TyeeTanic

Hey Paul. I've put in some major hours fishing and remember all those questions??? Well, this forum's help really got me to zero in on the right setup (I hope you weren't being sarcastic about learning so much in the last 6 weeks ). Adam - I would be scared crapless to use my 14 foot Raven in the lake. I know it flexes better than the girls at the Runway Strip club, but it must take forever to bring in a king with a 6 lb line. I find the trout are stronger in the streams and the salmon are stronger in the lake. Salmon seem tired in the river after a burst up the shallows - so I find it more manageable to catch them on my float rod in the river - but on the lake - I believe you, but I wouldn't do it - it's hard enough to reel in a screamer on the 8 ft rigger rods on 30 lb test. Like I said I believe you - but not sure as a beginner on the lake whether it will lead to succesful fishing.

Adam - maybe we're not talking about the same thing here. Are we talking about IM6 to IM8 river fishing rods, that are highly flexible - that we use 6 lb test on??? If so the thrashing of a king will definitely be too much force for that rod.

Oh, and one last but important thing - you want to set your lure 30 - 40 feet deep. So that means you need 150 to 200 feet of line out to get there on a 5 oz weight.

Well, there are a few basics you cannot stray from. I am a converted river fisherman (float) as well, so I know what is done there vs. the open water - and it is very much different. First and foremost is you need to be in the right depth of water, travelling at the right speed. 100 - 200 feet of water is generally good, and you need to be travelling between 2.5 - 3.3 mph. If you cannot keep your speed consistently in this range, forget it, you won't have too much luck. You are better off anchoring somewhere and jigging. If you can do this speed, then you will need at least a medium action 8 foot rod, and recommended is a heavy action 8.5 foot rod, but for limited fishing it's not a must. Your drift rod will snap in half if you use it trolling - trust me. You will need to fit the rod with at least 20 lb mono line or higher (I use 30 lb test) and have at least 800 - 1000 ft of it. Forget about the 6 lb test we use in the rivers - will snap in a second. You will need to know exactly how many feet of line you have out (for reason spelled out below), which defines the type of reel you can use - you obviously want a trolling reel for this reason, and because it is heavy duty. If you don't have this stuff then your best bet is to look out for some good combos - I got a Rapala Magnum II Medium to Heavy Action Trolling Rod and Reel with built in counter and mono line on it (ready to fish) for $80 at Canadian Tire. You can't get it much cheaper than this and it is pretty good stuff. Lastly is the tackle - you can do something simple or a little more complicated but more efficient. There are two components to your tackle - (a) something to get your line down deep enough and (b) the bait you use. For point (a) - A more complicated setup involves using something called a dipsey diver - this gets your line down deep (up to 100 feet). Basically the diver comes with a chart which tells you how much line you need to let out to get it a certain depth (which is why you need the line counter on the reel). I would go for a #1 size dipsey diver, it is the most versatile. If you want the simpler set up for point (a) - then get a drop (bass weight) around 3, 4 or 5 oz's. Put a 1/4" ring onto it and connect it to the snap swivel on the end of your main mono line. You can then join the lead line and bait to the same 1/4" ring. Trolling at the desired speeds - every 10 feet of line out gets you around 2 feet down (20%). For point(b) - I would just use lures. Good ones to get are 4" size and Northern King - Black/Purple &Water Melon, Williams - Blue/Silver, or Nasty Boy - Blue Silver. Put a 10' leader of 30lb floro carbon on this. Something more complicated would be an attractor/fly combo. Here you attach an attractor like a spin doctor to the dipsey using a 6 to 10 foot floro lead, and then a fly (made using tinsel) about 20" away from the attractor on a floro lead. Note, most flies come with the leader already installed. You want colors like bloody death or green glow. So to recap - I would recommend the simplest set up: - Rapala Magnum II Rod and Reel combo, with built in line counter and mono line - $80 at Canadian Tire - 40lb test stainless steel ball bearing snap swivels, Size 3 - (need 3 per rod for the simple setup) - $5 per pack, get 2 - Couple of 3 oz and 5 oz weights - $3 each, get 3. - Some 1/4" stainless rings to attach the weights to the main line - $3 per pack - 25 meters of 30 lb test florocarbon line - $15 for a roll - 4" Northern King - Purple/Black lure, Watermelon and Nasty Boy Blue/Silver - $8 each, get 3 or 4 - plastic case to hold spare stuff - $10 - option is some bait scent good for trout or salmon - usually hering works well. $5 for a bottle - ALL In - $165 all in for a decent, but basic setup, per rod. See image below for an illustration of how to connect everything up.

