Don Supon

50lb. Seagar flourocarbon in a fly tying vise. Tournament tie. No problems.

This project will cost you some money because materials are not cheap. You'll need foam, plywood, and carpeting (or vinyl) to build a floor. Then you need seats. A planer mast for the boards mounted up front with the reels mounted aft of the windshield. Bow and stern lights for inspection, as well as required safety items. Can gunnels support the tork of downriggers/ rod holders, or will they have to be reinforced? A battery and box are not in the photo. Nor do I see a GPS/fishfinder. A bilge pump might be handy. Where is the trailer? Rod holders will be needed also. I'm guessing at least $2000 and a lot of work. Have you already checked for and repaired any leaks? This could be a source of pride for you, a real handyman's special, but not an investment project. Good luck.

My Encore is satisfied also. Penetration and expansion very good in deer I've taken in past (not hunting this season). Slugs, however, are five years old. Could that be why?

In the mid nineties I shot at a buck with a hind foot dangling by some skin and having a terrible time moving. Wanted to end his misery. Short story- I kept the top of the 1 in. sapling I hit instead as a reminder and made a desk stand out of it as a reminder to be more patient.

Couldn't you simply attach all of the leads to one side of a switch and connect the other side to the pos post of the battery? Then flip the switch to OFF.

Years ago, I was in my treestand for several hours one morning with a decoy placed in bow range. The area was thick beech cover and had multiple cotton balls soaked in estrus throughout. The neighbor's 2 dogs were the only animals interested, checking out each scent and the decoy. I really was tempted! The neighbor lives 1/2 mile away and often allowed her 3 horses to roam and forage for themselves, claiming they kept breaking through a non-existent fence around her pasture. They destroyed my recently planted field of seedlings and I had to chase them off. These neighbors were trash, and I'm glad they lost the property and are gone now. The dogs were not harmed because they were just being dogs. But if the owners had been present..........

Rod length influences the leader length from the dipsey to the lure. With a longer leader, you might take more hits. IMO a shorter rod is better when fishing alone; helps to net the fish. Rod action also comes into play there also. Heavy helps the fisherman. Boat size and fishing space restrictions (anything limiting rod movement such as bimini top, etc.) are factors also. You bought 6 ft rods. Sounds really short to me. Most fisherman keep the leader length length to fit the rod length. This would make your leader too short after the dipsey. That will affect how often you get bit. The more seperation between dipsey and lure, the better. Short leaders restrict lure action. You could make the leader length longer to get more hits, but will have trouble at netting time and when storing the rod when not fishing. My rods are 8'6 and are good for most fish. However, fish near 30 lbs. are very hard to land, especially solo. I plan to try to hand line the next one instead of netting it. All dipseys have to be adjusted to get tripping ability. Too heavy and you can't trip it-too light and it is going off without a hit. Thinking the problem you had with the long rod was because the dipsey was set too tight and/or the rod too limber. Try tightening the drag (or thumbing the line)before tripping it, might help.

Black dipseys have worked for me. But since I've ran more clear dipseys lately they have accounted for more fish.

From a past bad experience with a treated wood mounting board to mount riggers on, use nothing but bolts, lockwashers, nuts,and metal backer plate (if you choose this option). Wood screws don't hold and a backer plate is necessary to prevent nuts from pulling through the wood. Prevent rigger loss!