chowder

I think you would be happy w/ the Depth Raider, been using one for 2 years, had the earlier generation Fishhawk before that. Coated line precautions; stay away from using coated line on the out down riggers- the angle is hard on the coating. keep some electrical tape around for nicks.

Talora 7' downrigger rod TLAF70M, $59 & put the twili tips on them. I also have a pair of 8' Taloras w/ the roller guides. I have a smaller boat and I really like the 7' Talora DR rod for controlling fish at the boat, getting them past the rigger lines, etc. These kinds of issues are probably not a big deal in a bigger boat w/ a bunch of experienced guys but I fish w/ my kids in a 19' I/O and in this kind of situation a short rod really makes a world of difference. I've also gone to pretty much using the slide divers instead of fixed length leader dipsies. I set my SD leader to 12' w/ flashers and after the diver trips I've only got a 3' leader at the boat, I find this setup much much easier to deal with when the fish is at the boat!

I like the sounds of this conduit runner idea too & would also like to see pix!

I've got a 4x4 4 whlr here on the farm that we have used a little for ice fishing and I can tell you they are far from a great solution to hauling sleds & equipment. Here's why; 1.) Early & late ice are questionable for that much weight. 2.) They take up a lot of space. Unless you have a trailer, it becomes very awkward to get the sleds & equipment & 4 whlr and ramps in one pickup truck. 3.) Park Police and other law enforcement officers can and will prevent you from using a 4 whlr in State parks , public access points , roads etc. It doesn't matter if it's registered. I'm not saying this is right- I'm just saying that you risk getting hassled and under some circumstances issued a summons and fined. This last issue seems to be a case by case and place by place situation. Some places I've never had a problem, others I wouldn't try it again.

Any rod w/ some backbone will do. I like the Okuma Classic 7' ($19). No need for special guides, copper is soft.

Did you guy's get into any?

Good question! I'm not sure. I thought that dual beam was used to describe a unit w/ 2 different cone angles vs dual frequency in which the sonar wave transmissions are sent at different wavelengths?

I bought a Clam two man shelter/sled combo many years ago. It has been a great unit- no complaints, very well built. One thing to consider though is hauling these things. If there is hardly any fresh or loose snow the double is not too bad. If there is much in the way of snow though, this unit makes for real tough sledding. Last year I bought the smallest one man unit at an end of the Season sale (they keep changing the names on these things, I would say it is very similar to the Kenai). This unit is much much better suited for tough hauling conditions. Unless you are going to haul w/ 4 wlr or snowmobile I would think hard about the big shelters. Another thing is that I move a fair amount and having to move the double is just more of a chore, especially if you have to roust somebody out of there to do it. My kids will sit in the double sipping cocoa or soup in front of the heater w/out caring whether they are catching fish or not but I want to at least mark fish on the Vex or I'm on the move. You guys would probably be better off each getting a small shelter so you can split up over an area and find fish quicker, then you can congregate around them, though that's probably not what you want to hear.

Thanks for the support Tom!

Don't be too scared by the wire idea! It does have a learning curve but it's over pretty quick and you will be happy w/ the results. Take a month to mull this stuff over- you have the time and you will be well served by using it. You might want to at least consider going w/ a much shorter dipsy rod. I use 7' dipsy rods (Talora down rigger rod w/ twili tip) and they have some real advantages to consider especially if you have a smaller boat. The simple fact is that an angry King is easier to control at the boat w/ a short rod, especially if the net man is green too! The hitch is that it's tough to make a real cheap short rod w/ the right action/speed needed for running dipsy divers, especially the mag size. Also you might want to consider looking at the Slide Divers. (Remember you have time) The reason I mention this is because the SD allows you to have a much longer lead behind the diver. By using one of these rigged up w/ a long lead and a spoon you will have a presentation similar to a downrigger, maybe even better under some conditions. With both rods rigged up w/ Slide Divers you could run short leads w/ flasher& flies when that's what the fish want or run much longer leads w/ spoons if the bite is more that way, or one of each and see what the fish want. Just keep Googling and asking questions-it's a great way to beat back the winter blues and by spring you will have a lot of stuff under you're belt.

and some days on the ice too! Cheers!

Wow! One thing though, Pegasus doesn't get up on plane quite like that!

Stopped in @ Dick's and picked up a Stoeger 2000-12ga autoloader for $399. Now my son & I don't have to share our old (but much nicer) 1100 to shoot in the Frost Bite Skeet League which starts back up on Sunday. Saved a $100 on this purchase- thanks for the heads up on the sale!

No need to break the bank for spring trolling! What I have done is bought 6 Eagle claw Starfire ML 8'6" rods ($18/rod) and put my regular season reels (47 accudepths, spooled w/ 30# Ande (flea proof) on these rods. Then I tie my Ande to a spool of 12lb mono w/ an albright and spin on 100' - good to go! If I get all these rigs out on the boards and want to run something on the riggers I use my 2,3, or 4 color rigs.