Yup - Hank has the right one - don't use anything else, this knot is easy to tie and as strong as steel!!

I have the Eagle Claw wire rods with the rollers, and my hand doesn't come too close to the wire. I definitely never get touched by it when I'm holding the rod above the reel.

I run my outside rods on a mag or #1 dipsey set at 3. Then I use a #0 dipsey on the inner (chute) rods set at 0.5 to 1.0. The benefit is the line out to depth ratio is much higher on the chute rods and they are basically a little further back than the outside rods. I also do not set the center dipseys (the closest two together) at the same depth - I normally have the one at 1.0 setting and a little further out and then another at 0.5 setting and a little closer in. This way the deeper one is closer and the shallower one is further back - this small offset (by 20 feet or so) also helps keeps the center dipseys apart. If the center rods fire I can bring a fish in the middle, and if it looks too complicated, I will pull the other unhooked center rod in to keep the center clear. If the outside rods fire, I normally keep the fish to the side and stay under the lines of the chute rods. If necessary I bring the closest center rod in to clear space. See illustration below. I rarely tangle this way. And by the way - if it is a big king - especially on one of the deeper (oustide) divers - all bets are off - you need to pull in at least both center (chute) rods. And I agree with what others have said above, start with 3 and get use to it, then go with 4. Set up your center dipsey first and then let out the deeper, closer outside dipseys.

I am using flea flicker on my chute rods - haven't had any twist problems yet. Have recently changed from single strand wire to 7 strand wire on my outside dipsey's. I know the single strand cut through fleas well, but how will the 7 strand hold up - is it as good???

Okay - I have been doing the above now for about 3 weeks and yes it is great for storage - it really has simplified things. BUT!!!! - the fleas are holding up a the micro-swivel joining the wire to the mono and I can't reel past this, so now I have 10 feet of mono followed by 10 feet of dipsey, snub, lead, flasher, lead, fly. We need to walk to the very front of the boat to get the fish even close to the back of the boat - and it is becoming a pain in the arse. I have moved over from single strand wire to 7 strand and this seems to do the trick. It is flexible enough that it doesn't kink as easily when I store my rod. This means I don't need a mono lead and I can attach my wire straight to the dipsey. This keeps the fish a lot closer to the boat when landing, which simplifies that final step in the process. Mark

I recently bought one - I think they are powerful enough to get only a couple of miles reception - no more. Sending is the issue. Receiving will be better if someone is sending a strong signal. They are really for conversing with close proximity radio communicators. You will not be able to talk to someone in Port Credit if you are in Bronte.

I have today changed from single stand 30# wire to the 7 strand. It is far more flexible and forgiving than the single strand - to say the least the single strand is a b$%tch. Anyhow - I do know the single strand does not hold up fleas at all. Does the 7 strand hold up any fleas or does it cut them off as easily as the single strand??

Thanks Skipper. Ya, I ran out of time to check the lines in detail. Will do that hopefully this Friday. It could very well be air. If I switch the pump off for 5 or 10 mins and then start up again, I always get about 50 - 100 mL of water coming out before it runs dry - so the water is coming in. If I let it sit longer, the water gushes out and then goes to a drop in a few seconds. So I figure the pump is working - either a leak in the suction or their is a partial blockage in the suction where water can slowly leak in but not fast enough to keep the pump running. Mark

So I went out tonight, hoping that by some miractle the livewell pump would work by just switching it on. I do this, and the water is pumping fine (plenty of water coming out) and then over about 2 mins it just dies down to a few drops before it stops all together. So, do you think there is just a blockage in the suction? The thing is I was able to flush water backwards through the system and I could see the air bubbles coming out of the inlet - so I figure maybe it's not blocked and perhaps what skipper is saying that there is a leak - but then why did the water come gushing out when I first started the pump?

