TyeeTanic

By the way, wouldn't it be nice if they just chaned the design of the bottom roller guide on the top half of the rod and the top wire guide on the bottom half of the rod so it has a smooth curved turnback which the wire can snuggly fit in. When taking the two pieces of the rod apart you could then simply run the wire over the turnbacks to prevent it from kinking. Maybe I need to invent something ...

Hey Bazooka. I caught this Hawg on 6 lb test in the river last October. Was 35 lbs. Took around 25 mins. So, it is possible ...

Nice fish Paul. Congrats. I know it wasn't easy and there were no guarantees getting that fish in. So good on you and the crew for landing it. I am sure your client is telling all his friends how he managed to lose $4000 by scrooging $10 for a ticket. You can probably sell the derby tickets for $20 each now - just keep a picture of that fish onboard.

Last night I tried my rapalas RSC dipsy wire rods. WOW, WOW - much better than the Eagle Claws. The rollers are tight and the wire does not get stuck in the guides. The rod has a beautiful action and makes it easier to reel in fish. Awsome rods - I am one happy customer.

I don't have exactly your setup, but I think I can shed some light here. I don't have downriggers on the boat, so I have wire dipseys on the outside of my boat running mags on #3 setting. I assume your copper is going right over the riggers on your sides, right? Well, I then have two rods in the between (in the center of the boat) running either #0 or #1 dipseys. I set them to 0.5 or 1.0 position maximum. The trick is the center dipseys - these will be the closest together and the highest risk of tangling together. What I do is put 1 rod on a #0 dipsey, and run it out about 250 feet - this gest me down aroudn 40 feet. I then run a #1 dipsey on the other rod out about 170 feet - which gets me around 60 feet down. What this does is staggers the lines away from each other in the water, so when you are turning, the line of the #0 basically goes over the line of the #1 dipsey. If you try running two dipsys at the same setting in the center you will need to be VERY careful on your turns or they will clash.

Holy smokes! 50+ fish. And your arms didn't fall off???

I ended up going with 10.5 ft Rapala Dipsy Rods with roller guides. They look amazing and tough. Can't wait to try them tomorrow. [ Post made via BlackBerry ]

I don't have downriggers. Can I use a 6ft rod? [ Post made via BlackBerry ]

Just broke my second eagle claw 8.5 ft rod. Not happy with the quality. They can't take the strain of a mag dipsey. Anyhow going to get a pair of new rods in a couple of hours. One shop is saying a shorter 6 ft is better and the other is saying I should get a 9ft rod. What would be better for me. I run 30lb 7 strand wire on #1 or mag dipseys. Thanks. [ Post made via BlackBerry ]

Well, it's not completely my fault. The dealer that sold me the boat said the only thing that was hooked up to the auxillary battery is the trolling motor. I guess he forgot to mention the livewell pump. Thing is when I had it off for several hours, I could switch it back on and it would work for a few seconds before dying down. That was the little bit of juice left in the battery - which also fooled me. Anyhow - it is a better outcome than having to replace my pump!!!

Figured out what the problem is, and I feel like a moron. The livewell pump is hooked to my auxillary battery which is not hooked up to the alternator - it is a deepcycle and also sends juice to the trolling motor. Guess what ran out of power??? I only had to send the mechanic down from the marina to figure that one out - and it cost me $50. Nice!

Huh? Ray, please explain - I don't understand the theory behind this one - are you saying the predators expect the bait to swim backwards?

Hey Paul. I've put in some major hours fishing and remember all those questions??? Well, this forum's help really got me to zero in on the right setup (I hope you weren't being sarcastic about learning so much in the last 6 weeks ). Adam - I would be scared crapless to use my 14 foot Raven in the lake. I know it flexes better than the girls at the Runway Strip club, but it must take forever to bring in a king with a 6 lb line. I find the trout are stronger in the streams and the salmon are stronger in the lake. Salmon seem tired in the river after a burst up the shallows - so I find it more manageable to catch them on my float rod in the river - but on the lake - I believe you, but I wouldn't do it - it's hard enough to reel in a screamer on the 8 ft rigger rods on 30 lb test. Like I said I believe you - but not sure as a beginner on the lake whether it will lead to succesful fishing.

