John E Powell

I’d run the braid divers for spring salmon and walleye and spool up wire for summer and fall salmon. I prefer a section of heavy mono between braid backing and weighted lines like lead core/copper/steel to attach to planer releases. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Tried one a few times last year, not a fish caught behind it. Of course, it wasn’t deployed when the bite was on, usually when things slowed down. They do look sexy... Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Will you hold it until the weekend? I’ll drive over and pick it up. I’m nearby. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Where are you located? Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Can’t go wrong with the higher end Big John, Scotty, and Cannon, they’re all good. Compare features, decide what is and isn’t important to you. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Well, you basically need a full size dipsy to reach those depths and if you want to pull cowbells, which have a bit of drag, that’ll mean you really need a diver rod that can pull the diver and attractor combo. If you run into fleas while trolling, you might want to consider a wire setup, it’s the easiest to keep clean. If you don’t run into fleas, I’d probably switch the 17lb mono for braid. Both wire and braid will more easily reach the depths you want to troll. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

What is the shallowest, average and deepest depths you need to reach on Keuka Lake during your fishing season? I ask because if you need to reach deeper depths you may need larger size divers which may require a more powerful rod to tow them. ________________________ Owner John's Custom Rods Specializing in building Great Lakes trolling rods since 1979 First place winner of the 2016 World Rod Building Challenge

Since you’re in Rochester I would highly recommend McCauley canvas in Medina. We did a lengthy interview process to discuss options for a truly custom fishing canvas on my last boat. I couldn’t have been happier with the materials and his craftsmanship. http://www.mccauleycanvas.com 2-piece sides for spring/summer and 3 piece drop. They come together making a 5-piece rear wraparound. Exterior handrails for going forward on the gunnels. 2-toned with trim piping to match boat graphics. Future expansion zipper for rear room add on built in to the rear edge in advance. Sunbrella and Strataglass panels, and premium threads, binders, and sealers. ________________________ Owner John's Custom Rods Specializing in building Great Lakes trolling rods since 1979 First place winner of the 2016 World Rod Building Challenge

The 13 Fishing Black Betty Freefall and Eagle Claw In-line ice reels (switch out drag washers for carbon fiber on the Eagle Claw) are nice premium and budget reels respectively. The Tica Cetus-SS would my first choice in a spinning reel. On those bitter cold days the 13 Fishing Wicked Long Stem Clampack is a good choice as it will allow you to wear really bulky gloves; the long stem gives you extra clearance so it would be a good choice for outside the hut on bitter cold days moving from hole to hole looking for Walleye. I don’t know much about Fiblink models other than some people love them and some people think the stem is too short so keep that in mind if you have big hands, but they’re currently on sale. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Need a lot more info about what and how your fishing to make a meaningful recommendation. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

There are free classes all weekend by top quality presenters... Sunday’s lineup of presenters is probably the best it’s ever been. Check the schedule... ________________________ Owner John's Custom Rods Specializing in building Great Lakes trolling rods since 1979 First place winner of the 2016 World Rod Building Challenge

There are often factors in these situations that the general public isn’t aware of. For instance the facility contracts have to be made in advance, and commitments have to be secured from sponsors to the school for all the freebies attendees receive. When you’re a non profit organization you plan these types of commitments conservatively to assure success. If anyone was left out, that was really their choice as they could have reserved a seat a long time ago when ticket sales opened. It’s no secret the school sells out every year, and the volunteers at LOTSA who’ve put this school together in the past have nearly double the size of the school in recent years. I think they’re doing a fine job and they deserve more than a pat on the back for all their unpaid volunteer time. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[emoji15] I think you meant to write watt not amp. A 1k amp generator would be about the size of a small locomotive.[emoji16] ________________________ Owner John's Custom Rods Specializing in building Great Lakes trolling rods since 1979 First place winner of the 2016 World Rod Building Challenge

West end of lake, south shore kings. 2 mag wire divers, 2 regular wire divers, 1 rigger, 1 300 weighted steel.

Two electric downriggers one per rear corner, 2 HD diver rod holders per side and maybe a tree per side for planer board rods. Tracks for the rod holders so you can fine tune their position throughout the season as/if necessary. Your Bimini top shouldn’t interfere with your rod holders. If you need canvas work, wait a bit till you know where you want everything else. Your layout depends a lot on the maximum number of people and where they’ll be in the boat and how many rods you’ll be running. 2 guy’s fishing 4-6 rods will look different that 3-4 guys running 8 or more rods. There’s times you’ll be running 2 divers per side others just 1. You might have 3 surface lines per side in the early spring near shore or in the late spring trolling the edges of offshore thermals. Your layout needs to be flexible so you are able to make it do everything well. Track systems give you a lot of flexibility. Check out Cisco, Bert’s, Traxstech, Cannon and others. Their websites have a lot of layout photos. Resist the temptation to mount 4 riggers. At one time it made sense but with today’s clearer waters it’s too many cables for a smaller boat. Stick to 2.

It does sell out every year for a reason. It’s the best salmon seminar on the Great Lakes. ________________________ Owner John's Custom Rods Specializing in building Great Lakes trolling rods since 1979 First place winner of the 2016 World Rod Building Challenge

The date is posted in the second sentence of the original post.