YodaMage

Half of the Karavan trailers I have seen have the wrong axles for their weight rating on them, parts installed upside down or backwards, screws left untightened, hubs not greased, no brake pads installed....just generally a mess. Mine was a disaster and many I have looked at sitting under brand new boats or owned by others I have run across are/were disasters as well. Trophy has become a quality boat, and they cut some costs (Mercury vs. Honda or Yammy) but you'd think they would put at least a load rite under them and add a few hundred to the price. Karavan has AWFUL customer service as well, so I'd look it over with a fine tooth comb and if you find anything serious try to get dealer to swap it out.

Drop me a line, 716-570-0491, I'll take the reels. I love'em and can never have enough of them ready and spooled As a matter of fact I just bought 1800 yds of BG 30# tonight that needs a home after flea fest Saturday. Speaking of, side note, anyone have a good option for extra reel storage? I'm using a pistol gun case but was wondering if someone had a better option to hold 3 or 4 reels safely and securely?

Grats. I have a Trophy as well and generally I have gotten more then I paid for out of it. Is it top of the line? Nope, but I didn't take a mortgage out to own it If that is a Karavan trailer, which it appears to be, check it over with a fine tooth comb...then check it again.

And a couple of pics to match the report..

I've never seen fleas ball up this thick and this bad on the rigger cable itself. My BG #30 didn't dent them. Might have to respool with FF to see if it helps...

Fishing Report Your Name / Boat Name: Wet Spot ============== TRIP OVERVIEW ============== Date(s): 7-3 Time on Water: 7:50 AM Weather/Temp: 70 climbing to 80 by noon Wind Speed/Direction: WSW 10ish Waves: 1' heading to glassy by early afternoon Surface Temp: 67 Location: From radio tower to about 3 miles west of Olcott LAT/LONG (GPS Cords): =============== FISHING RESULTS =============== Total Hits: 7 Total Boated: 6 Species Breakdown: 1 King, 5 Bows (Lost was a bow too) Hot Lure: Pirate Spoon Size-55 Color-19 1 Trolling Speed: 2.2-2.8 Down Speed: Boat Depth: 240 to 280 Lure Depth: 40 to 85 on riggers, so about 35 to 70ish ==================== SUMMARY & FURTHER DETAILS ==================== Late start, most hits on the NE troll. Started with 3 spoons high and two spins low. First fish of day was 26# King on a NK that isn't made anymore, Like the SCGE on their site only with frog spots, white backed. At 8:30 he was 70 down on the rigger over 250 fow. At 9:10 he was in the net. 9:40 had big bow of the day, 14#, drill a free slider running the above noted Pirate. Lure would have been about 40' down over 275 fow approx. Pretty fish. 10:30 abandoned spins and loaded on spoons. Fished until 1PM taking multiple more carbon copy bows, all in 260 fow +/- and all right between 40 and 60. All of the rest were 7 to 9#'s, so nice day for them Usually I am fighting off 3#'s screwing with my lines, . Summery: 4 Bows on Pirate (Pirate was also the bow that spit it at me ) 1 Bow on J&L #2 White and Green 1 King on NK

http://www.stainlessoutfitters.com/index3.htm This says they are.

600 watt mega bass booster amp.. Is that pointed up for rolling with the homies or down as a depth charge? I imagine the boat looks like this:

Here is my thought, and to follow up on above: -Spoons catch a ton of fish, probably the most in quantity year round. Flexible in speed, size and color to hit whatever is out there. -Spin Docs are next in line, I'll second the A-Tom-miks though I'll add the Dream Weaver flies have done well too, they also seem to catch BIG fish. -Bodied baits like Fastracs still rule the Browns especially in the spring. -Plugs do me right come fall with the big boys. -Dodgers have their place but I've never done enough to run them anymore. I only pull them out in desperation. Spring I run Spins low, spoons middle and bodies high. Summer I run spinners then anything with a few spoons mixed in. Fall is Spinners and Plugs with an occasional spoon. Keeping in mind that many things trigger a hit with predator fish. Trout and salmon are not like stream fish, skittish and shy only looking for prey. They may want food, they may be defensive, aggressive, agitated, annoyed or hungry...they are apex predators with no natural enemies so triggering them is just different then the fly mentality. More like nesting bass which will hit anything that passes their nose and looks interesting.

