jigstick

chamberlain makes an awesome stacker clip

seems to me it would be just like using a planer mast and boards, except you can't get out as far. Ive wondered the exact same thing though. They use them for tuna and marlin, so why not salmon? The benefits to me would be less rope and reels etc. no boards to store. and it would totally look badass !

I went through this 3 years ago. You really have only 3 options. Option 1: Switch to hydraulic steering and the sky is the limit to autopilots. Option 2: install a Raymarine Sportpilot Option 3. Install an Octopus drive, either at the helm or back by the assist cylinder, and use any Autopilot electronic package you want with it. I ended up installing the Raymarine Sportpilot with Evolution 200 Electronic package on my 22.5 Bayliner Express Cruiser. It has worked well for me, trolling at walleye and salmon speeds. Installation is pretty easy, and you could do it yourself. The only thing that goes wrong with these, in my experience, is the clutch pads in the drive unit. Ive had mine replaced once. Turn around time from Raymarine was 2 weeks, and no cost to me. The Octopus helm and stern drive units are MUCH more robust than the Raymarine Sportpilot drive unit. But installation is a little more involved. However, once installed, they work just as well as the hydraulic drive units. If my Sportpilot ever is "unserviceable", I will probably switch to the remote Octopus drive and keep my same electronics package. When it comes to the electronic packages, I feel that Garmin is the most user friendly and feature packed for the price. A little nicer than my Raymarine stuff. If you really want top notch stuff then look at the Simrad electronics. A new Simrad MFD Sonar / GPS unit integrated with a Simrad autopilot would be the best of the best. Thats my plan for my next boat.

what kind of steering do you have

Which mods didn't work for you? Im using Offshore OR12 and Church TX22s. The only thing I have done so far was bend the front clips up at a 45 degree angle

Im in Pittsburgh at the moment. Try this. Put your hand on the spool and hold some tension on it. Crank your handle counter clockwise as if you were going to drop the ball. Let some cable out. Take your hand off the spool. Then start cranking the handle clockwise as if you were bringing the ball up. You should be able to wind up the cable "briefly" and then it may stop and just start clicking. If thats the case Im guessing the inside of your handle is stripped out. Do this test without the ball on first. You may be able to reel up the cable without the ball off. Then do the test ball on. If you can't reel it up with the ball on then your handle is stripped or its a clutch problem. Let me know how that goes. and Ill try and walk you through more options

I picked up the Amish Outfitter snubbers. That goofy snap on the Scotty had me worried. I have no idea how it works or if it would fit my balls. Will see how they work this friday - sunday.

that Bloodrun read was excellent. I will definitely give those recommendations a shot. These Off Shore boards don't really have a scale in regards to the weight. So its going to be impossible for me to figure out how far forward to the move the weight. I have a feeling I'm going to end up with a bunch of holes in the bottom of my board where the retention screw goes

Should I switch to Slide Divers with how clear the water is becoming should I switch out my dipsy divers and go to slide divers? I like the idea of being able to use longer leads on the slide divers. Rigging them seems a little more involved though. Splicing in that braid to the wire etc.

My wife brines my meat for me on an as needed basis

Cisco **** is the cats ass. Their machining is excellent. And they seem to be very willing to work with each individual to accomplish that persons specific goals....making custom stuff if need be. When I get my new boat it will be Cisco hardware all the way around. Plus Ill be able to fold the cost into the monthly payment lol

Mine did that once. The handle was stripped out so that It couldn't put pressure on the clutch pads. Kind of a known issue with the newer style handles Cannon has been putting on their riggers. I called customer service and they mailed me replacement "new style" handles, as well as 2 of the older style at no charge. You have to be careful when you crank the handles down. You only need enough pressure to keep the spool from free spinning. My buddy would crank the handles down so hard that if we would of got snagged the rigger would have got torn off the boat. By avoiding excessive pressure you won't strip out the handles like that, and also allow the clutch to work properly if you get snagged. This could be your problem....or not. I would check it out though.

Ive been using the Okuma Classic Pro GLT dipsy rods for 5 years without any problems at all. I love them. Mine are longer than 7ft though. I got them as a combo at the Slippery Sinker. Came with a twilly tip, Magda Pro reel, pre spooled with 7 strand 30lb wire with a terminal connection. Best combo I ever bought.

Tuning OFF SHORE planer boards Until I get a big board setup on my boat, I'm stuck with using my 6 OFF SHORE planer boards. Mine are all stock except I changed out the front clip to an OR18. To pull 5-7 color leadcore, should I be moving the weight more towards the leading edge of the board? I have a feeling that if Im going to be running 3 boards per side that I need to get some more spread between them. The instructions say that moving the weight forward will cause the board to dig more forward and outward. But I don't want it to start nose diving either. Any recommendations on how to "tune" these boards to run a deep diver, 5 color, and 7 color lead core?

how old is it? The newer ones with Evolution controller packs are worth more than the older SPX ones

i seen that one. it looks like a piece of rubber. How strong is that rubber? Amish outfitters makes one that looks similar, but has 500lb spectra inside. Anybody use those?

Downrigger Snubber Im looking for some snubbers to run on my down riggers, before the ball. Anybody have a product they like?

Will my Off Shore OR12 planer boards be able to pull 7 color lead core? I can pull the deep diving reef runners on them no problem

Heres a problem with me using braid. I use these with inline planer boards. Which have had a tendency to slide around on braid for me. Even when I switched to the clamp style releases (instead of the pinch pads) they still didn't hold tight on braid. Thats why Ive switched to mono. I want a reel which will give me at least 1000ft of total line on it, incase I would ever use these for salmon. I know the 45 size will, but I think its going to be tight on a 30.

7 Color Leadcore Reel I purchased some Okuma Classic Pro GLT rods, Suffix Performance 18lb Leadcore, 20lb Suffix Elite Mono, and Seagur flouro to set up 2 rods for 7 color lead core walleye rods. Can I get away with 250yds of mono backing, 70yds of lead core, and 25yrds of leader on an Okuma Madga 30DX, or should I go with the larger 45dx???