Sk8man

I once had a rapala in my shoulder (no shirt on) during the summer and fishing all alone. I went into the launch ramp to get some help and there was a guy with two kids I asked him to pull the hook through the skin so I could cut the barb with my wire cutters. He told me he thought he would get sick if he tried. I pulled out my boat and headed to the hospital emergency room and was greeted by a nurse (after filling out papers) and I said "Man...I'm really embarrassed about this...pretty stupid mistake" She responded "Oh....that's not nearly as bad as the guy that was just in here he sat on a big hook with three prongs on it and we had to cut off his pants to get at it....(Honest to God truth).

I don't know the diameters involved but is it possible to thread a smaller diameter hose inside the existing hose (e.g. one like used in an aquarium?) If it is only used with water and not gasoline that kind of hose could be used.....

Tom brought up a good point...if you see white powdery residue on the outer coating of the line you don't want to use that part as it is oxidation and it weakens the line. I guess what I was getting at is that the line UNDERNEATH the small amount taken off hasn't been exposed to the sunlight (i.e. UV damage) or directly to the heat so it is probably in good shape if only a couple years old with little previous use....look for abrasions as well and sever there it if found. If you think it is a problem I'd replace with Berkely Big Game line (about $8 or $9 for 660 yds.) the stuff is designed for salt water conditions (tough) and is quite abrasion resistant and is a real bargain for the money in my view. I think it outperforms the other lines I've used which are much more expensive and don't hold up nearly as well.

My downrigger rods do touch the floor when the reels are "locked" in the depressions of the holder tube. I just measured the holders and they are 11 3/4 inches long and the depression takes them to 10 3/8 or so. All my rods except the thermocline rods have hard rubber on the ends and I have never had any scratches from them on the deck. If the ends of the rods are unslotted and flat across them I d' just get some thin circular felt protectors the right diameter for the rod butts (like used for the legs of chairs etc.). That's what I use on my thermocline rod butts. If you do decide for the rod holder make sure to measure the shaft diameter of your pedestal hole because I believe they come in a couple sized diameters.

It can if they are in sunlight especially... but since they had such light previous use (and if not in DIRECT sunlight I'd just pull off about 25ft of line off them and go with them....Should be no problem especially with larger diameter line like that....if it was 4 lb test I'd change them out just be be safe but not for 20lb. Incidentally, I've done it for a long time without any line failures....

Browns are highly nocturnal (feeding). For years we took advantage of this at the south end of Canandaigua and Keuka night fishing with sawbellies so the chances are greater of encountering them at transitional times (dawn and at dark) are better.

I've been using the 8 rod one with pedestal mount(without the back facing rod holder) and I love it. I have 47H's and 47 LC's in combination and I even use it for my thermocline rods with Penn 309's on them. I believe that unless you are using the Saltists with the side mounted line counter you can position them on in such a way to get them all in there (actually you can see it in the background of my pic here).

On Seneca the browns are very "skiddish" and especially since the clarity of the water has taken such a drastic turn since the zebras and quaggas. Instead of trolling the shoreline in fairly consistent depths for long intervals (e.g. the 10-20ft and closer that you mentioned about Lake O) it helps to concentrate your efforts on areas where the shallows MEET the drop offs and at the mouths of streams where this happens.. Browns feed voraciously on sawbellies especially when they (sawbellies) come into the shallows in the Spring and they come in after them and often can be found "lurking" nearby sometimes suspended but often bottom oriented and are often "mistaken' for lakers on the depth finder in or near the drop offs. In the mornings when light levels are low they can be found in real shallow water around docks and other structure (probably having been in there during the night feeding) especially during moonlight conditions that previous night. The planer boards can be valuable hugging the shore or top lines run way back with a single splitshot about two ft from the lure (eg. with jointed floatiing rapalas in J- 7 or 9) then as the light increases they are almost useless in shallow. This is when the drop off areas need to be exploited with other methods such as downriggers., wire rigs or leadcore run way back from the boat. with a lighter leader (10 or 12 lb test remember...there aren't any Chinooks there :>). Run out from the shoreline going deeper and toward the bottom on angles. Always concentrate your efforts around any bait you can find in these areas. This is all during the Spring time and you'll also hit lakers and an occasional big pike. This same general strategy has also worked on Owasco and Cayuga over the years.

Yes Tuna will fix ya up....great service and fast shipping...

I didn't think there were any left on Cayuga, Seneca or Canandaigua....

I figured maybe I'd save on light bulbs by eating some but but the dim glow of the low voltage in my brain is all I've seen

I think Longline mentioned the key to it...check your lines frequently regardless of the line diameter. I use it as an opportunity to change lures as well. Usually the fleas are in patches and you go through them intermittently so by checking frequently you avoid the MAJOR buildups on the lines. Actually the fleas have become an incentive to me to be more active and less prone to sitting around and by changing stuff frequently I believe that I've increased the number of strikes going down or coming up (esp. with the downriggers).

Also of interest is the type of hose clamps acceptable mentioned further in the article....

Thanks Dave....sounds as though you have it down to an art form