig or even a hemlock spinner behind it with meat. It is usually the bigger ones that are attracted to the meat setups too.