Don Supon

Expect the levels to be low for the whole season this year. How low depends intensely on weather. With all the Great Lakes down about 3-4 ft., replenishing Ontario will occur very slowly. The IJC will raise them as much as they can to benefit the shipping industry, but they still have to produce electricity for Montreal. Expect Ontario to rise slowly, very slowly, until early summer and then stay at a below average level for the season. Whatever the lake high turns out to be for this year, it will be considerably below average levels since 1998. Harbor and channel dredging are the best way to make boating doable, and that is going to take a while for sure. The deeper the draft on your boat, the longer you'll be waiting to enter the lake. Even then, go s-l-o-w, know your channell, and hopefully avoid prop damage; entering and departing the lake will be hazzardous for the unprepared or reckless operators. Trailered boats have a danger also. That danger is where the ramp ends, and the drop-off there. The better ramps are still safe, but low water puts the trailer wheels close to the end. Be careful when launching and don't damage the trailer. My prediction is it will be a late start for most boaters this year, and a good season for repair shops. Marinas will have troubles also, and struggle to stay open and in business. The lake will go up eventually and make it better for boaters, the fish will still have plenty of water to live in. Just BE CAREFUL.

Simple. Add a flourocarbon LEADER (not line) with a small barrel swivel to the braid. 10 feet or so to the lure. Fish 100 ft. or more behind the boat. Inline planers are deadly for this tactic. With them you could shorten the leads to as little as 50 ft. and run them in the muddy water near shore.

My experience goes like this: My boat was storred outside for the winter.Boat and motor cover were tarped for snow. The 50 hp Merc. motor was left tilted up slightly on a transom saver rod. The exhaust hub in center of propeller was not protected, allowing snow to get in. In the spring all looked good with no buldges, etc. and it took her out fishing. I fished the morning and returned to the launch I had used. Approaching in shallow water before the ramp, there was a loud clunk from the prop and I thought I had hit some unseen obstruction as I was in 3 ft. of water. I suspected a pipe or similar, with nothing showing on the FF. The motor ran, but movement was difficult the rest of the way. A Mercury serviceman found the problem when he took the lower unit appart. The gears had split in half with no damage to the housing. I could have saved this repair cost if I had simply left the motor completely down or covered the exhaust port.

Agree with John's advice on line weight. What you have is light for salmon strength and weight, but useable only if you have huge capacity and don't mind the fish having the upper hand in a battle. After spring season, the flies will stop you with that light line. The wire combos should be longer (than existing rigger rods) for clearance of riggers. Wire requires roller guides or a twille tip, regular guides will be grooved by wire. And you need some dipsey divers or equivalent to get away from the boat and down. Colors are infinite almost, but most prefer clear or black. Go with copper after you've learned these techniques; you could flatline down the chute or go off your big boards (many posts on how to do this). A lure speed and down temp system are extremely helpful, but expensive. Get it if you can, it will help the walleye pursuit also. Sounds like all you have to do mainly is change lines as you must already have the releases and such. Posts about these topics are frequent and numerous. Much has been posted already, usually in Tackle and Techniques. Go back for up to 2 years for opinions.

PM sent.

Accurate answer.I've been trying for the same for 2 years. LT numbers are usually easy, trophys are rare. 20 lb + fish don't come often, look at LOC results for consistent results. Mid to high teens are fairly consistent on the Western end of Lake O, mid 20's or more happen much less.

300 seven strand copper down the chute has caught zebra mussels for me in 90-100 FOW while slow trolling for lakers on the bottom. It's right where predicted in that presentation and I wouldn't want any probe running there. My X4 on the rigger is is watched carefully and kept off bottom at all times.

Preceeding posts appear to indicate that the problem is likely not caused by close placement of ducers. Some have interference while others don't. Frequencies don't appear to be it. Maybe the problem has something to do with angles of the transducers. Or by some other combination of equipment on the boat. Sounds like a real delemma that you should post about if the actual cause can be determined.

For a backer plate I would recommend an alumunum plate of 3/16 or 1/4 by gunnel width. Plywood would work, but metal is stronger. Buy the metal at a fabrication shop and it should only cost a couple bucks.

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I have a HuminBird FF (80/200 KHZ) and a Fishawk X4 on my boat. Transducers are 6-8 in. apart with no interference. Go figure.

Best would be 3 holders per side, as that is the rods allowed per angler. They could be done individually or you could purchase a 2 or3 rod set mounted on a pedestal base (I have doubles on my Lund 18 Fisherman). Buy a track if you want that you could mount both the pedestal and downriggers onto. I'd do 36 in. for this application to get seperation. Or the pedestal and riggers could be mounted to the gunnel separately as I have done before I knew about tracks. On a new boat with no holes in the gunnel (or an older one with many holes already), I'd get the track first and attach it. I'd also purchase the longest track that fits the boat. That way you have the ability to add items or change brands of items as desired. Or reposition them. Give yourself flexibility for the future. I didn't with my 06, and have had problems when changing things up because of different bolt hole patterns of different brands. With the track, anything can go anywhere and repositioning is easy. The only holes you have to drill are for the track itself (make sure they have a full length backer on the underside of gunnel for maximum strength). Any equipment in the track will need the appropriate track slider plate for the equipment to attach to. Added expense, yes, but you've already invested big bucks for the boat. A track system will add value to your boat, make changes VERY easy, and allow you to remove items easily if safety or storage are issues for you.

After you get the holes repaired, do yourself a favor and attach a plate over them to accomodate new ducers like Rolmops said. Products are available online or at marine stores to do this with. New holes go into this product and never penetrate your transom. You will be happy!

I agree with this concept of the charter boat license that covers the onboard fisherman. This seems to be normal for Atlantic Ocean and Gulf fishing on deep sea charters I have been on. However, who has ownership of the fish landed should also be part of the action taken.

PM me with your location for pick-up and size of drilled hole. Price is still high IMO.

Get a FishHawk, you'll be glad.

Historical trends are being repeated, Chris, but at below average levels since 1999. With all the lakes being extremely low, how would anyone think that the lakes can rebound to even the average levels of before 1999.<br /><br />Harbor access and launch ramps work will have to be done quickly and repeatedly, for many years, before we can return to the levels we are accustomed to. The "good old days" (average levels at least) will be gone for a long time, maybe for this lifetime or longer. I will continue to be pessimistic, regretably.

Have been running 13 lb torpeodes off 2 riggers, one each side. They get set on the floor when running, they never move around for me. The riggers are swivled to the stern of the boat for running and 45 or 90 degree for trolling. The torpedoes have a rear fin that stops rolling, but also makes use of a ball buddy useless. The buddies might work if you notch opposite sides to fit the weight. I plan to up the weight to 15 lbs. this year, and have a pair of 20 lbers to try when needed.

I agree

It was a good post, really. But it fits righ in there with weather predictions. Keep in mind that it is calling for normal lake levels for us. ALL of the Great Lakes are down 2+ feet. The IJC controls L. Ontario levels and is capable of making it be whatever they desire. They can hold the water back from the St. Laurance River to keep our lake level reasonable if they choose to. The other lakes are all at the mercy of Mother Nature the farther you get from Ontario, so without A LOT of precipitation west of us and the destruction that would entail from that senerio, I'm skeptical of the benefits implied by these predictions. Hoping our Lake reaches and maintains "normal" levels, but all is still only PREDICTION.

Dunn Tire on N F Blvd. is another option to contact.