Fishtails

Wow....that stops you dead in your tracks and really makes you think. I remember you taking those boys out Rich. God bless Jonny, his family and all our soldiers both present and past. I know many families are going through the same as Jonny's, I couldn't imagine the pain of loosing a child. Good for you for getting him out and showing him a good time Rich! Rest in peace Jonny!!

I just bought a pair of Big Jon reels.....now I have an extra cause I already had a single w/mast. Depends on what your looking for exactly. If you need a mast with a single reel ? I've got a super ski in good shape. It's in NY though on my boat...and I'm in Pa

Thanks Valinote......not meaning to hijack this thread , but do you have any good words on the raymarine s1000 ?

I only have one year under my belt running copper, but last season it was great to us. It's just another weapon in your spread, that's all. When I fish alone, I don't run it. Normally, I'll put the copper in the water when I have four or more rods out (of course, we prefer to always have 6 or more out ) Your right....It's nice to bring that swimmer through 300 feet or more after all your other lures have passed. It's a lone dog out there....no ball as with the rigger, no thumper weight, no dipsey.....just the copper,leader and your flasher/fly.

Very nice "eye" Maniac......thanks for sharing!

Bill....if this is still for sale, I have two questions. What antenna are you selling with this, the 120 or 125? Which c map is included? Maybe I could use this one for my flybridge? Rod

Thanks YT......Everything was right there!

Thanks for sharing your experiences Tim. It sounds like I need to look into the Simrad. Yes, the Raymarine S1000 is for hydraulic steering. The steering in my boat has been converted over to Sea Star hydraulic. I don't know if that complicates installation, or makes it easier? Rod

It sounds like you guys are pretty happy with the Simrad. I'll be picking up an autopilot in the spring, but I was actually leaning towards the Raymarine S1000. Should I reconsider, and is there a specific reason you went with the Simrad instead? Thanks, Rod

Couldn't agree more Brad. Don't leave the dock without it Okay, so I'm settled on the Penn's. I'm ordering 4 this week. 345's for the 600 and 500 (I can't fit the 500 on a 340, can I ?) And a 340 for the 400. What reels do you guys use for the 300? Do I need a 340, or do you think I can drop down to the 330? Any favorite's on copper rods?

Both of these copper rigs are sold

Those are really great points Tom. I didn't run the copper off the boards this year, and never gave that a thought. I plan on running it off the boards next year, and I'll certainly have to take that into account, so thanks for pointing that out. My expierence is that Salmon don't run on the copper like they do with wire, but maybe I just haven't hooked up with the right salmon on the copper yet Thanks for all the great insight Tom, and the rest of you. It's really helpful! Rod

I've been asked to post a picture of the rig....camera ain't workin, so I looked threw last season's pictures hoping to find it in the background. Here's the best I can do at the moment. Here is the 600 being fished out the shute (left) with 400 ft out. Fighting a fish on the copper That's all I got for now....but this set up flat out catches fish and is built to last forever.

I have a complete 600 ft copper set-up for sale. We used it one season, and the reel is still in like new. It's spolled with 600 ft of #37 copper and 40lb mono backer (can't remember amount of backer.....but plenty!) It worked great for us all season, and caught an awful lot of fish! Included is: Diawa 600h Sealine reel 600ft #37 copper 7'6" Cabelas Depthmaster trolling rod. I don't have a picture....camera is broken at the moment. Here is a link to the reel. Pictured is the 400H, the 600H is just larger and more expensive http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... stid=16156 Asking $115. for the complete set up.....Pm me if interested

I have a complete 500 ft copper set-up for sale. We used it one season, and the reel is still in like new. It's spolled with approx. 500 ft of #37 copper and 40lb mono backer (can't remember amount of backer.....but plenty!) It worked great for us all season, and caught an awful lot of fish! Included is: Diawa 400h Sealine reel 500ft #37 copper 7'6" Cabelas Depthmaster trolling rod w/twilly tip I don't have a picture....camera is broken at the moment. Here is a link to the reel. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... stid=16156 Asking $100. for the complete set up.....Pm me if interested

Wow, what a great sounding reel that would be! One can only hope. If there is even a chance they would come out with that reel by spring, I best hold off on my purchase. Thanks for the info Billy. I'm just curious as to what the absolute minimum you guys think would be required for backer? Any of you have a fish take more than a 1-2 hundred feet on a full 600 set-up? Most I've battled didn't take 100 ft, but I can remember one hog (okay...so it was only #15, but it fought like a hog ) that may have taken 150 to 200. Is 900 feet really needed? Truthfully, there is no way I'm letting a fish take even 300 ft of backer out when I've already got 600 of copper in the water. I'm clamping down the drag at about 250 max and saying let the best carnivore win. This past year we ran Diawa Sealine 400h & 600h reels and they were fine, but not being level wind they wore you down.