Adam - maybe we're not talking about the same thing here. Are we talking about IM6 to IM8 river fishing rods, that are highly flexible - that we use 6 lb test on??? If so the thrashing of a king will definitely be too much force for that rod.

Oh, and one last but important thing - you want to set your lure 30 - 40 feet deep. So that means you need 150 to 200 feet of line out to get there on a 5 oz weight.

Well, there are a few basics you cannot stray from. I am a converted river fisherman (float) as well, so I know what is done there vs. the open water - and it is very much different. First and foremost is you need to be in the right depth of water, travelling at the right speed. 100 - 200 feet of water is generally good, and you need to be travelling between 2.5 - 3.3 mph. If you cannot keep your speed consistently in this range, forget it, you won't have too much luck. You are better off anchoring somewhere and jigging. If you can do this speed, then you will need at least a medium action 8 foot rod, and recommended is a heavy action 8.5 foot rod, but for limited fishing it's not a must. Your drift rod will snap in half if you use it trolling - trust me. You will need to fit the rod with at least 20 lb mono line or higher (I use 30 lb test) and have at least 800 - 1000 ft of it. Forget about the 6 lb test we use in the rivers - will snap in a second. You will need to know exactly how many feet of line you have out (for reason spelled out below), which defines the type of reel you can use - you obviously want a trolling reel for this reason, and because it is heavy duty. If you don't have this stuff then your best bet is to look out for some good combos - I got a Rapala Magnum II Medium to Heavy Action Trolling Rod and Reel with built in counter and mono line on it (ready to fish) for $80 at Canadian Tire. You can't get it much cheaper than this and it is pretty good stuff. Lastly is the tackle - you can do something simple or a little more complicated but more efficient. There are two components to your tackle - (a) something to get your line down deep enough and (b) the bait you use. For point (a) - A more complicated setup involves using something called a dipsey diver - this gets your line down deep (up to 100 feet). Basically the diver comes with a chart which tells you how much line you need to let out to get it a certain depth (which is why you need the line counter on the reel). I would go for a #1 size dipsey diver, it is the most versatile. If you want the simpler set up for point (a) - then get a drop (bass weight) around 3, 4 or 5 oz's. Put a 1/4" ring onto it and connect it to the snap swivel on the end of your main mono line. You can then join the lead line and bait to the same 1/4" ring. Trolling at the desired speeds - every 10 feet of line out gets you around 2 feet down (20%). For point(b) - I would just use lures. Good ones to get are 4" size and Northern King - Black/Purple &Water Melon, Williams - Blue/Silver, or Nasty Boy - Blue Silver. Put a 10' leader of 30lb floro carbon on this. Something more complicated would be an attractor/fly combo. Here you attach an attractor like a spin doctor to the dipsey using a 6 to 10 foot floro lead, and then a fly (made using tinsel) about 20" away from the attractor on a floro lead. Note, most flies come with the leader already installed. You want colors like bloody death or green glow. So to recap - I would recommend the simplest set up: - Rapala Magnum II Rod and Reel combo, with built in line counter and mono line - $80 at Canadian Tire - 40lb test stainless steel ball bearing snap swivels, Size 3 - (need 3 per rod for the simple setup) - $5 per pack, get 2 - Couple of 3 oz and 5 oz weights - $3 each, get 3. - Some 1/4" stainless rings to attach the weights to the main line - $3 per pack - 25 meters of 30 lb test florocarbon line - $15 for a roll - 4" Northern King - Purple/Black lure, Watermelon and Nasty Boy Blue/Silver - $8 each, get 3 or 4 - plastic case to hold spare stuff - $10 - option is some bait scent good for trout or salmon - usually hering works well. $5 for a bottle - ALL In - $165 all in for a decent, but basic setup, per rod. See image below for an illustration of how to connect everything up.

