TyeeTanic

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. So will I just see a major swing up in temperature, or should I stop when I see a certain temperature like 65F or 70F?

Guys - I could not believe my friggin eyes tonight when I went out in the water. The surface temperature at Bronte is 46F!!!! Just yesterday it was 72F. Anyhow, I tried from 75ft - 125 FOW. Found baitballs at 80 ft and marked a few big boys at the same depth, but I only had two shakers on. I fished everything between 20 and 30 ft. But I must say it was unproductive really. What is the best technique - move into shallow water and set the spoons in shallow water, or move to warmer surface water much further into Lake O? If you search for warmer water, what temp do you look for? Is 65F enough? Thanks.

MountainM - the mono suggestion sounds cool. I have 40 lb Floro lead - will that be good enough?

Good idea.

Chowder I know, but the problem is I have to seperate the two pieces of my rods to store them. This means if I keep the tackle on I bend the wire around two guides, and it causes kinks. I have a bow rider and I have no where to keep the rods if they are fully assembled. What I do is break them down and then lock them away in a compartment on my boat. So problem is because of this, I run the risk of kinking wire after each fishing trip after I put the rods away. It is better for me to just cut the wire and tie it around the first guide closest to the reel. It keeps the wire tight and I don't need to worry about kinks. What I do is keep my dipsey set up all ready - so everything except the fly or lure is all hooked up. All I do is pull the wire through the guides, tie the snap on and attached the dipsey set up. It takes me 5 mins max. Mark

By the way - does the same apply to braid line?

Tbromund, It actually is a pain in the backside to get the dipseys set so they don't pop while trolling. I can't tell you how many times I've got the line out 200 ft and then pop goes the wessle! Reel in everything and start over again. So, yes, I do overtighten a bit, but on new dipseys, until you get the clips to loosen a bit, it is really difficult to not have it overtightened. If they don't pop with a fish on, are you saying just leave it and work against the dipsey?

I lost a biggie this weekend too after a 30 min fight. I think the strain on the wire is just ripping the hooks out of their mouths. If it's a biggie again, I'm going to pull my other rods and slow/stop the boat, probably circle the fish to help land it, always keep the tension on though! You do need to "set the hook" just to make sure the dipsey pops, otherwise your arm will fall off by the time you get the fish to surface. Mark

Okay, so I promised I'd post some results after doing a test using the Fish Hawk, Depth Temp 15 ft 55F 30 ft 50F 50 ft 45F 60 ft 44F 100ft 42.5F 130ft 42.0F This was on Saturday, July 9th at 7 AM. I tested several more times during the days, but there wasn't a major change in the temperature profile. Fished in 120 - 140 feet of water throughout the day. Hooked at 20 ft - two very small 2 - 4 lb fish - steelie and chinook Hooked at 40 ft - 1 very large fish, 30 min fight before hook came out of mouth - very tired arm Hooked at 40 ft - 1 medium sized rainbow - about 8 - 10 lb. Hooked at 60 ft - 1 medium sized chinook - about 12 lb Hooked at 100 ft - 1 large lake trout - 20 lb Also hooked, but lost 2 more fish at around the 40 and 60 foot depth. Most of the action was between 40 and 60 feet of water, which would make it a temperature band of around 44F - 48F. Will repeat this test and check for consistency.

Okay I made a BIG mistake today. I had a beast on my line - after 30 mins it was still pulling. I didn't pull my other rods out and slow down the boat. After 30 mins and the fish starting to get tire, the lure released probably torn through the mouth. This fish would have definitely paid out money in the Salmon Derby. I am kicking myself hard, should have just pulled the other rods and driven the boat towards the fish. AGhgghghg

Thanks Chowder for that knot tip - i did it today, it worked like a dream. I am just going to cut 4" off each time and tie around one of the wire guides. It is easy enough to tie the line next time around and I know I'm starting with a clean slate.

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Pirate's Cove ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): July 9, 2011 Time on Water: 6 AM - 3PM Weather/Temp: Clear/ 28C Wind Speed/Direction: South Waves: less than 1 meter Surface Temp: 72F Location: Bronte, Burlington, Hamilton LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 8 Total Boated: 5 Species Breakdown: Chinook, Rainbow, Steelhead Hot Lure: Black/Purple, Watermelon, Dartee 2, Pink/Light Green fly Trolling Speed: 2.8 mph Down Speed: N/A Boat Depth: 120 - 140 ft Lure Depth: 20, 40, 60, 90 ft ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Good day out there with a mixed bag. Lost one biggie after a 30 min fight. Hook came out of the mouth, while still under tension. Caugt a 18 lb steelhead at 90ft lure depth.

