For Sale : USA Brand New Victrola

[SCUBASLIM]

I have a brand new victrola 3 spring motor with sapele mahogany box.  It is lined with 600' 21 ga copper and twin minnow.  Asking $300.00.

[TileMan Dan]

What does this do? Never seen one before

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[SCUBASLIM]

It is an old school method used in the Finger Lakes for mostly catching lakers off the bottom.

[rolmops]

What does it do???

It makes the lakers hear their masters voice!!!

[Frogger]

Nice looking box. For those not knowing, a deadly presentation to lakers on the fingerlakes. Imitates a baitfish, sculpin, dancing from rock to rock on the bottom. As you let line out the weight takes it to the bottom with the twin minnow skipping on the rocks. You hold the line somewhat steady while trolling slow and wham. Laker on. Give me a Blue Mullet Pflueger and now you got some fun. Once he's hooked you just pull him in and the victrolas spring winds it right up. If you have never seen it you should try it.

[old man]

That is a nice one! Here's mine:still catches fish and i wouldn't sell it for any price.

[SCUBASLIM]

Bump

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[pokepole39]

lmao!!!!!! what does it do ?Kinda shows you how the game boys and such are taking over our youth ..what this does is catch fish like no other method on the finger lakes but to much of a learning curb and expence for most .... does keep the forearms tuned though ..pitty it will be a lost art soon for sure... the old fellows that love it and know how to do it are slowely dying off.. time you loose a set of flashers weight and spoon.not to mention swivel and some copper most will never lern this way of fishing ...pitty..just dont do it with any lightning on the lake.. a real hair raising time .. and not fun ..lmao good fishing to all .........    

[TileMan Dan]

Appropriate question for something I've never seen before or heard of. By the way poke never played with a game boy as I'm not that young. This site is about learning and sharing if you haven't been able to pick up on that with all your wisdom.

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[old man]

I was lucky enough to grow up spending every summer at seneca where these were popular. It's just a self winding reel used to troll by hand. Back then we used a three way swivel with a heavy weight that kept it a couple feet off bottom. The bait was a flasher rig which is a bunch of blades and beads on a wire leader. The bait was a sawbellie on a gang hook rigged to spin. You would bounce this off bottom by hand as you troll. About 90 fow was normal. Not the most sporting way to fish but it worked. I still do it once in a while but i use a sutton spoon instead of the gang hooks.

[Frogger]

Im still waiting for that "Copper Tournament" out of Sodus........  Biggest King wins.  You can only use copper line with flashers or lure, no rods can be used or on board....  and oh yea, no gloves either......lol

[blueghost1]

Im still waiting for that "Copper Tournament" out of Sodus........  Biggest King wins.  You can only use copper line with flashers or lure, no rods can be used or on board....  and oh yea, no gloves either......lol

Love it! I am "only"35 and grew up pulling wire on Seneca, still do time to time.Got my first wire fish at 5. We go real old school, no victrola just pile the wire on the floor, the trophy has enough deckspace. My dad tried pulling in front of Sodus, told him he was nuts If a king hit. Got a decent laker and lot "rockier" bottom feel. Still a hot method and there is still nothing like having that slam and  your arm stopped dead on an upward pull

[Sk8man]

Tileman Dan- your question was very legitimate and although this rig is a familiar sight to those of us who may have grown up with it, the victrola is not  a common fishing "tool" anymore even on the Finger Lakes where it used to be a "mainstay" and is still one of the most productive and effective methods for taking lakers. I even caught the biggest smallmouth of my life accidentally (and out of season no less) on a twin minnow (7.6 lb smallie) using it.  The victrola is a pretty versatile weapon for lakers because as mentioned you can pull flashers (cowbells) with a variety of tackle, troll with flutter spoons on a leader, or use heavy spoons (pfleuger 4/5, barracuda, blade runner, ace etc.) or pull the twin minnow or flatfish with it. It is a bottom-oriented technique and it takes a lot of time to fully master but there is nothing like the feeling of a big laker shaking his head at the other end of the wire and managing the net at the same time by yourself

[TileMan Dan]

Sk8teman - thank you for taking the time to give me a thoughtful and intelligent answer to what a "Victrola " is used for. Never seen one or heard of one before the start of this thread. Thanks for teaching me something new today.

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[rolmops]

I once tried to make a "modern version" Victrola using an 18 volt drill with a reel. It worked real well except that when it started rolling up the wire, it gave such a strong initial pull that it jerked out of my hand into Owasco Lake. So if any of you guys pulls out an 18 volt Dewalt  drill with a copper spool on it , it's mine.

[wet the net]

I am still puzzled as to what this does. Is it essentially a hand lining reel?

