mr 580

Check your battery voltage both fully charged and after a days trolling.  Also how old are your batteries.  I had electrical “issues” several years ago and determined the batteries weren’t holding voltage levels high enough.  I’d always used load tests to check battery condition and the batteries would load test in the green however voltage wouldn’t be high enough for electronics to operate correctly.  I’m planning to replace batteries every 3 seasons and now check voltage more than load to determine replacement.  The high speed riggers take more electricity than the old mag 10’s.

With that size boat you would probably need a 60” shaft and at least 24 volts.  With Minn Kota that would mean a Terrova  I pilot 60” 24 v with foot pedal, remote, and universal sonar at $1850.  You can save a few bucks by going with same model without universal sonar and the foot pedal for $1470.  The universal sonar is nice for jigging so a big item to give up.  The foot pedal isn’t such a big deal as the remote is very functional.  I don’t even have the foot pedal plugged in on my terrova and have it stored on the boat.  Tough to find deals on I pilots - you might check Hodges Marine on line.

Chautauqua is a nice change of pace from the big water tactics used on Lake Erie.  The 17 to 20 inch eyes on 5 colors of lead are way more fun when you use light spinning gear with 8 or 10lb test and you feel the bite.  Lots of rod in hand tactics are working now-pulling harness’s along weedline, jigging and tossing plastics.  Great place for kids as there are plenty of panfish mixed in with the eyes.

For someone that has just gotten the walleye bug, I’d suggest heading for water with a good population of walleye.  Right now the 3 “Crown Jewels” of New York walleye fishing per DEC - Lake Erie, Oneida Lake, and Chautauqua - all have great numbers of walleyes.  Oneida isn’t that far from Sodus and much more likely to have success with a variety of tactics.  I used to fish eyes on Lake Ontario out of Cape Vincent in September and it was a big fish game not a numbers game.  I was lucky to know a local so we access to some info, but even that was limited.  Trolling the breaks on the shoals would get some fish.  For somebody starting out, water with a better population of walleye would show more success sooner.

Seeing as you used selling dealer for high altitude setup, I think I would go back to them with your question for additional top end.  Could very well be you need a low level prop too.  Dealer should have an idea of how the motor ecu adjusts to the altitude difference.  Out East here on Great Lakes we don’t deal with high altitude setups.

The Bert’s rod holder is reversible- one side allows it to ratchet and the other you have to unlock to pull up.  You pull the c clip to pull pin and the lock mechanism then flip the rod holder around.  The teeth on the bottom are configured differently to allow for this.  Designed that way.

I spend a fair amount of time on Chautauqua and to me a couple issues.  Guys do target musky before season- Saturday 5/23 I saw a boat running down rods and trolling at high end of walleye speed.  I’m likely to see more this week.  Other issue IMO is DEC coverage on the lake is “spotty” at best.  Traffic this year has been high and more boats means likelihood of more funny business.  Not all of it is intentional with lots of out of state people where regulations might be different.

I always used the keypad to lower and raise weight.  What does the keypad do when you “free clutch”?   Without a mechanical counter I don’t know that the keypad would be correct.  You might go to a known depth on a calm day and drop a weight to double check accuracy of readout.

If you have 000 at waterline, it should be accurate.  Any chance parts of display are out so numbers don’t show right?  If it showed correct depth after cable was replaced then amount of cable on spool wouldn’t be an issue.  The keypad on those were the biggest problem.  They were a sealed assembly and haven’t been available for years.  Used to be able to convert them to Mag 10a by removing keypad and changing some parts.  Don’t know if that stuff is still available.

Used to have a couple Digitroll 2’s.  Couple questions- what does the key pad read at water line and all the way up in storage position?  I used to have reset zero after repairing cable.  Also how much cable is on your spool?  The keypad program is based on a full spool of 200 feet.  If someone spooled additional cable on top of existing cable that could cause the keypad to be off.  Being off 6 feet in 20 or 30 feet is a lot.  Was it working OK before you lost probe?  I never had accuracy problems with keypads- readouts went blank or keypad quit responding.  

Traxstech offers several mounts for the S17’s - you can buy bare adapter to use your S17 or buy with an S17 already mounted.

