Sk8man

Try Wolfs Marine in Benton Harbor Michigan (call them stuffs not on their website) 250 W. Main St. Benton Harbor, MI 49022 Phone: (269) 926-1068 Fax: (269) 926-1731

I would think that trying to let out more backing would not get you deeper because the lead core is much heavier than the backing and the leadcore will bow out itself at some point anyway and that would be pretty much it for depth. My strategy would be to add an inline weight at the point where the leader starts (maybe add a three way swivel etc. at that point) so that it will sink the leadcore itself. Maybe it would be worthwile to get one of the Fish Hawk TD's and check things out at intervals with it attached near the lure position and record where on the leadcore it was at that time and try different weights until you achieve what you want. I'd log it along with your speed on paper to review and keep track of it as it is a bit "laborious" :>)Divers might get you down a bit but they will not maintain consistent depth like the sinker approach as they are more "erratic" and go up and down as well as sideways (esp on turns)

Cool thanks.

That might be something you don't want to mess around with yourself. If it doesn't fit or seal up properly you may end up with a real disaster on your hands. I'd look for a knowledgable mechanic at a marina and get some advice beforehand.

Does the fish come with the net :>)?

This may be a bit of a personal choice issue but here's why I use SOME backing- I've found over the years that with stranded wire of any diameter it has very strong "spool memory" i.e. tends to tightly curl up as much as possible when the tension is released from it. The smaller the diameter of the wire the more tightly it does this. Often this leads to more easily "kinking". The usable diameter size of the reel spool spindle is a factor to consider too the smaller the diameter the tighter the coils. The smaller the spindle diameter the tighter and smaller the "curling" that occurs and that may also relate to easier "kinking". When stranded wire is applied to the spindle and wound up over time it has a tendency to try to go to the center of the reel spool despite the best efforts of the level wind mechanism. When the spindle has a softer backing (e.g heavy mono or braid)covering the spindle the wire tends to nest or distribute itself among the strands along the spindle over time and maintain a larger "curling" tendency and I feel reducing the possibility of "kinking". The question now becomes "Do I have a bit of OCD"? ..... maybe :>)

BS Master is right...ANY gun stuff is serious business and we all have an investment in making things appear as sane as possible given the fact that the anti's believe that ANYONE who owns, likes or otherwise indicates any predispositon towards firearems is a GUN NUT and the liberal downstate legislators transform this (mis)belief into action. The Biden thing is funny at first glance but we also have an investment in protraying an accurate view of the involvement use and ownership of firearms by women (who comprise a meaningful segment of the gun owning population). The existing stereotype of hand gun owners is that we are all white male, macho types bursting at the seams with testosterone and just waiting to pull the trigger on someone who ticks us off.....OR we are hunters and don't need these scarey guns anyway. Whatever we can do to change this stereotype around it is in our best interest to do so and we have to be judicious in how we go about it since there is a large element of irrational FEAR held by the liberal anti-gun folks as well as the government, and the easiest way for them is to eliminate anything that gives rise to the fear is to ban it.

His brain is mush and never keeps up with his mouth. I think he and our dear Emperor Cuomo must have gone to the same gun classes (taught by Gumby)

Not sure how much fishing you've done and trolling in particular but you may want to closely look at a lot of the stuff that has already been posted on here according to the species you are going after. If it is perch you are after trolling dipseys is not the usual or most effective way to get them although occasionally they can be caught this way. They are primarily caught either using live bait drifting or anchored, and jigging with live bait or jigging plastics using light tackle with 4 pound test mono. For trout/salmon on the other hand the small dipseys will work ok in the Spring in shallow with small to medium sized flutter spoons (large stickbaits (e.g. Rapalas etc.) don't work great with the smaller dipseys, but for the salmon you should be set up with medium to heavy equipment in the way of rods and reels and line (12 lb to 20 lb test). You should also have sturdy rod holders or at the least use safety lines on your equipment. As for the trolling I am wondering whether you will be using the 220 hp motor for it exclusively because usually that sized motor is not optimal for trolling speeds and if doing it for extended periods your plugs/engine components are likely to foul up. In terms of getting the grandson into some fish I'd head the boat up wind and then DRIFT back along the shoreline with the wind in about 10-25 ft. of water using live minnows, a worm harness, or jigs and plastics for perch just "ticking" tyhe bottom along the way (and an occasional smallmouth to be released until season opens in June :>) Good luck with it.

