mr 580

Made the decision last fall to go Suzuki over Yamaha even though I have had great reliability from Yamaha over the years. Got the Suzuki 9.9 T Series High Thrust with 12 amp alternator, EFI, and fact that Suzuki uses same engine size for 9.9, 15 and 20 hp. With the good weather last fall put the 9.9 Suzuki on my Lund and got the break in hours done on the new motor. Suzuki has a pretty detailed break in procedure- was nice to get out of the way. Suzuki also has an oil filter which I have not had on my 9.9 and 8 hp Yamaha kickers. Suzuki is very quiet and has good degree of tilt. Looking forward to trolling with it this year.

Good change of pace lure - tie one on a outside diver or as a tail gunner. Some days the fish want something different and j plugs have taken plenty of kings. Not just a late season lure either.

After going to a seminar 10 or 15 years ago, I tied up a couple double j plug rigs like the original post. You use the forward j plug as an attractor with no hook. Pretty hard to get a hook on the front plug as it would tangle. Ran it a few times on staggers- didn’t do much. IMO j plugs dart around running one let alone two.

I have three standard SG47LC handles- they are “take-offs” from reels that I put power handles on. I would have to research a part number, but I’m very sure they won’t fit the earlier model Great Lakes 47LC’s. Have to look for used on the Great Lakes 47’s.

What model reel do you need handle for? I have a couple handles that I’ll get out and post the model they are from.

Three Dogs Down, I can’t claim the tubing trick. I picked it up from a “Pro” tip from their website when light bites first came out. I had already dealt with my line fall out of trigger so I knew it was a “winner”. As far as using the #6 setting- the rod I used for pics is an outside braid diver I use on Lake Erie which would have leadcore off boards outside of it then a second diver inside of it most of the time. Other than early spring I would rarely use a 6 setting as I have board lines out and I want my divers down.

IMO the best answer is that other lure choices work better on Lake Ontario than stickbaits - especially when water warms and you are fishing faster and deeper than on Lake Erie. Sticks will take fish especially steelhead high, but most days spoons and flasher flies will take more fish especially kings.

LT Fisherman- I'll pass along a couple of tips for SD Light Bites that I use. 1. I put a bead on my line to cushion/protect the knot to my swivel when the diver slides down. 2. On the Light Bites I take a small piece of the clear plastic tubing supplied with the SD and put it over the loop of the back trigger so your line doesn't fall out of the trigger when deploying. 3. I'm an old LJ dipsey guy and used to their number system - so I mark my SD scale which is higher with the LJ numbers. Couple pics attached. Hope you enjoy and have success with your slide divers!

The light bite uses a second rear trigger which requires adjustment like the front trigger. You also have the two trigger arms to set when deploying. If you are using a regular LJ dipsey now and don’t have problems dragging small fish around, I would say stick with the regular slide diver with front release. Where the light bites work well is Lake Erie with less aggressive and small walleyes along with junk fish. Most trout will pop a regular diver adjusted correctly.

On my braid slide divers I use a double uniknot to attach a 50 ft section of 30 to 40lb mono for the diver to slide on. I also use a leader of about 3 ft leader to lure so the diver doesn’t slide all the way to the fish. On my wire slide divers I tie a small piece of 50lb braid to the wire then use the double uniknot to attach the mono same as braid setup. For the mono I’ve used Berkeley Big Game with good results. I’m currently using 40lb Maxima mono leader material that lasts longer between changes. As far as light bites, I think for Finger Lakes that standard version will be OK. I use the light bites on Lake Erie because they release with small walleye and small trash fish. I also run rings on my slide divers as I like my diver rods to load up-makes release better to me.

Slide Divers are made by U Charters and you are better off looking at stores specializing in Great Lakes trolling gear. As others have said Size 1 is most commonly used. They offer a Light Bite version with a rear trigger mechanism that releases even with a small fish. The Light Bite works well on Lake Erie with less aggressive walleye and trash fish. For Lake Ontario the standard version is all you need. I run both braid and wire with a section of mono for the diver to slide on. I would suggest using braid to start as a bit of a learning curve to deploying the SD vs a regular dipsey. Once you get the hang of it, it is very versatile.

Allen Edmunds boat shoes for me. High quality high end shoe. Good arch support and my feet don’t hurt at end of day. Normally I get a season out of a pair of boat shoes. Got 3 seasons on a pair of Allen Edmunds - have a new pair ready for 2021. Allen Edmunds makes many of its shoes in USA with boat shoes made off shore. They used to say that you pay twice as much and the shoes last three times as long.

Andy, sounds like a good plan. Should keep you busy this off season. Hope you don’t have too many bumps as you put this package together!

You might find useful information on the “build a boat” section of Lunds website for your model with available options. I’d also go back to dealership and sales rep with questions. I think you’ll find boat will be wired for either 24 or 36 volt TM as std equipment.

If you are getting a new boat your dealer should be able to answer your questions. Believe the Tyee can be factory equipped with 24/36 systems and TM with 60” or 72” shafts along with 2 or 3 bank on board chargers. If your boat hasn’t been built might not be too late to change specs. I have an older Pro V that has factory 24/36 wiring with room for 2 or 3 batteries upfront along with factory on board charger.

Crossbows have pros and cons like most things. After shooting Ten Points for a few years, I feel biggest advantage is they are cocked so no draw and accurate to 40 yards. On the other hand, they are heavy, awkward to carry, and are slower with more arc than most vertical bows. For certain Hunter groups especially older hunters and people with shoulder problems, they allow them to continue hunting. They work especially well from a ground blind and have good energy so useful in urban areas where firearms aren’t allowed. A good vertical bow Hunter with a range of 30 yards is unlikely to see much advantage by going to a crossbow other than the draw advantage and pushing range out to 40 yards. Crossbows can shoot beyond 40 yards, however from a realistic and ethical standpoint not used in many hunting situations.