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Consigliere

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Everything posted by Consigliere

  1. Just got a used boat that was totally redone inside, guy recommended West Marine non-skid white. He has been restoring boats 40yrs and did an excellent job on this one so would trust that opinion.
  2. Depth depends on weather, water and light conditions. The longer the warming or stable weather trend continues, the shallower they will stage. The less light (cloudy, sunset etc) the shallower they will come. A cold front will send them deep again and reset the process. In Lake O the zebras have pushed many of the fish deeper than they have historically been because more light can reach deeper in the water column. For depth, not saying you have to go out and find 150ft of water and try and troll that....it will be very difficult to control lures accurately that deep. Also, you cannot TELL the fish where to be, you must check it out! So, start at the weedline and move out from there, check out all depths. Typically from weedline down to 80-90 ft you have covered the best water. One thing to consider for the biggest fish is this...in the Detroit River many muskies, all different sizes, are caught every year. The smaller fish do not have lamprey on them, the big ones will almost ALWAYS have a lamprey attached or a recent lamprey wound. Why is this? Well...the big ones stay the deepest and are the least active which allows the lampreys to attach. So, extrapolating that info to other waters (a fish is a fish is a fish no matter what body of water) the biggest muskies will use the deep holes, and the deep hole doesn't have to be huge....it may be the size of a big boat, but they will use that if it has strucutre close by. Look for structures with those holes nearby (may not see them on a map, need lures and finders to locate them) and if you try the shallows and in between with nothing, then focus on targeting the deep holes. Another thing, muskys will take free running lures and will cover a large distance up to take it....BUT....this is almost always when they are very active and moving. The big ones, this may be for half hour a day when weather and water conditions are good...to maximize chances to catch them when they are inactive, try and have your lure occasionally ticking the bottom to stir things up. A musky that is inactive that has a lure hitting the bottom in front of them will take it but isn't that likely to take a free running lure.
  3. There are many out there that know more than me, but musky generally follow a seasonal migration from St. Lawrence through to Lake Ontario basin and then back to river every year to spawn. So opening, structure outside known spawning territory is probably the best bet. Summer you are probably fishing deep lake basin and then in the late fall back into the river. Never caught a big one, but caught a 34" last year in Lake Ontario a couple weeks after opener on a structure about a mile from a shallow weedy bay on Ontario side. We've tried hard in the fall for a big mama but no luck yet...we will keep trying though. They are definitely not the fish of 10, 000 casts, but come summer time they are deep fish making them more difficult to catch, especially given the clear water we deal with in Lake Ontario which pushes them even deeper. If you want to totally maximize your chances, only fish for them after several days of warming or stable warm weather and wait for a day with good cloud cover. Fish all day, sun up to sunset and focus on deeper structures around the main lake basins. Trolling is pretty much always the best bet to cover water but remember you need to cover lots of different speeds but generally faster is better, up to 10MPH.
  4. Only way to really save any money that is significant is going used. A big sale maybe, but used will almost always be cheapest, just have to be patient and check on lots of forums online and hope the seller will ship. There are a ton of very active forums out there where guys sell lots of gear, and high end stuff. A lot of the southwest US bass focused forums have electronics up for sale pretty regularly.
  5. SI is great for picking out details in structure and weedlines that would take you much longer to find with DI ro 2D sonar. For open water trolling for trout and salmon it's probably not as useful.
  6. Pick a strength more than the line. The swivel will fatigue over time and lose strength. Line will lose strength after it is beat up obviously but you will be changing that when you notice any damage. The swivel will fail due to metal fatigue.
  7. Would have to agree with everyone recommending baitcasters...but I do own one spinning setup that I like for smaller tackle, mainly spoons casting on season opener. I have a Abu Garcia Cardinal (706 I think) saltwater spinning reel paired up with an Ugly Stick Tiger ML saltwater rod. The rod is a bit whippy and fast action for big fish but is great for casting light baits. The reel itself is great and would recommend it. I believe I got it from overstockbait.com for $40 2 years ago, but a great reel for higher # tests. Casts well, smooth retrieve, decent drag and is fairly easy to service yourself.
  8. Pike and musky do it too but no one (that I've read) has any definitive idea why.
  9. Thanks a lot for the thoughtful responses. I think what you've highlighted that I really like is the walk around feature. That allows everyone to spread out for casting and sunnnig etc very nicely. The small cuddy is ideal too. Total Chaos...that is very nice boat. What would you be looking for if selling?
  10. Am looking for something any time...basically if the right deal comes along or a specific model that I really like. Can trailer most anything, 4x4 F150 V8 to tow. I figured something around 20-22' would be ideal to be able to trailer a bit if necessary but also big enough to handle any water. Casting is basically for spring time pike and walleye fishing. After June it's basically trolling all the time. Thanks for the suggestions. Been inquiring about a few boats available in the classifieds here.
  11. Looking for a new to me boat. Currently have 17ft/25HP boat that is great for back lakes and OK for big lake but not on a windy day and not great for the growing family either. Am looking for something that meets the following: 1) Good boat for casting with 3-4 people 2) Good boat for trolling the big lake 3) Good boat for family and kids. Ideally a small cuddy to tuck the little little ones into for a bit to stay out of the sun and sleep. 4) Something that can stay in the water for long periods of time Any recommendations on models, sizes? There are so many available its a bit overwhelming if you can't refine things down a bit.
  12. 40-130lb fluoro leader I find is best for pike. Won't kink like wire and is easy to tell when you need to change because you can feel the nicks. Can rig any spoon to be weedless if you use single hooks and attach a plastic to the hook in a weedless rig.
  13. Rig some spoons up with single hooks and fish them different speeds over top and through the weeds. If they are there, which apparently they are, you'll get bit many times. The bigger ones are probably roaming the edges more but there will be tons of fish totally buried in the weeds that will smoke your spoon as it touches the tops. Single hooks are key to keeping weeds off and are also way better for releasing fish.
  14. RAM makes waterproof cases for cameras, phones, ipads etc with brackets for mounting to your boat. Not cheap but they look good and have a good track record.
  15. Far as I know legal as long as it has only 4 hooks.
  16. As an FYI I recently repaired an aluminum hull using GluvIt. The epoxy works fairly well but will not stand up long term and you are likely to have slow leaks going forward. Only way to fix permanently in my opinion is welding. The pounding out on the water will eventually open the leak more and more with epoxy. The epoxies just don't have the same physical properties under load that aluminum does so separation will occur eventually.
  17. I've tried a number of different braided lines. PP is a solid line although there are better ones. Stealth Spiderwire is superior feel and casting but is not as tightly braided so might not last as long as PP. Suffix 832 is the best I have ever used so far. It has some unique features (a goretex thread being one) that makes it totally different to other braids. It is the only line available with 8 threads and 32 braids per inch. All other lines cannot be braided this tightly, they will break themselves off. The goretex thread is what allows this. Unfortunately, the 832 is usually the most expensive line.
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