Sk8man

The trolling plate maay well be the problem with steering but I should think a 125 should be able to get down better and roughly maintain speed without the plate. I can troll at 1.8-1.9 (550 RPM's) with my 135 Merc two stroke. the idle adjustment on the motor may need a look.

Some Americans are still brave. My parents went through the Great Depression and survived it. My grandparents had 8 kids with two sets of twins and they lived on a tenant farm where my grandfather worked as a laborer for very little money. They didn't complain they didn't expect the Government to bail their asses out, and everybody pitched in to survive it ....and they did. It is called "adaptation and survival"; not bravery. Most of the truly brave people are no longer with us they are in Arlington and many other places like it, they are the folks who are treating the people right now for covid, they are the people going in to work everyday despite the presence of this highly contagious and infectious disease but they are taking as many precautions as possible so that they don't infect their families and friends and using their heads about avoiding this disease. There are others in our society who think the virus is a hoax, young people that value partying in unprotected groups over potentially infecting themselves and their families, and those who value economic considerations over human life. This is a time for American ingenuity and a measured approach to getting back in gear economically. This virus is still with us and is still ravaging many areas of our country and it calls for belt tightening and sacrifice and we aren't used to it. We have to make decisions like can we really afford cable tv and Starbucks coffee,Nike sneakers, and brand new cars and maybe shop at Aldies and the Dollar store to get by for now. It is called flexibility and adaptation to changing conditions and many of us are not willing or prepared to do it.

The death toll is a misleading measure of the disease. There is recent evidence that even healthy college athletes now have a significant heart problem after being exposed to the virus and some didn't have the symptoms. A number of children have had severe respiratory disease/complications, there also seems to be possible neurological problems down the road after folks have "recovered". This is not some flu or minor disease. It is not just people that eat too many burgers and fries that get it or die from it. The economic aspects are disasterous and no one in their right mind would argue that point. People do have to survive economically but the re-integration of the workforce and schools is complicated in terms of exposure and things have to be carefully planned and executed with evaluation along the way. Americans aren't used to being inconvenienced, we aren't real amenable to being told what to do, young folks think they are "invinceable" and it is the "other guy" that will get the disease or die, we don't follow orders well. and our "independent" mindset and wanting to do what we want to do when we want to do it despite the consequences is working against us.We would do well to take stock of the way some other countries have had some success in controlling this contagion - but no not us...we'll do it our way. Let everyone fend for themselves. We aren't going to be inconvenienced. Sometimes we ourselves can be our own worst enemies and this appears to be one of those times.

The fact that some folks treat this pandemic as a "political football" is a great part of the problem. The decisions regarding any pandemic should be based on facts and science; not political ambitions. It is both unconscionable and immoral to disregard concerns for human life. By the way I'm not in favor of either political candidate so lets avoid that discussion.

I fished right through winters on Seneca for about 20 years with my previous boat (outboard) just have to make sure to thoroughly drain it each time afterward (right at the ramp).I also kept the lower unit is a completely downward position and kept a garbage bag over the prop with a bungi cord

Chichong- Lets return to your original question. Many of us use 10-20 lb weights of various shapes - each of these shapes influences the movement and path of the rigger weight. The primary concern of most folks is to minimize "blowback" (of which the angle of the downrigger is an indicator) such that the position of the weight corresponds closely to that which appears on the screen of the depthfinder. At least three different things influence the actual depth that the weight is running underwater: the shape of the weight, the actual weight of it, and the speed at which it is traveling underwater. Another independent factor is underwater current which can dramatically influence the path of the weight. The image on the depthfinder depends on these factors too but as previously described it is the distance from the transducer to the weight which is interpreted on the screen as depth but it is not necessarily straight down depth. After using both 10 and 12 lb weights in the ball shape,fish shape, shark shape, and torpedo shape there isn't as much difference in their performance as people may think at slow speed (e.g. 1.3-1.8), or between 10 and 12 lb weights in most common trolling situations above about 50 ft or so of water depth. It is the displacement of water by the weights as they go deeper that relates to their weight/performance differences, with shape being the most critical variable by far. Shape of the weight probably influences the angle of the wire on the rigger when perpendicular to the water more than the actual weight of it and the displacement (and actual weight underwater) of the weight is not real significant between a 10 and 12 lb weight and unless you have a protractor you probably would not tell the difference. At deeper depths say 100 ft and deeper and higher speeds the differences become more apparent as the angle of the wire extends outward and the weights lift upward. There is more resistance to that lift as the weights are increased in actual weight pulling them downward due to gravity. This view isn't hard rocket science based on hard core research but it is based on over 50 years of downrigger use and observation. If your (newer) downrigger supports the use of heavier 12-20 lb weights (manual or electric versions) it can be beneficial to use them to minimize blowback while trolling. For folks with older electric downriggers some judgment is required as the motors may not be able to withstand that extra weight and can create mechanical and motor retrieve problems as well as weaken wire connections at a terminus (e.g. probe or weight connections). For folks using manual riggers you have to ask whether you wish to be cranking up 16 lb weights all day so compromises may be in order.

Sometimes it is critical to tune your spoons or sticks, but it is ALWAYS critical to tune the meat rig. Speed can be just about irrelevant if the bait isn't rolling or twirling just right and sometimes you have to play with it to get it right but it is worth the effort. There are also times when a decision has to be made regarding what to run along with it but use the way the meat is running to be the main concern because spoon and stick action varies up and down but if the meat isn't running right it is like dealing with a dead horse in the race

and has a long pencil

Depth and distance are two different things. Depth is the distance in a downward direction from a given point. Distance can refer to any number of directions from the originating point. Chinook 35 summed it up very well in his comment. By the way, the shape of the weight matters significantly as he notes in his example. The pancake weights probably have the least accuracy depth-wise because of their shape. They tend to go quite a ways off to the side - especially at higher speeds. The more hydrodynamically the shape (less resistance in the water) the truer the weight tracks through the water which should translate to less blow-back and truer depth display on the depth finder. Similarly the heavier the weight the more it holds the wire in a downward position with shape being held constant. Again the resistance in the water is the critical variable.

Just an additional qualification regarding the Lake Ontario environment vs. other smaller bodies of water such as the Finger Lakes relating to downrigger weights and estimates of their placement in the water column: Justin makes a good case for the experience factor and it is a good example to follow. Fishing Lake O is however a somewhat different "animal" regarding underwater currents. and their impact on the weight/blowback issue. In most of the Finger Lakes the current can be quite strong in lakes like Seneca and Cayuga and the smaller lakes usually less so for example, but for the most part the current usually runs either clockwise or counterclockwise around the lake. In Lake Ontario the underwater currents can branch out in many different directions at once such that fishing one area may be very different than another with the changes in current and cross currents coming from multiple directions at once. The effects on actual position of the downrigger weight will vary greatly depending on the actual amount of weight, the shape of the weight, the speed of the boat and the speed or strength of the current and its direction relative to the boat;all of which affect the angle of the downrigger wire which varies while trolling. Once again, no matter how you slice it you are still making "estimates" of the exact location of the weight and lure. To compound it the lure may be in a much different position than the weight depending on boat speed length of lead, and type of lure and with or without attractor etc. The longer the lead the more pronounced this difference may be.The Fishhawk TD use resulted in some interesting revelations. I have seen the difference in the downrigger counter vs.relative depth of weight of 10 lb weight (shark shape) vary as much as 20 ft higher at 100 ft.) and other setups running generally higher than I thought.from chart estimates.