Yup - Hank has the right one - don't use anything else, this knot is easy to tie and as strong as steel!!

I have the Eagle Claw wire rods with the rollers, and my hand doesn't come too close to the wire. I definitely never get touched by it when I'm holding the rod above the reel.

I run my outside rods on a mag or #1 dipsey set at 3. Then I use a #0 dipsey on the inner (chute) rods set at 0.5 to 1.0. The benefit is the line out to depth ratio is much higher on the chute rods and they are basically a little further back than the outside rods. I also do not set the center dipseys (the closest two together) at the same depth - I normally have the one at 1.0 setting and a little further out and then another at 0.5 setting and a little closer in. This way the deeper one is closer and the shallower one is further back - this small offset (by 20 feet or so) also helps keeps the center dipseys apart. If the center rods fire I can bring a fish in the middle, and if it looks too complicated, I will pull the other unhooked center rod in to keep the center clear. If the outside rods fire, I normally keep the fish to the side and stay under the lines of the chute rods. If necessary I bring the closest center rod in to clear space. See illustration below. I rarely tangle this way. And by the way - if it is a big king - especially on one of the deeper (oustide) divers - all bets are off - you need to pull in at least both center (chute) rods. And I agree with what others have said above, start with 3 and get use to it, then go with 4. Set up your center dipsey first and then let out the deeper, closer outside dipseys.

I am using flea flicker on my chute rods - haven't had any twist problems yet. Have recently changed from single strand wire to 7 strand wire on my outside dipsey's. I know the single strand cut through fleas well, but how will the 7 strand hold up - is it as good???

Okay - I have been doing the above now for about 3 weeks and yes it is great for storage - it really has simplified things. BUT!!!! - the fleas are holding up a the micro-swivel joining the wire to the mono and I can't reel past this, so now I have 10 feet of mono followed by 10 feet of dipsey, snub, lead, flasher, lead, fly. We need to walk to the very front of the boat to get the fish even close to the back of the boat - and it is becoming a pain in the arse. I have moved over from single strand wire to 7 strand and this seems to do the trick. It is flexible enough that it doesn't kink as easily when I store my rod. This means I don't need a mono lead and I can attach my wire straight to the dipsey. This keeps the fish a lot closer to the boat when landing, which simplifies that final step in the process. Mark

I recently bought one - I think they are powerful enough to get only a couple of miles reception - no more. Sending is the issue. Receiving will be better if someone is sending a strong signal. They are really for conversing with close proximity radio communicators. You will not be able to talk to someone in Port Credit if you are in Bronte.

I have today changed from single stand 30# wire to the 7 strand. It is far more flexible and forgiving than the single strand - to say the least the single strand is a b$%tch. Anyhow - I do know the single strand does not hold up fleas at all. Does the 7 strand hold up any fleas or does it cut them off as easily as the single strand??

Thanks Skipper. Ya, I ran out of time to check the lines in detail. Will do that hopefully this Friday. It could very well be air. If I switch the pump off for 5 or 10 mins and then start up again, I always get about 50 - 100 mL of water coming out before it runs dry - so the water is coming in. If I let it sit longer, the water gushes out and then goes to a drop in a few seconds. So I figure the pump is working - either a leak in the suction or their is a partial blockage in the suction where water can slowly leak in but not fast enough to keep the pump running. Mark

So I went out tonight, hoping that by some miractle the livewell pump would work by just switching it on. I do this, and the water is pumping fine (plenty of water coming out) and then over about 2 mins it just dies down to a few drops before it stops all together. So, do you think there is just a blockage in the suction? The thing is I was able to flush water backwards through the system and I could see the air bubbles coming out of the inlet - so I figure maybe it's not blocked and perhaps what skipper is saying that there is a leak - but then why did the water come gushing out when I first started the pump?