IRISH56

IMHO - Cayuga is the better trout fishery, seems to dominate this tournament, in recent years anyways. I'd be interested to hear what the numbers break down to as far as each lake is concerned and number of anglers. DAN

Can't read it real well but it looks like a lot of Cayuga. Must have been a tough day yesterday :shock: DAN

If the rod releases then grab it and reel like mad to get to the fish. If you just see the rod shaking and it isn't released we usually leave the rod in the holder and reel it down, usually the combination of the fish and the added tension of reeling will release it without as much slack in the line. Typically, as Muskybob said, if it's a decent fish it's already released and hooked so you can let someone else get it while you enjoy your beer. And if the fish comes off, you can enjoy your beer while someone else re-sets the rig. DAN

Welcome to the forum. I'm an Okuma fan so I would buy another Convector/Blue Diamond combo, I've had good luck with the newer Convector reels and Okuma rods, others have not. You may wish to re-think the Fireline though, that will get fouled up pretty bad with fleas. If you are going to run them off downriggers I would suggest spooling them with 30# standard mono or Flea Flicker line. As far as rod holders go, buy the best you can afford. Tite Lok holders work well and are a little more economical than Traxtech or Bert's Custom Tackle. Think about the long term before you go drilling holes in the boat for rod holders. You may be better off in the long run putting a track system down and then I would recommend Traxtech or Bert's. DAN

Precision Trolling, Big Water Edition gives you a whole bunch of dive curves for everything you might troll with, except copper I think, including wire divers. I've found that book really helps in getting your divers where you want them. 3 1/2 setting on a wire diver you may have trouble finding an approximate depth for, they typically use the 1 - 2 - 3 settings, but you can get a starting point. DAN

I picked up an OR-12 in-line board to use with a full core. Do you typically run them to release or hold tight and remove the board at the boat? Most of my fishing is on Cayuga L. so I'm a little concerned about smaller fish getting dragged behind without being noticed, anyone have any advice on that also? I ran lead core a few times last year down the chute and it caused some major headaches with the riggers & divers so I figured this was the best way to go without having to run the big boards. Thanks. DAN

The fleas will collect on wire however it they can be removed very easily compared to mono due to the abrasiveness of the wire. Can't tell ya if walleyes will be spooked. Apparently the larger the diameter of the line the less the little buggers can hold on. DAN

Another option is lead core line if you've got a rod/reel combo to spare. 10 colors of lead was very consistent for us last weekend. You need a reel with capacity for it though. DAN

As Tim states above, my DR comes off the boat after every trip so as to give the illusion of a family boat DAN

BH - Fleas are typically heaviest during the summer months when lake temps reach their peaks, July & August are usually the worst. Can't say from personal experience anything about Skaneatles but other FL such as Cayuga and Owasco they are a problem. On Ontario you may have flea issues as well depending on how late in the season you go. In my experience depth does not normally make too much of a difference. Anything thinner than standard 30# mono will get fleas, the Fireline will be very troublesome due to the thin diameter. The 27LC's will probably leave you wishing for more line if they are spooled with heavy mono for staging salmon, the 47LC's will provide plenty of capacity. Hope this helps. DAN

Been running a Depth Raider for a few years and recommend it highly. Probe and dash unit are smaller than the Sub-troll and the display is digital as opposed to the speed dial and very small digital temp readout. Mechanically I've never had an issue with it at all and it has read as deep as 130', never tried w/out coated cable. Sub-troll is a very reliable S&T unit as well, my brother has one and it works just as consistently and has held up over time - he's had his for appx. 3 years longer than my DR. DAN

We did, your boat is an aluminum cuddy Crestliner or Starcraft right?? Was looking for the boat and/or you dockside but didn't see either. We were slipped right out in front of the 4C's cabins I thought, 1st slip inside the end of the dock, in between "Lucky" and that Carolina Classic looking boat with the monster fly bridge & tower. Sorry we missed you. DAN

We had a good trip to Pt Breeze this weekend. First trip to the Oak and really enjoyed it, great place to fish out of. Fishing was decent for us, not smoking hot but we managed to get in to some decent kings up to #23 and some nice steelies. Saturday we lost a few good fish on wire divers, bad knots & wire related issues. No real pattern to them we took fish on a bunch of different spoons and flasher/fly combo's, wire divers, riggers and full cores. Sunday we did a lot of damage with a Yellow NBK Stinger on a full core and an Orange Super Slim, not sure of the name of the spoon, on an 8 color core (was a full core but we had a major tangle with another core line.) We started right out with a double in 130 fow and then went two hours without a touch. We then managed to pick away for the next few hours on steelies and kings. #23 king came on a green glo Opti Dodger and Hammer fly off a rigger about 80' down. Making plans for next year. Some pic's of the better fish. DAN

Sounds good. DAN

Maniac - you slipped there for the weekend?? My brother & I and a couple of buddy's will be slipped at 4C's for the weekend and staying at the local state park. 24' Trophy w/hardtop, stop by for a beer! DAN

I use primarily Okuma reels, Magda 30DX for riggers/divers and Convectors for (CV20) planer rods, (CV45) leadcore. I have had good luck with all except the CV20's, drag system sucks. They are a few years old and Okuma has allegedly fixed the problem, i just haven't replaced them yet. Magda's are IMHO a great value for the $$$. The newer Convectors are very good also just a little pricier. 20# mono will pick up fleas, jump up to 30# and you should be relatively flea free. DAN

If you're in a hurry to get gear out you can loosen up on the drag to let the divers go out under tension, really helps 'cause you can set a rigger or two then go back to the diver rod. Some guys don't like to mess with the drag once it's set where they want it. DAN

Wire should last you quite a while under moderate use, just remember to always keep it under tension or you can easily develop problems. The tighter you get it from the start the better, don't "free spool" it out - let it out under tension and it will pack back in nicely for you. Twilli tips aren't absolutely necessary, I have a wire diver rod going on 3rd season and there is little wear on the original tip. When it gets worn I'll replace it with a twilli tip. DAN

Sounds like your dipsey's are set a little tight. Are you running them on monofilament?? Best way to check the release is to run them 50' out or so and test the release, if you can't release it at 50' there's no way you'll be able to at 150' +, even worse with mono because of all the stretch in it. It takes some fine tuning to get your divers set properly. If you are running mono divers they can be real tough to run at any real depth - too much stretch. The spinning & twisting could be a result of running them out too fast which will actually get the diver ahead of the bait or sometimes real tight turns will do it also. If you go beyond the #3 setting too far it can cause problems. DAN

Gotcha DAN

Can't argue with the Dr. that guy puts some fish in the boat year after year. DAN

Good point, haven't heard much from Hermit this year. Must be he's found that elusive honeyhole and doesn't want to give it up DAN

I'm coming in late on this so if I misunderstood please let me know ... you are running a thumper rod "in the top 10' of water 200' back?" When I hear thumper rod I am thinking a 1 lb. ball rig thumping off the bottom with a dodger/fly combo or something similar, killer for lakers. If that's what you're running then drop that sucker down . DAN

Superhawk - the braided line on the riggers will get fouled pretty bad with fleas also, might want to reconsider. The braided lines are super strong but super thin compared to steel cable. DAN

I bought an additional 500 sq ft worth of house and a new garage ... and a couple of stickbaits DAN