You can't go wrong w/ the Excelors. I have 2, use them on float rods for the kids ( I went over to the dark side w/ a centre pin) in the winter and put the other spool they come with on and swap them over to general purpose spinning rods for bass and pickerel fishing in the summer. They are super smooth and have a great drag. I've used my 10'6" float rod to troll a flat line w/ stix and though we didn't get anything spectacular it was still a lot of fun!

Greetings! Bunch of real good FLX folks here, glad to have you aboard!

A Daiwa Exceler spinning reel spooled w/ 6-8lb Pline would turn that rod into a usable float rod for winter steel. A lot of guy's are using longer noodle/float rods these days but that rod should work. Wouldn't be a bad setup for casting sacs & spoons from shore either.Right the way it is, with the 47 on it, it would be a nice rig for flatlining down the chute for browns- you would really get a nice fight out of them w/ it.

I have one in my Starcraft Islander and it's an excellent unit, I think the helm component is a heavier duty unit than the Raymarine, and it does take up some space behind the dash. More problematic is the fact that Navico's idea of customer support leaves a lot to be desired. If you need Tech support, or worse yet have a warranty claim, you might be up the creek for awhile.

Lil Jake, Frisco & I did a little winter fishing trip today. The biggest thing we got was Frisco on a flat line in the parking lot before we got launched! After we got on the water things slowed down some. We worked the water column pretty good around T-Falls, and on up to the Scout Camp cleaning little salmon and browns off on a regular basis, did not mark many fish but one good Laker is on it's way into a baking dish as I type. Frisco kept asking me when the copper rigs I brought along were going to save the day but they left before seeing it happen. As those two pulled away heading towards home I realized my keys were locked in the truck. After a bit of luck w/ a partly open window and my trusty 300' copper rod rigged with a proctologist fly I snagged my keys just as the Park Police pulled in to see about a report concerning someone attempting to break into a vehicle. All's well that ends well I guess, even if there's more action at the launch than there is on the water.

I actually prefer the .222 but economics dictate the .223 is the way to go now because there is just so much more NATO ammo around making it much cheaper. I think I'd look at the Sako even though I'm kind of stuck on the Winchester 70 rifle out of habit. Save as much as you can for the scope - it's as important as the rifle after 150 yds. Yotes are very smart and after you've picked a few in an area they will start sizing up you're rig from a distance. A telescoping bipod threaded into the front swivel will be a big asset.

12 years hunting yotes w/ guy who is a hard core predator hunter, 25 years serious deer and turkey hunting, 20 years moving cows & heifer fences every day am and pm from April to Nov., 20 years of winter time wood lot and timber management, all in areas w/ a significant coyote population and I have never seen any evidence of a mature deer that was in any way killed by yotes. Of course all this may mean nothing and Big Foot might be in my woods too. P.S. I have tracked down many gut shot deer that have been scavenged by yotes, but I have recovered far more that were not. I have come across many dead deer on my property boundaries that obviously died from marginal shots made by others. P.S.S. As for all this self righteous pap about nuisance permits- let me give you the farmer's perspective; I work 365 days a year feeding you guys, paying giant tax bills and in general getting paid very poorly to grow huge amounts of wildlife that would not be there without my efforts. Now I do not get NPs for the home farm but if I did I'd say that unless you are going to help pay the tax bill or insure a better rate of return on my very hard earned investments that you be grateful for all the deer and turkeys I grow that go out and get killed by you and not worry too much about the ones that get killed by me!

Good to hear you got out and put some fish in the boat. I feel the need to get back on the water myself, hoping to get out on Cayuga this weekend.

Paul, thanks for you're post! For many years I have guided hunters informally as a service for my landlords when they bring up guests and I find most people quite misinformed about coyotes and their role in the ecosystem especially w/ respect to deer population dynamics. In this area I firmly believe the greatest factor influencing the average hunter's "perception" of the deer population is the constantly changing pattern of hunting pressure w/ respect to very specific parts of an area's geography. I find that most hunters greatly underestimate a Whitetail's ability to adapt, survive and actually thrive amidst hunters.For better or worse they don't do quite as well against cars.

Dropped this doe the last day of the season into a frozen brook and I find myself out of time, tags and ambition (and wet and real cold). Its time to go X-mas shopping anyway... Happy Holidays to All! P.S. I shot this doe on one of the farms we rent from out of state landlords. I spoke w/ the guy who owns the place yesterday morning and he told me they didn't get one deer in 3 weekends of hunting. When I took the pickup down to haul the doe back to my place, 7 sets of eyes in the brushy lot by the brook. No deer huh?

Ray, you're lucky to have antlers or a mount in you're house. My wife told me a long time ago that unless I wanted a collection of bones from all the roasts she triumphed over covering the kitchen walls I better leave my "bones" outside! "Fish, birds and deer are very good to eat" she once said, "but after cleaning up from the meal I don't want whats left hanging around the house". I rationalize this situation by figuring that all the time and $$ I could have put into racks and mounts has gone into various other "recreational" endeavors!