It may not be the prettiest solution but is it possible to use a hot glue gun on it? Gorilla glue is another possibility to try. Unfortuntely many times glues won't adhere properly the certain types of plastic until you find the right one

Its pretty much all been covered here (in terms of spoons, techniques etc.) but I figured I'd add my two cents as well. Lake trout are "opportunists" as are most of the trout family. They will basically feed on anything and everything and in the Spring the big ones even compete with large Northern Pike in the shallows without fear of predation. I have even found small perch and sunfish in their stomachs as well as a juvenile lake trout over the years. The key to fishing them is to create something resembling a weak, damaged, or otherwise "vulnerable" target. This can be done in all of the ways previously mentioned. Although colors size, shape etc. MAY be important the main thing is that the presentation takes advantage of ACTION related factors. They are for much of the year "bottom huggers" and aside from the early Spring and Late Fall are usually found near there. The use of cowbell flashers, dragging copper along the bottom. and running "secret weapon" rigs (section of lead core attached to downtrigger line to slope toward bottom) take advantage of this by stirring up things on bottom, creating a commotion to pique their curiosity, and presenting the appearance of a "wounded" prey. Slow trolling assists Lakers in making a decison to strrike the weak target or not as they try to conserve energy in the cold water most of the year and in large part prefer cooler temps (48-50 degrees) than the rest of the "tribe". Once you understand these things and transfer what the other folks have mentioned you will be successful in catching them.

Hey Fieromx3....I'm not sure the sharks in Lake Ontario are able to pick up the current real well :>)

Sounds as though you are lucky to have escaped the land of high taxes, disregard for the Constitution, the police state mentality and inept politicians like Emperor Cuomo :>).

I would definitely go with 150 lb. stainless steel downrigger cable but you need to carefully use the RIGHT DIAMETER CRIMP on it and crimp it correctly so there is no "wiggle" of the wire in the crimp. I have had the same SS wire on my downriggers since the mid 1980's without a failure of any kind.

Trebles often have the characteristic of the individual hooks working against each other in the fishes mouth when he is hooked such that in many cases it ends up being a weaker hookup (lose more fish) than with the single stainless steel siwash hooks designed for salmon and other large fish

If you folks need Daiwa parts and can't find them I've had great luck with the folks at Causeway Bait and Tackle on Long Island at http://www.causewaybaitandtackle.com/default.aspx As I remember the guy to speak with is Tom. They do reel repair there as well. They shipped parts to me next day without any problem.

Nick, I was just messin with you when I said "Southender" bud...I too appreciate both ends and the middle as well Some of my favorite spots are out from Dresden too... and I hear ya about being close to the boat (and thelandlocks as well :>)....I'm close to my trailer but that's about it :>) Les

I honestly don't think the color of the hook is a significant factor...it is primarily the action of the lure and perhaps the color or size of it. Although I have replaced all my flutter spoons and other spoons with single Mustad siwash SS salmon hooks, I have retained the original hooks on all my stickbaits to preserve the action of the lures which in some cases are highly sensitive to changes per se. (e.g. Rapalas). There may actually be an additional advantage to keeping on the original trebles as they are in most cases not as large nor as brittle as the stainess trebles and have a slight amount of "give" in them so that the hook doesn't pull out as easily (provided you don't HORSE) the fish) or tear the mouth of some fish (e.g. rainbows with delicate mouth structure). It is my belief that at least for the stickbaits it is not worth risking the change in action and unless you have a scale that weighs minute quantitative differences in hooks you can't be sure that won't happen.

I had the hinged Happy Troller and lost a lot at the top end and I thought it was much slower to get up on plane and eventually took it off.

Good going and Thanks Flyrod2