Thanks for all the tips guys. What I think went wrong yesterday is I did something s2pid. Snapped the flasher on the wrong way around and fished for 1 hour. When I retrieved the tackle, my connecting line (between dipsey and flasher) was all twisted on my wire line. I think this caused a kink. I thought about re-tying the line, but left it (too many fish on the \ chart!) About 30 mins later I pulled in the wire dipsey and pop, everything came off. What I normally do with my rods is take all the tackle off up to the wire snap swivel. Then I take my 2 piece rod apart and carefully put them together trying not to kink the line. I then put the rod in a sleeve and it goes in a compartment. I need to do this as I have a bow rider and need to get the rods off otherwise I can't put my cabin tarps on. Unfortunately there is a risk for the line to coile out some and also get some kinks through the guides where the wire turns as I put the 2 pieces together. I will just have to keep monitoring. I have even though maybe to just cut the tie everytime and tie the wire end to one of the guides. It takes a few seconds to tie another loop and it will avoid a lot of kinks and wire un-coils. Mark

Was reeling in my line last night to put the rods away. Pulled to pop the dipsey and then everything went lose. The wire snapped and I lost a mag dispey, snubber, 50lb wire braid connecting line, flasher, lead and fly. Nice!!! Anyhow, I figure the line was stressed where I joined it to the quick connect swivel. I haven't really checked them in 3 or 4 fishing trips. So the question is, should I just be remaking new ends on the wire (re-tie to the swivel) everytime I go out, or just check them? Thanks, Mark

Thanks Gill-T. I have a 9 year old boy. Same problem - must produce every 15 - 20 minutes or I don't here the end of it,

Okay, I bought one yesterday!!! Will try it out tonight, can't wait. I had to search half of Ontario for this probe!! I found only 1 shop that had 6 left, and it took me almost 1 hour to drive there!!! It seems these probes are so popular the local distributor has them on back order.

Yes, your image is exactly what I imagined. You should also remember a bigger boat has more momentum. So it will drift a lot more in the direction of travel than your other boat, which probably only needed a tap of the engine to change directions on. So really your two options are to go passed the dock, turn around and move in with your momentum towards your dock. Or go wide and point the nose at the middle of your dock, hit reverse when you are a few inches away to stop it dead, kill the engine and jump off with both ropes in your hand. Make sure you have everything ready, and don't panic when you do this manouver, as things can go wrong quickly.

Hey WWIV. Now I got myself not only the Mac Jac, but also a Fish Hawk TD. I have no excuses now - if I'm not catching fish - it can only be ... me!

Okay - I just bought myself a Fish Hawk TD. Will send her down tonight to find the 45 - 55 F range. I will fish one line at 45 F and another at 55 F - on same lures - I will post which one is the hotter line .... that is if I hopefully catch anything on either line!

Guys, I thought I had made a deal to buy an old mac jac temp probe to read down temp, but it fell through. I am now looking at a fishhawk TD. I like the unit because it takes and records readings every 5 ft on the way down. I can also hook it up to my line to get an accurate indication of my trolling depth and temperature - this will help me figure out what my dipsey's on wire are doing. Anyhow, can anyone provide a recommendation for this product before I go spending $150 + taxes. Thansk.

J&J were you using a no 0 or no 1 dipsey?

I am general talking about steelhead, coho and king salmon. I think a good fishing day is high numbers, with one or two big boys (+15 lbs). I am generally talking about morning (6 - 11 am). Let's keep it to July/August. Thanks, Mark

Well, I managed to find a Mac Jac Temperature Probe thanks to WWIV who pointed me in the right direction. It is being mailed to me, so hopefully I'll get it next week. So now I will be able to measure temperature every 10 ft down to 150 ft. So the next question is what temperature zone am I looking for? I posted 55F as a good temperature based on the advice on some other messages in the forum. A few guys said that was still way too warm or something. So I'm going to do a pole to find out what people define as the thermocline that they like to fish in, just below and just above.

With wind, it will definitely make it harder. What about current? Is there a current pushing you? There's some good instructions on you tube - just search for videos on "how to dock a boat". Are you docking on your own or with help? If you have help, then you could pass your dock and turn around so you then come in with the momentum towards your dock, not away from it. What I do is coast in with my nose pointing at the middle of the dock, with someone ready to walk off the nose. I then lightly touch the reverse a few inches from the dock and the boat essentially stops dead making it easy for my helper to get off. The only trick with this technique is your back will be a foot or so away from the dock, so the helper must basically pull the front nose to keep the bow from hitting the top of the dock and then quickly pull the back in so you can get off and take over this rope. Then you tie the back end down, while the helper ties the from end down. If you are on your own you can still do this, but you have to come in a lot closer to the dock and hit reverse (lightly!) before you reach the top of the dock. You have to have the ropes ready in your hand, before you enter the dock, make sure the back rope is outside the bimini frame and the front rope is over the front window. Both ropes should be in your left hand. As you reverse to stop the momentum, quickly put in neutral and cut off the engine. Then walk off the boat by the front passanger seat and control it with the ropes off the dock. Do a temp hook up on your middle dock anchor and then tie the back up, after that go back and tie the front properly. It takes 3 or so tries and then you will master it.

Open or closed?? Closed makes no difference. I'd imagine if there was alot of wind and it was open, it would push the boat a bit.