I'll throw a curve out there for discussion. When to we take the sport out and turn 'fishing' into 'catching'? I mean, hunting with thermal scope on a .300 would increase my chances of getting a big buck...but it doesn't sound so sporting. When does technology ruin the game?

Rumor has it that a heavy snubber followed by about 4' of Mono and the right spoon attached directly to the ball then bounced of the bottom makes for some interesting fishing using a really heavy pole but it may just be rumor...

I run as follows and stack almost exclusively and have not had a tangle in years. Honestly. Using side mounted 48" booms and seldom dipseys because frankly all that crap gets in my way and I don't clear gear for any fish that isn't willing to make me chase it to Canada to net it. Similar to above, but with a tweak or two. This time of year it looks like this: Rigger 1 Down 110 -Spin Doctor just above ball, 15' Back'ish -Spoon running 12' up from ball, 25' Back'ish -Spoon slider as described above (I have better luck with 'light weight' spoons on sliders, like J&L, Sutton, Stingers than NK heavy spoons..) Rigger 2 Down 85 -Spin Doctor just above ball, 15' Back'ish -Spoon running 12' up from ball, 25' Back'ish -Spoon slider as described above (I have better luck with 'light weight' spoons on sliders, like J&L, Sutton, Stingers than NK heavy spoons..) *ALWAYS RUN SLIDERS ON TOP RIGGER LINE This in theory gives me lures at 110, 98, 85, 73, ~47, ~36. Considering the boat moving at trolling pace when fish hits and lines separated by 12' of depth and with 10' in distance plus the compulsion of a hooked fish to try to pull away you will not see a tangle here. It is a good starter setup for stacking especially if you do not have a probe and are hunting them. Now say you find the 85' line is the 'right depth'. Then I move to something like this: Rigger 1 Down 88 -Hot Lure/Color just above ball, 10' Back'ish -Hot Lure/Color 5' above ball, 10' Back'ish -Spoon slider as described above (I have better luck with 'light weight' spoons on sliders, like J&L, Sutton, Stingers than NK heavy spoons..) Rigger 2 Down 85 -Hot Lure/Color just above ball, 10' Back'ish -Hot Lure/Color 5' above ball, 10' Back'ish I leave one slider, because it is free, but getting things tight I don't need two of them slopping around at a similar depth. Notice, tighter the group, shorter the leads. I'm now at 88, 85, 82, 80 and ~ 42. I'm alternating depth side to side now and using geometry of the span of the riggers plus beam of the boat to create separation. I have 16' of width, so 10' of lead on alternate sides allows everything to stay clear unless I decide to do something insane at the wheel. Side benefit is that I'm not dragging anything 200yds behind me. You can actually turn fairly tight with this setup and keep everything running correctly. In fact I highly advise zig zagging course when first dropping lines to help zero in on hot speed of the day while looking for right depth. Hope this helps.

For a net I went this way after getting caught with a 64" net and a big king on the pier in Olcott last fall. http://www.frabill.com/store/landing-ne ... /5530.html

The poll somewhat depends on many things...time of year being huge as well as what fish you are targeting. I like Wilson as it "splits the difference". Lakers and early Kings...Bar is nice. Olcott, I've had better Coho and Rainbow luck year around, Olcott is also my home for Summer Kings. Come fall, it becomes a toss up based on weather, though I've had better Olcott than Bar luck. So for pure year around fishing...probably Olcott. For easy access to either Olcott or the bar irregardless of time of year, Wilson is the place to be

It is like telemarketing...fun.

