J.D.

Here's the link to the weather station at the end of the Coast Guard pier in Charlotte. The wind speed and wind direction are updated every 10 minutes and shows conditions from the past 24 hours. Seeing past conditions has saved many a wasted trip to the launch. https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=rprn6

Maybe it should be " The Gambler Easy Release".. or..... "The Greaser Releaser"

The new Gambler Rigs "Laker Recovery Clip"..... Has a nice ring to it.....match it up with a 3 foot long heavy ice fishing rod and a reel spooled with braid line... Ding Ding Ding.... we have a winner !! ( ask me how I know this works..)

The Sequalizer is about $85 bucks. The Shelton fish Descender is about $13, plus adding your own weight. I made my own from a 16oz. weight and a coat hanger... works just like the Shelton product. Push the wire through the lower lip, drop the fish down to the desired depth and snap the rig up to release the fish. The Shelton Descender.... a bit small for large lake trout in my opinion. The Shelton Descender, and my homemade version

If you're all spooled up with 17lb. test, add 150ft. of 30 lb. mono to that, then the fluro. leader. Discard the 30lb. when the fleas die off. .... easier and cheaper than re-spooling all your reels. Most of us use Trilene Big Game 30lb. clear.

That's a big cat... lots of them in the bay.

Um........ no. You must have me confused with someone else. My Dad died in 1977 and never owned a boat. We did meet many years ago when you stopped by my home to purchase a few used rods..... about the time you started your cooking school in your house.. Damn, we're gettin' old..

Look at the anodes on the motor. If they look cruddy there is stray current coming from somewhere...

Mikeyman, I was one of the first Depth Raider users on lake Ontario many year back, so I might be able to clarify a few issues. You don't need to strip wire and ground it to the downrigger, just spool it on. Connect the power wires to the starting battery, not an isolated second battery. The starting battery somehow uses the motor to ground the system properly. Getting a reading in a bucket in almost impossible, per Kell labs. The system grounds itself once you're in the water. ( I tried the same thing when I first got mine, had the same result. ) The coated cable must be stripped back to make an electrical connection with the probe. I use a Walker Clincher with a solid marine connector and stainless steel #10 screw and lock nut. The connection you show in your picture looks good as long as the coating has been stripped off the end of the cable. Make sure the swivel and ball clip are not coated. A quick scrub with a piece of sand paper assures a good connection. Here's a pic of mine: I use Scotty downriggers, never liked the antenna springs, as the Scotty stop beads always got hung up in the spring. I took a 4 inch piece of 1/2" copper water pipe and flared out the ends, wrapped the spring around the pipe and coated it with electrical tape. The solid tube picks up the signal from the probe much better, and the auto stop beads slide right through. I have never fished "too deep" to not get a reading from the probe. Here's 2 pics of my mod. I usually run around 2.2 - 2.6 for speed and hover around that 50 degree mark to start out.

Older Starcraft tops and curtains were made by a company called "Taylor Made" They may still have the pattern for your boat, able to make an exact replacement. Sending them an email can't hurt. https://www.taylormadeproducts.com/boat-tops-and-covers/

Great job!! That smile says it all...

Nope.... everything depends on depth, water color, wind and waves. A crosswind "slides" the boat sideways even when we don't notice it. One board will track away and pull well, the other side will lag behind and closer to the boat. Clear, flat conditions, long leads behind the boards and away from the boat, colored water and choppy, you can run closer. Each trip will be different, conditions will change constantly. Just for me,... I start with lures 100ft. behind the board, then let the boards out as far as conditions permit, and make adjustments as needed. Your results may vary...