Sorry...I know this has been discussed to some degree. I just want to get it right. I'm revamping my copper set-ups, and as I look into reels, I'm struggling on which is the best choice for the 600 37lb? Penn 345 GTI (gear ratio isn't very good) Shimano Tekota 800 (great gear ratio....but fits much less backer) Okuma T-50L (worse gear ratio than the penn) Seems like that's about it for level wind reels. How much backer do you see as the minimum? Is the shimano an option for the 600? Seems to me with the kings we caught on the 500 & 600....they get tired pretty quick on copper and don't burn off that much line anyway. Can't say I've had one take more than 150- 200 ft of backer out. Since everyone seems to "be busy" when the 600 copper fires except me, I'm really interested in a faster retrieval. So what do you guys think is the #1 reel for the 600...all things considered? Thanks, Rod

Here is a link anyone looking inton chartplotters needs to visit... It's Chapter nine from the book "The weekend navigator".....using digital charts http://books.google.com/books?id=J1fTvB ... #PPA115,M1

Rick.... I fish the same areas you do. Lake O (spring and summer) and Sandy Hook (fall). My boat is in the shop for a starboard engine coupler so I'm going to miss the fall stripers and blues this year.. Kinda bummed about that. I got out surf fishing once, but I'm really more of a boat guy. Anyway...I've been looking into radar also. I don't know that it's really needed unless, as was said, your fishing in fog. I'd guess it also wouldn't hurt to have it for night fishing. With an 18 ft boat, your not going far offshore In Sandy Hook....maybe to the mud hole on a really nice day ??? A good chartplotter and gps will do the job. Good chartplotters accept c-chips, something I'm just learning about. I'm getting one for lake O and also Raritian Bay/ Sandy Hook and my other favorite spot to fish, the Florida Keys. As far as the electronics, as long the unit is NMEA, Sea Talk or HSB, the units can communicate with other units and transfer data as an integrated system. I've choosen to go with Raymarine with the exception of my Furuno FF. Personally, I'm staying away from multiple function units, and will have a display for each function, but you may not want that on a fish & ski, and not everyone has that much space for display units. That's when the multi function display units come in handy. That's about all I know so far, I'm in the learning phase myself....Hope that helps. PM me if ya need a fishing partner anytime this fall In Sandy Rod

Ditto here Mike, but Oswego may be a bit far for you. I do my best to not keep track of how much I spend....there is no possible way I could justify it to my wife! So pretty much....I'm living a big fat lie so I cover up as much as I can....but I get cought all the time Just today I got a new raymarine chartplotter via ups and of course, who walks into the shop while I'm opening it up with everything spread over the workbench.....yep...wifey :shock: :shock: BUSTED! She's a great sport about it though! Rod

I found this to be informative.....thought a few of you may find it helpful. http://www.fishonmarine.com/MarineGPS.html I'm trying to decide on a c-map for my gps. Do many of you guys currently use a c map? I've never used one, and I'm looking for more information on them. Rod

Okay....guess nobody has one? I just purchased a Raymarine gps to replace my Garmin, and along comes this couple year old Simrad for a really good price. I don't think I can pass it up, so I guess I'll buy it even though I don't know much about them except they are crazy expensive. Guess I'll just put the extra ( the one I like the least) on the bridge. Thanks anyways guys

Mike....really bud, Plants before a boat? Sounds like it's time to have a sit down and discuss life's priorities with the better half. If you can't bring her over to your way of thinking, than here's how I'd handle it. Tell her ya need furniture before landscaping. Than....go buy the boat. I'd wait till spring though, otherwise it could be a very long winter You can always tell her you bought nice swival seats for the livingroom, and the boat came along with them for free! Hard to believe I've been married 16 years and she's only left once.... lol Rod

Anyone using, or know someone using a Simrad chart plotter? What are your thoughts on them and how do you like it ?? Thanks Rod

Yeah, I'll look if there are any other nice gps units in the bargin bin...thanks for the tip Bill. I'm only 45 min from Cabelas, and I need to run there for a smoker anyway. I never visit Cabelas without checking out the bargin bin. But It's kinda like me and Ebay, I'm weak and can't pass on a good deal, so I end up buying something I don't need just cause It's cheap. I did pick up two Diawa Sealine reels in the bargin bin this past summer, and they worked great for our 600 and 500 copper setups. Think I paid 100 bucks each. Rod