TyeeTanic

Every since last year, bait has exploded on my fish finder screen. I'm convinced now that there is a huge imbalance of prey vs. predator. I don't know what has caused it. Is something killing off Chinook, or preventing successful spawn (does thioamine affect Chinook)? Has warm weather in prior years caused an alwive boom? It's hard getting fish to go after your metal bait, when there are millions of real bait to choose from.

I have a 5.7 and troll with it at 600 to 800 RPM. No temp or oil pressure problems.

Running one per side, use setting 1. Running 2 per side use setting 3 and 1.

I really like the twilight bite. But once that sun is below the horizon, time to head in. I don't like it, don't think it's that effective, and it's too dangerous boating at night. I've seen lots of guys doing it, and sure some may catch fish, but I don't think it is as productive as day fishing.

I have all of those. The twill tips are probably the best solution in my mind. Don't look as nice, but they really prevent kinks in the wire.

Weave in and out of the mudline, around 35 ft deep or so. Lines down around 20ft.use reds, oranges and yellows.

I use orange/yellow high up in the water column. Green in about the middle say 40 - 80 ft down. Deeper than that I prefer black, or silver.

Lowrance HDS series. I would recommend the 7.

I was told you should never move the battery switch while the engine is running or you will blow the isolators and possibly the alternator. Did you happen to do this? It could mean your batteries are no longer charging via the alternator.

I used to use 20 lb flea flicker. It does keep the fleas off. I had less severe line twist as I used really good ball bearing swivels (spro). But I did find it to be weaker, would break at knots and if I had the torpedo weight on it. I switched to 30 lb big game based on the advice of people on the forum. I haven't had any flea problems on that line either and I haven't had any break offs. So I'm now sticking to big game. I fish Lake O.

I think if you had that second engine working, you guys would have picked up and found marks somewhere else. It could have made a big difference.

June is a great time of the year on the Canadian side of the lake. Things may be a bit late this year because of the cooler winter. I'd bank on second half of June.

I think it is available on the Canadian side of the lake. I've definitely picked up DSC transmissions on my radio, so the other advantage is that any nearby boat will get the distress call with a location.

Bondouly, how much you looking to spend? Also what do you fish for. Assuming you are talking about salmon trolling ... For fish finders, up to around $1000 you do get what you pay for - after that it's all nice to haves - mostly in screen size. So the more you can spend the better off you'll be, up to that point. I would start with ensuring you get a unit with enough transducer output to ensure you have a good reading. You want a dual output 50/200 or 83/200 Hz tranducer, or even better something with CHIRP technology. Then I'd start increasing screen size up to around 8". Have fun.

Pretty good actually. June is probably one of my favorite times of the year. The salmon are still feeding and you can easily get into some double digit days.

You don't want to use mono on a diver for a couple of reasons. The line is thickener and the drag is considerably more than the wire, which means you cannot get as deep. The second reason, and probably the more important one, is that with anything more than 40 feet of line out, it is VERY difficult to get the diver to pop open when trying to retrieve the dipsey, because the mono stretches too much. So if you want to go deep (which is the main purpose of a dipsey) then wire or braid (both being non-stretchable) are the way to go.

This has been discussed on a boating forum I am a member of. They have some very good recommendations. Look at what Tikihut has to say in the first page of this link: http://rinkerboats.vanillaforums.com/discussion/1835/colored-hull-care#latest

I was told not to put mono under wire as the stretch could offset the wire from the line guide and cause major havoc when a king hits. Braid is recommended.

Wire - When the fleas come out, you won't be able to use the power pro. Also the wire catches more fish than braid according to the masses. I only use wire. Make sure you get as a minimum 7 strand wire - it is flexible and easier to use than single strand (my first mistake as a fisherman using wire). There's 19 strand as well, which some claim is even better, but my 7 strand does just fine. You should put 1000 ft of wire on your reel. The application is VERY similar to copper. Put some braid backing on, around 100 ft - at least enough to cover the spool. Tie the wire to the braid using an Albright special, see link below. As per copper make sure you spool on tight, good to have someone hold the spool for you with some drag while you reel it on. http://www.netknots.com/fishing_knots/albright-special/ To tie your tackle on, use a quick connect ball bearing swivel on the end of the wire. Use this knot to tie the snap swivel to the wire: http://www.lotsa.org/Wire%20Line%20Knot.htm After that, like others say, deploy a dipsey (no bait) let out as much line as possible, then reel it in - that will do the final trick.

Mortigan, Interesting question you have there. But, don't you think the answer is different for each person? I mean I might love having a particular job that you would hate. I would start by asking yourself what things in life make you happy - I'm not talking about a job, but things like - being my own boss, helping people, designing stuff, building stuff, etc. With these answers in front of you, the next question is what job can provide those circumstances for me. Best regards.