DJ 17

Steelhead Assassin

You only need 6-10 feet of mono behind the core if you are going to go that route. Just enough to hook it in the release and be able to space it out a little so you don't weaken one area in the line. This will also allow you to put on more backing. A 47 should hold plenty of backing on a 7 color no problem.

I would definitely go with braid as your backing. You can splice in a section of mono between the braid and your core, that will make your willis knot much easier to tie( braid is a pain). As far as number of colors it is really dependent on your purpose for these rods. If you are going to use them for fall salmon in heavy traffic I would definitely go with heavier braid backing. I use 40# for what its worth. I have a triton 200 GT rigged for core and you have quite a bit of room on that reel for this purpose. As the season leads out of spring you may want to consider a heavier leader as well. Not a must but something to think about. I really like my 7 color rigs. They are versatile and they are a great length for mid summer walleyes on Erie as well. Hope this helps a little.

That stick looks great!

Dave, You probably tried this but I used to just throw the pigeons we shot from the field just far enough so he could walk and get them at first and then graduated from there. Also, when its warmer I went swimming with him at first to get him to go. I was nervous for awhile when my lab was a pup that I got the only lab in the US that hated water!

Ronald McDonald... cuz it looks like a happy meal!

Guffin, I am going to mount them on top of the gunwale just like you have there. My main question is for those that have them mounted on a fixed plate. Do you have the rod tubes sticking out wider than the boat or even with the edge of the boat itself?

Got the trees yesterday. They look like they will work just fine. The finish isn't that great but I didn't really expect it to be since the price is so reasonable. For those of you that already have trees mounted, how far out laterally do you have them mounted? Meaning, do the rod holders themselves stick out farther than the beam of your boat or did you tuck them in so they are basically flush with the width of your boat? I'm just wondering if it needs to be considered for docking purposes? Especially when fishing during early spring when water levels are low and the dock is higher the gunwale. Thanks, DJ

Got mine in the mail yesterday. They look great Carl.

I wasn't a fan of the swivel system they have. They even told me on the phone that there is some play in that mount.

I'll name that middle one(orange) for you. It should be called Marlboro. I taught and coached downstate for 9 years. In our league was Marlboro High School. Their colors were orange and black and I swear to god their mascot was the IRON DUKES! You from there?

With the MC Rockets try running them clean on a 48" leader behind an 8" spinny

That's a great picture!

That is definitely one of the ideas Chas. Just looking at all options, thanks for the input!

There are a variety of options for sure. The trees have a base plate of their own that is welded to the tube that has 4 holes drilled into it already. I don't mind drilling more but I haven't received them yet so I can't make any real decisions. Just trying to feel out options. I want the base plate to be drilled and tapped so the trees can come off easily.

Does anyone have a suggestion for where to get 2 plates made to mount these trees?

My story doesn't have as happy an ending as I'd hoped. I got a call back and they didn't understand the specs I wanted for the mounting plate. I explained the number of holes and positions to a tech and he said ok. A couple hours later I get a call that they are going to cost an extra $100 on top of the already quoted price. I told them that I thought that was too much and the lady said angrily that they already made one. I offered to give them more than their price that I was already quoted but she wouldn't come to an agreement at that price. Anyway, I am now getting just the trees and need to find someone to make the base plates I would like.

This is hilarious. NONE of the five of us must have looked any farther than the picture because we all said the same damn thing!

I just called and they said shipping was about $30. They called me today and asked more questions about how I wanted the plates done and they are working on it now. Seem like very nice people, hopefully they get it figured out.

Is that one of Bobby's from Finger Lakes Tackle? One of the alewife series maybe?