[Lakertaker187]

Have to say I tried with the Victrola, wasn't the biggest fan. I got a 8'6" okuma copper rod and a okuma convector reel and spooled 500' of copper on that. I LOVE pulling copper for lakers. For me the rod and reel is a lot more enjoyable. To each is his own either way it's an awesome time!

[old man]

I am still puzzled as to what this does. Is it essentially a hand lining reel?

yes,it's a hand fishing reel.

[blueghost1]

It is a spring loaded auto retrieve reel based on an old record player setup I believe. Les can probably describe better. Like I said I learned the old way of piling the wire in the boat. Long as you don't touch the mess, it USUALLY goes back in fine. All you really need is copper, some sort of storage spool like an extension cord reel and a fixed hook spoon (Johnson silver minnow) is a cheaper approach, get your boat down to 1.2-1.6 and jerk the copper as you are trolling. The lakers will slam you good on the hit. Your arm takes all the give and acts as the rod. It's a different and fun approach. Ps don't try with a dipsy rod in the water also I learned

[Sk8man]

Basically it is an "auto wind up" (the crank handle is used to create tension in the spring mechanism) system for trolling with copper wire and mainly for bottom oriented lake trout and used primarily (or at least historically) on the Finger Lakes. Mike's (Frogger) joke above about using it for kings is hitting at the fact that when a big fish such as a Chinook hits the wire can become an instant removal of your fingers which is why you don't see many (i.e.any) on Lake O using it Most folks using copper or monel wire use finger protection such as the thumb and forefinger/index finger cut from leather gloves.  Depending on which type of lure or technique you wish to use a leader usually of mono can be used with the wire or if for example using a heavy spoon (like those mentioned in my post above) it is usually attached directly to the wire without a swivel snap. This is so that you can feel the changes in the lake bottom (cobble areas seem most productive) and lure action through the wire and any near misses from fish. You troll at relatively slow speed always letting out or taking up wire as the bottom contours and depth change. It is very important to be familiar with how your boat handles (speed-wise) and with the particular area you are fishing (to avoid hanging up on bottom).The object is to keep in close contact with or sometimes just above the bottom (e.g. flutter spoon) and the target is lakers sitting right on or just above bottom. In theory it stirs up bottom and creates a commotion down there mimicking prey. When a set of flashers (cowbells) is used at the end of the wire with a lure or alewive on a gang hook it is thought to resemble a school of fish near bottom and the lure is something "wounded" or"vulnerable" in some way trailing behind the"school"so the predator (laker) instinctively grabs it. I think that when a "peanut' is used behind this rig it is the action itself and trailing position of the peanut rather than the "look" of it that signals vulnerability to the laker. Once the fish hooks up (you lose some because of the nature of the technique no matter how good you are at it mainly because there is no "give" to the wire ) you start pulling him in on the wire  and the victrola automatically winds the slack wire up on the reel which is spring loaded (or motor driven electrically (in some cases). The old timers didn't use the victrola they just coiled the wire in the bottom of the boat as they brought the fish in or rolled it up on a piece of wood or other home made "gizmo". There is a certain rhythm or cadence to pulling the wire which is impossible for me to describe....something that needs to be observed visually and doing it right makes all the difference in the world (even subtle differences count) Hope this helps...

 

Pictured below are from left to right (note the large fixed hooks):

Hopkins spoon,

Barracuda Reflecto #4

Pfleuger Record #4

Pfleuger Record#5

Sutton 88 (flutter)

Sutton 43 (Flutter)

Leather Stocking (flutter)

Ace #5

Barracuda Reflecto

Crippled Alewife

Johnson Silver Minnow

 

Bottom row left to right:

Twin Minnow (jointed version)

Standard versions (trebles replaced with SS single)

 

Second photo: variety of Sutton flutter spoons specifically for copper wire use:

Edited February 12, 2014 by Sk8man

[Sk8man]

SCUBASLIM - I didn't mean to hijack your posting and I should add that the victrola you are selling looks very nice and these things are becoming quite rare now days so if someone is interested i'd grab it while I had the chance.....

[SCUBASLIM]

Sk8man it is all right.  LOU is a learning tool for everyone and I am glad all of you guys could comment and share your wealth of knowledge on this feed!! Thanks

[Frogger]

Les, I can still remember to this day being out in front of the Legion in the spring, Bobby and I in his 16fter as kids right before dark and seeing him lose a monster Laker at the back of the boat.  Wire was at our feet everywhere......  Back then that fish was a 30 lber, which in reality was a nice 12-15 lber........

[Sk8man]

I hear you Mike. I still remember having one snap off my 20 lb leader on an old dock piling in front of Bellhurst way before they put the current dock in there and because the tension released so quickly the copper got all messed up and I spent hours fixing the mess   The whole 20-30 ft area out there accounted for a lot of fish on wire....I know Mike C and Frank U would have some stories too....

[SCUBASLIM]

I am open to offers on the Victrola as well!  PM me if intrested