Guppy35

Since i have two lines on each downrigger i would probably be targeting now deeper than 40 feet. If i got leadcore, what lb line would you suggest for the finger lakes?

Just trying to get some opinions on what i should add to my trolling arsenal. Right now i run two downriggers (2 rods on each) with a wire dipsy off both sides of the boat. I mostly fish Keuka and occassionally Seneca when the weather is calm. I know a lot of guys say dipsies are their first lines in the water, but i've never really had much luck with them to be honest (maybe i'm doing something wrong). Anyways i was wondering if it would be worth it to get either leadcore or copper for fishing Keuka and Seneca, or if i should just stick with the setup i have now?

Hey as long as you're catching fish and having fun doing it, who cares how anyone else looks at you, right??

Launched in Hammondsport and caught most of our fish trolling back and forth across the lake. I think it will be another good year for Keuka, some of the fish are starting to get bigger.

Sk8man, Sorry for the loss of your dad, but at least you do have that very special moment that you will remember for the rest of your life!! It definitely is rewarding in more than one way to catch fish on a homemade lure.

Got out on Keuka on Saturday from 8 - 11:30 and went 22 for 26 on Lakers. Most of them in the 2-3 lb range, with a few nice ones close to 6 lbs. Caught fish on all three set-ups (riggers, leadcore, planer boards) but most came on the riggers down 80-110 ft. The three hottest spoons for the day were a laker taker, and two of my own hand painted spoons (these two spoons accounted for 15 of the 22). Pretty proud of the homemade spoons even if it was on Keuka! All in all it was a great day of fishing and a great day to be out on the water. Sean

Thanks for all the quick replies, I checked out boats.net and I think I found everything I needed (for now). It is definitely a good list of places to have for the future though! Thanks again

I have a 1968 5 hp Johnson that I took the lower unit off yesterday. The impeller itself is fine but the key that holds it in place was sheared in half and a few of the gaskets were dry rot and dissolved. Any idea where I can buy a kit that would include the key and gaskets or where I could buy them individually? Thanks, Sean

Just used that website last week (very useful) and was also surprised to see Fastrac on the list. Was able to fill up a 5 gal. can without having to go out of my way for it.

I actually put a new fuel line on it as soon as i bought the motor, i forgot to mention that earlier. But that still doesn't mean that it couldn't be something with the fuel line connector either to the tank or the motor. Doesn't hurt to check that out while i'm waiting for the water temp to warm up

So i made a few changes. I put new spark plugs in, cleaned the gas tank and put new (ethanol free) gas in it, and changed the mixture to 50-1. Pulled the cord twice and it started right up. So Saturday morning my brother and i took it to Keuka to try it out. Once again, pulled the cord a few times and it started right up. So i opened it up a bit to let it warm up as we were heading out, and after about 45 seconds it started to die. I got back to the motor before it died and pumped the ball thinking maybe it wasn't getting gas but the ball was still hard. Anyways it stalled out and i went to pull start it again and i could barely even pull the cord, it was basically seized right up. I'm assuming after reading the replies to this thread, that the water temperature is just too cold for the motor right now. Saturday the surface temp was 32 degrees.

This is all great information. Thank you all for the input, i will work on it this weekend and see if i can get it working right.

Trenchfisherman, Thank you for the info! I will definitely give it a try and see what happens.

Hi Guys, I just bought a new motor (1970's 5hp evinrude) for trolling. The guy i bought it from took very good care of it and i had started it up in a barrel a few times with no problems before taking it out on the lake for the first time. This past weekend i took it out and it started up just fine and i ran it wide open for a minute or two to get it warmed up. When i idled it down to trolling speed, after a few minutes at trolling speed it began to produce an oil cloud behind the motor and then stalled. Tried to start the motor a few more times and got it started only to have it stall again. It does have a lean / rich knob on the front which was set directly in the middle. Should i try running it all the way on lean when idling at such low speeds? The mixture for this model called for 24/1, should the mixture be increased (say 35/1 or something) when trolling or is it best to keep it at 24/1 and just adjust the lean / rich knob? I have also heard some guys say that when idling at lower speeds you can increase the gap on the spark plugs to reduce the chance of fouling the plugs...Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks, Sean

I was trolling at the Hammondsport end of Keuka on Saturday and saw quite a few people fishing from the docks. Saw a few lakers landed, but really weren't paying too close attention to that. Bait fish were EVERYWHERE in about 15-20 fow right straight out from docks. Good Luck!!

Laketrout, Thanks for the info, that definitely helps! I think part of our problem is that we don't have a great fishfinder (and probably don't know the settings on it as well as we should either!) I really love trolling on Keuka, but i also know that fighting a laker on light tackle is much more exciting than on a downrigger rod.

What depth are you jigging at/what what are you using? (tube jigs?) I have tried jigging a few times before and never had much luck, but always read posts where people hammer them! Maybe there is a trick to it that i haven't quite figured out yet...

When running a spoon, what is the ideal length of the leader?

I don't have access from my current computer to post a picture but here is a link to Big Weanie Brand's website with pictures of their "grease trap" http://shop.bigweeniebrand.com/category ... egoryId=42

Thanks for all the input! On a side note, has anybody ever had any luck running a fly behind a grease trap?

Just wondering what everyone's go to color is for trolling on the finger lakes, and if you had to choose between UV spoons or regular spoons which would you choose / think are more productive?

Thanks, Nick. I was reading your post right after i had posted this and thought that it sounded like a similar problem. I'll have to check the fuel line out more carefully, i'm guessing that's probably what it is.

I have an old GameFisher trolling motor on my boat that i've been having problems with lately, and thought maybe someone would have some suggestions for me. Last spring i had some work done on it and we tested it in a barrel of water. It ran fine and idled pretty well for quite a while before we shut it off. However, it seems like every time we get on the water and try to start it, it struggles to start and then stalls every couple of minutes I'm sure most of you know how frustrating it can be to set up a spread while dealing with a motor that doesn't work right. Anyways does anybody know what could be causing it to run fine in a barrel of water but then stall out on the lake? If all else fails i guess i can loosen the clamps on the back of the boat and tell the wife i "lost" the motor and will have to buy a new one Feel free to PM me if you'd like. Thanks, Sean