I would suggest gaining access by taking off things like speaker, locker door, upholstery and perhaps even seat.  Use care as you will put back on once you have gained access.  Don’t give up on this as a DIY job as it is not technical just time consuming.  Just slipping speaker out should tell you something about access.  You are going in the right direction by realizing that using wellnuts to secure a downrigger is “risky”.  

I tend to be reluctant to offer specific advice on mounting trolling gear as every boat is a bit different in construction especially aluminum ones- some gunnels are just aluminum sheet with little structural support.  It is important to know you have solid support and I’ll share an actual situation of what consequences of improper mounting can be.

 Years ago I was trolling towards the Genny from I bay off VanLare when a boat came running up headed towards the river.  I could see downrigger weights attached and swinging off the back in wild arcs.  As the boat passed, the two downriggers, weights and the board they were mounted to somersaulted up in the air in slow motion before splashing down.  The boat shut down and the 2 guys went to the back of the boat to look behind.  After sitting there a few minutes they shook their heads and left.  Gave us a good laugh.  Moral of the story- use metal, wood backer or fender washers.  Stainless steel fasteners with lock nuts or lock washers. Take your time do it right, do it once.

Good news for sure. Some clear guidance for recreational anglers and having the marinas and launch’s open is at least at step towards getting charters/guides back on the water.  The “No Rentals” policy is a good addition IMO- on smaller bodies of water like Chautauqua where I live the rental boats are usually packed- pontoons with 8/10 people, 16 foot open boats with 4/5 people.  Bigger density of people on these boats than on the majority of charter boats.

I’ve had best luck with the 150lb test black coated cable for Depth Raider or Sub Troll.  Believe it comes in 200 or 300 ft rolls.  Seems to terminate well in a klincher and holds up pretty good.  I ran the Torpedo cable and antenna for a short while and didn’t like performance or how it terminated so I went back to the original cable.

Probably an email with a description of issue along with pics to Traxstech likely best way to contact right now.  Might get a response from someone working from home-Michigan has some strict policies likely shutting them down.

Andy, I think a good rule of thumb on lead core replacement is 3 to 5 years.  With Tuf Line Micro and Suffix 832 super lines probably go a little longer.  If I see lead breaking and sticking out sheath, I also replace.  I got a 1,000 yard spool and changed out all my lead core this winter other than a couple micro lead setups.

Hopefully Gasman got some info for you-thought I’d pass along some more.  Your comment re: retirement is accurate as they are probably 35 years old(I had a new set in 1986).  The control pad assembly hasn’t been available in 15 to 20 years.  Used to be able to convert them to mag 10a without the key pad but I don’t know if those parts are still around.  The motors are also tough to find as well.  You can go to Fish 307 website for parts/repair and pull up a schematic then see what is available.  They’ll probably work if you don’t mind looking for used parts.

OHIO    4/6/2020 

Ohio DNR is suspending sale of non-resident fishing and hunting licenses until further notice.  Current license holders can continue to use their privileges.

Ohio is also asking non-residents entering the state to self quarantine for two weeks.

Moving tow point back is a good plan-no cost and you can always move back to original  position.

Is your tow line hitting the water at your maximum width?   How wide you can run is usually limited by towline angle and mast/reel height.  Once tow line hits water that is it unless height is increased.  You might tweak your board performance slightly by switching towline from stock Traxstech vinyl line to the no stretch spectra from Amish Outfitters. Moving tow point so boards bite harder might take some drop back out.  My experience has been that towline height has been the limiting factor on width regardless of board type or manufacturer.  

Check the fuel line fitting where it connects to motor- the o rings can fail so it sucks air.  It is piece I have replaced.  Look at primer bulb and fuel line especially if you have used fuel with ethanol.  If those items check out- might have to clean carb.

You might want to look at Simrad GO Series- they will network with your Lowrance.  I’m using one as a chart plotter with Navionics chip and very happy with it.

Ron, use an improved Albright knot for your braid to wire connection.  If you want to add a section of mono to the braid use a double uni knot.

Seems like a big difference-maybe the counter or gear on spool have been changed?  See what happens if you swap counter from “accurate” rigger to one that is off.  You can also count teeth on gears to see if any difference rigger to rigger.