My opinion, for what its worth, April/May and August on. I don't bother much in June and July as I tend to get a low gas:fish return. I think in the mid summer months you can do about the same anywhere on the lake...go long for bows or grab the occasional scattered king.

I won't buy a lifetime, as I hope that there is a god and that god will get me out of NYS before it would pay for itself at this point.

Closed system is basically not unlike a car. How hot does that get? Yup, anything below 220F wouldn't make me think twice under load. Anything under 170F at idle wouldn't make me blink either. Over 230 I'd start thinking about looking into pump, fluid, thermostat, etc...

I am going to go against the flow. I hate bags, just more crap in the water to get into lines, fish to get into, have to setup and store, etc... While a kicker is best, if you don't have space or cash, I recommend this plate: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true The easytroller. I run it with the hydrofoil and have for a few years. It has worked like a charm, lets me throttle up if emergency presented itself, keeps me in control and has shown no wear and tear thus far. I have it on a 125 Merc that wouldn't back down below 4/4.2 mph, now I can run down to 1.5 mph or at my usual 2.6 to 3 mph while keeping revs up around 900 to 1100.

Send me a PM and a pic or two, I might be your guy.

I think I'd take two good friends of mine fishing with me if I went there. Mr Smith and the venerable Mr Wesson.

You were trolling in 5-7's?????

It is an Ontario Flasher. Some free tips to anyone who still has any from years of running them: Size 0 runs great SLOW, 2 or less. Also, gotta run them real short, 5' from the ball. Don't try to run them faster as they will not catch a thing. I've got a few, Chrome/Black, Chrome/White with half tape faces that will kill lakers if you care to. I don't usually, heh. Funny enough, almost every mistake Bass or Walleye I ever caught was on a J&L 0 even when I had other lures out. Size 1 and 2 run great fairly fast, 2.5 to 3.2. The 1's also have an interesting action chasing a dodger. I've killed Bows with white both sided, pink/green taped fronts on those flat bright summer days when no one is doing anything but swatting flies. I've also done coho damage with them. Occasional King on a 2, but honestly I don't think they compare to other options (Plugs, Flies, Spinners, NK's, etc...). That said, when I target Kings I usually mix it up more then I do when going trout hunting. Size 3 don't run for a damn and they were only made for a year or two. We tried tweaking the bend on them nut they always spun or basically made a mess. (I have some of the strangest lure prototypes ever, I'll post some pics some day). If you have any 3's...chuck em. I have about 500...maybe 1000 of lures, blanks etc around the house so if ya see me, let me know if you want/need a few. I'll never burn through them all, I'll share for a

I like the big inflatable red race markers. Think of them like duck blinds and tie off on them then pull out the flare gun and wait. Eventually game always shows up.

Yeah, If i could find a Grady, Proline, Pursuit..even a Century or Wellcraft coastal kicking around I'd be a happy guy. No knock on Trophy's, heck I currently have one. I think the tiering I used should be hedged against the fact that I'm using all makers, including "Salty" boats mentally, where most just think of freshwater rigs in the area. Trophy is a solid lake boat, that's why I bought one..but when you start lining up Parker, Judge, Grady, Rampage, Tiara, etc... Everything has to go somewhere. I consider Wellcraft/Parker about middle of the road and work up and down from there. Always subjective, no offense meant. If Trophy still made the 25' it might be in my wheel house...I still haven't ruled out a 2359, though I wish that boat came outboard with a bracket. (Personal I/O hater, again a preference). I went out to Sodus today and hit Krenzer and Arney. Krenzer shows a Robalo 245 on their site I really would have liked to see...but alas, they are brokering it and it is nowhere to be found. Owner wouldn't answer phone. Write that bad boy off. I looked at two Baha's, a 231 and a 286 and all I will say is, not for me. I'm thinking if I can't find used then it will be either a 23' Striper Alaskan, 2359 Trophy, Key West 2300wa or I continue a dialog I started with the folks at Judge to build a 24 Chesapeake.