Sk8man

Good luck to you this season Wayne. Les

When you say "stackers" I think you may be referring to "sliders" or "cheaters" (fixed or free moving up and down the line) usually stacking refers to using multiple downrigger rods on one or each downrigger. As for the question...you never know for certain unless you are that particular fish but I suspect that you may have attracted with your main lures or perhaps even the weight on your and then the slider presented itself with more and /or erratic action appearing "injured" to the fish. Salmon and steelhead (rainbows too) are particularly fond of sliders for some reason and they often will come right into the prop wash for them even,

Thinking about going in AM and was going to go there but now looks like North end if I go. Any fleas Zack?

Yep those are the ones

You might want to look into different rubber bands too. If you go to the Dollar Store or Big Lots in the department where they have all the girls hair accessories you'll find some little ones or Michael's in the craft section they have bright orange or fluorescent yellow and lime green ones that are about the right breaking strength...again small bands but they work.

They aren't the easiest species to catch in either lake but if it were me I think I would be opting for Conesus because right now Honeoye is getting choked with weeds and it is hard to troll anything productively. Worm harnesses work well there though but again this late it is a problem trolling with all the weeds. The best time there is right when the season starts for a couple or three weeks.

Another possibility to check is the wire connection at the battery end and at the key end for corrosion It can act just that way but the fact that you have the power trim OK Frogger may be right..on my Optimax the battery has to be at least over half charge to even turn it over and they mentioned it when I bought the boat brand new. If it needs fixing Nick's suggestion is the way to go Fran Barrett is very knowledgeable and "the man" for Mercs. His stock of parts right there on hand is second to none in the state.

WTG Ed and Hoot!

I seldom "plug" businesses but I do believe as many of you do that small businesses locally should receive our full support; especially in this day and age of Wally world and Dick's and Gander etc. so this is an exception. After fishing Keuka I stopped by Fishy Business today with my buddy JB235 and was greeted by the owner Gerry who was not only helpful but actually very knowledgeable about the full range of trolling topics, products and items of interest and is a real fisherman himself (unlike the folks found in the big stores). He stocks quality trolling gear (rods, reels, lines (including Blood Run Sea Flee and Flea Flicker) FLT spoons, the largest selection of Honey Bee lures I've ever seen, amny other lures etc. and a range of terminal tackle from stuff for kids and novices to the stuff rig fishermen look for but don't see too often and he can set you up to rig fish. Gerry spent a lot of time with us familiarizing us with his products very casually and without any pressure and his line of products are second to none for a sole owner small business. He stocks the kind of things I or any of the rest of us longtime fishermen would stock - not the crap found in the big stores with inflated prices....his prices seemed very reasonable and fair. If you are at or near Keuka or the campground, State park etc. you should check him out (closed on Tuesdays). He is right up the road from Keuka State Park on the left (white place with sign out front) a little way from the park entrance (3737 Pepper Road Tel: (607) 368-2306 or (315) 719-3673. I don't have any financial relationship or interest in this I just felt very impressed with it. Les P.S. He also sells bait there and he's one of our LOU guys

As of today jigging is the ONLY way to fish Keuka The fleas will prevent you from doing anything else. You should get lakers jigging near the bluff in 120 ft or so as mentioned above.

They are probably best used during the Spring or late Fall when the fish are in shallower and usually are set up sort of like "top lines" with lures just under the surface that go out away from the boat with or without some (light) weight, with spoons or small to medium sticks. I've even run them in the past with some crank baits but they won't handle large cranks or large "digging" sticks real well. Often you'll have better luck with them catching with longer leaders than your rod length but then you'll have to hand line the fish in when you get to the yellowbird. If you keep the leader (fluoro for sure) the length or your rod or slightly less you are able to net the fish without hand lining (usually) Sometimes steelies run near the surface out deep (usually way out) so they could be used there as well I guess.I'm assuming here you are talking about Lake Ontario.

You might want to consider putting the braid on a spare reel if you have one and get 7 or 19 strand stainless Steel wire (1000 ft.) and fluoro leader right from the get go as fleas are starting to be seen in some places already. Save the braid for the Spring or even later in the Fall when the water temps go down and the fleas go as well and you haven't lost anything...wire can be used year around.... The wire is a good investment all the way around but get a twilli tip for the rod if you don't already have it. Also (I know others say different) put a small amount (50 ft or so)of 30 lb mono under the wire to protect the spool and reel as suggested to me by Tuna Tom who fixes them (apparently it helps alleviate pressure from the tightening wire and distributes the wire better allowing it to nest more evenly).

I know I don't have an electrical background but shouldn't the downriggers have all DC connectors and fused inline?

Nice going Sean. Pretty soon all hell should break loose out there. The t-cline was starting at about 40 here on Canandaigua last time out but the fish have still been in shallow 40-75ft.(north end anyway). The last laker I got here fought like a big bow....and faked me out at first (6-7 lb) they are fun anyway.

Some smart fishing They were in there the last time I was out too and rainbows as well mixed in and at that time the bait was there in quantity as well. I wasted a lot of time out deep but that is where I usually do well at this point in the season for the bows and browns and I wasn't after the lakers. The picture can change at any time now though because the lake is starting to set up and the bait will move out deeper and the fish will follow.

Nick's advice is excellent and so is the attitude underlying it....sometimes you have to take your lumps and move on but benefit from the "learning experience" where money is involved at ANY level or situation caution is advised no matter what the deal or seller.