excavr

Am I correct in saying the reason you want to mount the transducer at or near the centerline is to get the sonar cone in the middle of the boat? That would allow you to run the probe off either side without signal loss in the event a rigger went down. The display on the X4 is pretty large Big Dave. I think I could mount it next to my MinnKota in the bow and have no problem reading it.

Hey Capt Vince, what would you do differently for installation on an aluminum boat? I have a 17' Tracker I hope to install my new X4 on this weekend. I can't decide where the display will fit best. The helm on a 17' doesn't have much room for electronics. I won't be able to fit it behind the windshield and hate to locate it on the port side console. I am leaning towards mounting it with a RAM mount next to the helm on the inside of the gunwale just in front of the throttle. The X4 came with a rain cover that protects the screen, but the cover leaves the back exposed. I have never had a problem with my electronics being damaged by water exposure. Do I need to be more careful with the X4 and water? Has anyone figured out a way to mount the X4 to a RAM mount without using the plastic base it comes with? I haven't come up with a solution that won't hack up the back of the display housing. Thanks

I am removing the Power Pro from my Cannon Unitroll downriggers and switching to SS cable. Do I have to crimp the end of the cable after I feed it through the hole in the spool, or will I have luck putting a knot in the end and winding on the new cable? Thanks

Thanks Tim. I was leaning toward the Camo color SS wire over the Brite. Anyone have an opinion on the two color choices?

I want to fill my Okuma Catalina 25D with wire and was going to use mono backing. I assumed wire would slip on the spool if mono backing wasn't used (similar to PowerPro). The spool of my Catalinas does not have a hole to thread the lead end of the wire through. Are there any steps I should take loading wire without backing that would be different than loading with mono? Any thoughts on whether a beginner wire user should start with 30 or 20# test? Thanks

Does anyone have a feedback link on this topic to respond to the DEC?

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm going to buy another bag.

I've been using a drift sock to slow my troll, but it can make steering difficult at times. I was thinking of buying a second bag to put on the opposite side to balance the boat out and gain some control. I've looked at the trolling plates, but I'm not sure I like the idea of bolting a piece of aluminum on a hinge to my lower unit. I have visions of it breaking and getting caught by the prop. Any thoughts for or against either system? Thanks

I installed a MinnKota Terrova 80 trolling motor on my 17' Tracker last spring. I got the iPilot feature on it. The iPilot and remote control are awesome. It comes in handy when I am solo and I am landing a fish. Just hit the autopilot on the MinnKota and throw the gas engine in nuetral. It has a transducer in the motor that causes a lot of interference on my bow FF when the trolling motor turns above a low speed. Not their best feature. Don't plan on using the electric for trolling long especially if there is any wind. I get about 1hr of use when the motor runs on full speed trying to keep me at 2.25 mph. I would have gone with the 101 model if I had the room for a 36V system. You will want the 101 on your 21' Lund. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

What stops the slider from tangling around your mainline lure when you retrieve? I have a mental picture of a fish or lure all wrapped up with the slider leader.

Hey muskybob, Should I remove the skin from the filets before brining? Any difference in the finished product if the fish was frozen and thawed before brining? Thanks

I was told by the FLX Park Director that they will keep it open for launching as late as possible. He said they can close up the buildings in a day so they try to keep the lauch open until the channel ices up. I'm gonna try to get out tomorrow morning. I have to keep an eye on the wind forecast though. It stinks to drive 1.5 hours only to find the lake is too rough to get out in my 17'er.

We fished the north end on Sunday in 80-150 fow from 8:30 to 1:30. Managed to boat one bow and one laker by 10:30. One on a fly about 45' down and the other on spoon 65' down. Tried all we could but couldn't get anything to happen after 10:30. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

We trolled from 9:30 to almost 2:00. Tried everything we could think of. Skunked. Nice day to be out on the lake though. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

I have been trolling into the current because I thought that was the propper direction. I read a post or two that give the impression everyone else trolls with the current to their back. Which is the correct or easier method? Do you need to make speed adjustments based on the direction of troll to compensate for the current? Thanks. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Is there a reason why the Spin Doctors come with a ball bearing swivel at the front and a barrel swivel at the rear? I don't know if it is coincidental, but we accidentally reversed the swivels so the barrel was on the front and found the line between the dipsy and the spinny was twisted.

Is there a reason why some spoons are sold with split rings on them and others are not? Should split rings be added to the spoons if they don't have them before you tie them to your leader?

Took the advice everyone offered and my new flashers and flies to Canandaigua on Saturday. We set 2 dipsy lines with flasher and flies and 2 down riggers with spoons. All lines in the water by 10:30 and caught our first laker around 12:00, second at 12:30 and the third (rainbow) at 1:30. We called it quits after 3:00. It was a nice day to be out and had just enough action to keep us wondering if we were doing things right. Since all three fish were caught on A-Tom-Mik flies and Spin Dr. flashers I made a trip to Gander Mtn yesterday and stocked up on gear. Looking forward to this Saturday to try again. Thanks to all for the wisdom and continued support! Matt

I was running with spoons on all 4 lines. The only fish we caught was hooked on a ladder pattern flourescent multi-orange spoon (NK maybe?). I don't have flashers and flies in my box now, but I'll go pick up a few. I noticed the Spin Doctors come in a couple different sizes. What size flasher is appropriate for trooling for trout? Any other colors that I should have handy besides green? So I will set the flasher 6' off the ball...how long of a leader should I use between the flasher and the fly? Should a snubber be used on te flasher setup, or is monfiliment okay on it's own? Thanks guys. Matt

Good point Gambler. The butt of the rod is currently getting stuck in my plastic Cannon rod holders and causing all kinds of problems. I'll go with the tube style. Unfortunately the I don't have much room for track system Chowder. That will have to wait until I get a bigger boat. Thanks guys. Matt

Got out yesterday for the first time on Canandaigua, second time ever trolling. Caught one laker one hour into our trip. We concentrated in 150-200 fow and tried to keep our rigs between 40-80 feet deep at 2.5-3.0 mph. We had 2 down riggers set and 2 dipsy divers out. I'm new to the board and the sport. I would really like to learn and improve before getting discouraged and give up. I've read through a lot of helpful posts already but have a couple questions from our outing yesterday. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. We were having a tough time determining how deep our down riggers were actualy set at due to the swing back on the DR line. I am using a 12 lb pancake weight and spectra fiber on the down riggers. We set the depth to 85 feet on the dial and thought we were possibly losing 10 or 15 feet due to the angle of the swing back. Is there a rule of thumb for estimating he depth lost due to swing back of the DR weight? Do I need heavier of different style weight? We decided to quit after 2.5 hours and only one fish caught. When we pulled in the rigs we had weeds on the DR weights, dipsy divers, and spoons. I suspect the weeds were on the rigs while we were trolling and not necessarily snagged on the retrieve. Are weeds a problem when trolling at 40-80 fow? If so, is there an easy way to tell that you have weeds on your rigs without pulling everyting up to the surface?

I am just staring out and need to upgrade my plastic Cannon rod holders to more durable rod holders. I was going to go with the standard tube style aluminum rod holder until I found the rod holders pictured below. They are advertised as specifically designed and made for dipsy divers rods.... all you do is lift up and pull out when a fish strikes... Has anyone used them or similiar rod holder? Are they as slick as the manufacturer says? The theory makes sense, but would like to get some feedback before making the commitment since they cost substantially more than the tube style.