VanderLaan

I know that I am late to this thread, but figure I will respond in case someone finds this thread in a search. I have a house in Benton Harbor, roughly five miles from Tackle Haven. Spent many an afternoon talking to the owner and his staff getting the low-down on current conditions. Likely have spent too much money there as well. Good guys. Would have no problems recommending them to anyone.

Good advice so far. Lots of ways to skin this cat. I am a weekend warrior, so I don't feel the need to spend top dollar for high-end gear. That said, cheap stuff can be wasted money. With the exception of some old Penn 209s that I use for coho high lines in the spring, I use convectors and coldwaters. Most of my reels have the drag upgrades (lost a big one due to a sticky drag, so the upgrade is worth it to me. ) and I use coldwaters with upgraded drags for my wire divers. As far as rods go, I have had good results with Daiwa Heartland rods. They are cheap and have served me well. I also have a few of the Shimano TDRs. At $20 each, I won't cry if they get broken. I generally use 8'6" Medium action for board rods, 8' Medium for riggers (some like ML, but that seems too light for me) and 9'6" medium-heavy rods for divers. Hope this helps.

Interested. Not on Facebook.

Thank you. Appreciate the advice.

I have Scotty's on Traxstech with the Versatrack (48"/five brackets) and a Bert's riser. Using 12 pound shark style weights. No trouble so far. Have also seen the Brocraft-style track supports with the adjustable screw that transfers the weight to the gunnel. Would think that would work equally as well, if not better than the Traxstech style mounts.

Assuming that you know the water temp at 55 feet is 40-45 degrees and you are not marking any fish, how would you go about setting your divers and downriggers? I have two DRs and two wire divers and I usually try and bracket that depth with two above 55 feet and two below/right at 55 feet. And then use my lead core and copper rods higher in the water column to target out of temp/bonus fish. Is there a better way to set your spread to find fish? Should my DRs and divers be deeper? I feel like I am stumbling around in the dark guessing at a starting depth. Hoping you'all can give me some insight to sharpen my game.

I got scammed last summer on a CP reel and drift rod. Same scenario, responded to a post and they PM'ed me with a package deal. Seems that second party transactions are almost always a scam.

I have a Iwata Eclipse that works great. A Neo is a cheaper, good quality starter gun. I would urge you to get a gravity-feed brush. You can get a bunch of accessories at Harbor Freight. Google DIY brush cleaner recipe and use a ketchup/condiments squirt bottle from Walmart with q-tips (buy the big box) to clean your gun. I use Createx paint. Good gow paint is difficult to find and can be hard to shoot due to it typically being thicker than regular paint. I have tried the craft stuff, but it is a PITA to thin it. There is also glow powder that you can mix in the paint. I just buy glow spoon blanks from LPO and paint over them. Be sure to set each color with a blow dryer (if you are using water based paint). I seal my spoons with a few coats of automotive clear in a rattle can. I got mine at Menard's. Works pretty good. Would second the madriver recommendation. Carl is a good guy to work with. He has an eBay store. Has all sorts of spoon tape - UV, glow, real fish, etc. Lure Parts Online also has spoon blanks, tapes and ladder backs.

Thanks for the insight.

Got it. Thanks for the insight. Always considered the carbon upgrades to be cheap insurance.

Thanks for the response. I like my Convectors and would be happy to buy another pair. Are the drag upgrades no longer needed for Convectors?

Looking to add another pair of wire divers this year. Was doing some research on the Coldwaters and found some threads on sticking drag issues. I primarily run Convectors and have upgraded the drags. Saw a few older threads (2021-ish) that said Okuma was supposed to upgrade/address the drag problem. Anybody know if Okuma has followed through? Any thoughts on Coldwaters as diver reels? Would I likely be just as satisfied with upgraded Convectors? I am on a somewhat limited budget, so the better half won't appreciate any suggestions to spend more money. 😉

Thanks. That's what I am thinking of doing. All wire? Other than fleas or cost, is there a reason to run braid instead?