I'm pretty sure it is because of one or both of the following reasons: 1) Hooks are not sharp enough - take your hooks and run them down your thumb nail, if they do not immediately bite into your nail and dig in then they are not sharp enough. Sharpen the hooks by striking the stone from the turn of the treble down towards the point. You only need to sharpen the last 1/4 inch and it will only take 3 or 4 good strokes to get them razor sharp. 2) You are pulling the fish in way to hard and the hooks are ripping out of their mouths. This is a major problem and if you are not careful it will get you almost all of the time.

Is there any trick to being able to check the pump without pulling the whole boat out of the water? Can a make shift plug with hold the pressure of the water from the inlet to the pump if I take the hose off and have a look? Or is this too dangerous to do?

I have a new Tahoe Q5SF - nice boat, but had a problem with the livewell pump today. We caught the first fish we wanted to keep and I started up the livewell pump no problem. Fish goes in. Catch another one we want to keep and open up the live well - no water! I switch it off and on - if I leave it off long enough it spurts out some water and then stops. I figure it's plugged somewhere. So I call the dealer and he says run some tap water back through the pump by putting a garden house onto the live well feed water nozzle. Did this and flushed the pump backwards. Saw bubbles and water coming out of the inlet nozzle just beside the engine, so I know everything is clear - tried starting up, and nadda - now I can even hear the pump running. What the heck is going on? Do I need to prime the pump again, or is there a more serious problem???

All I can tell you is that I've done it both ways - with only wire and taking the rod apart and with a 12' floro lead and taking the rod apart - I can definitely tell you it is 100% easier taking and putting the rods apart and back together with the floro lead. With the two lengths apart I can still wind my reel to tighten any slack in the line. Putting the peices back together is also simple and quicker. So, I'm not telling you to use it, but I find it myself much easier and the leader has never caused me any problems, so I'll stick with it.

K Gonefishin, There's one good reason and it is not really related to where your mind is going with this. It is a trick I learned from members on this site. With a wire rod, when dissassembling and putting it away, it is always a problem as the wire kinks over the guides when you take the two pieces apart and store together. A kink means a break in the future. If you use a floro or mono lead approximately 10 feet long, you can reel in the steel all the way to the reel and then leave the floro through the guides, which can take the bending around the guides. It means the difference between being able to fish within 5 mins, or having to cut my wire line and create a new loop each time I go fishing (15 to 20 mins). This is the main reason - the second is just a bonus, and that is to have a bit more stealth. The dipsey (with right color choice) can easily look like a fish and attract them to the fly/lure. I use 40 lb floro lead, really good knots - nothing's going to break before my rod snaps in half. Mark

Use flea flicker 30 lb is good.

I have a 10 foot 40# floro lead connected to my main wire using a micro swivel. I connect this lead to the diver. I then run a 12" snubber + 5 feet of 40# floro between the diver and flasher. Essentially what the fish sees is the diver, flasher and fly - with no line in between. I match the diver color to the flasher, so it looks like another fish. With this setup up I was able to land 10 large fish on the flies last week in about 3 hours. I can't say what would happen if I went from a 5 foot lead between the diver and flasher up to a 10 foot, however, I can say we had more than enough action on the boat to keep us all busy. Mark

I bought two Eagle Claw Wire Rods for $50 each. They are pretty good - but not the best. The big issue with wire rods is the tightness between the actual ball bearing roller and the guide bracket. Sometimes on my rods the wire gets wedge between the side of the roller and the guide bracket. It happens on the top guide as a fish may pull to one side or another. It gets anoying. When buying a wire rod, take a good look at how tight and robust this area is. I hear the more expensive rods are $100 per piece and they have good guides to prevent this from happening. Best regards.

Thanks Chris. I'll drop the fishhawk TD down next time I see this. I suppose if I see this it would be good to fish just above and in this depth right? Or will all the debri cause chaos with my line/spoon?

I don't think it is the dipsey, the lines are set out 200 feet on my wire rods, it would be almost impossible for the dipsey to get into my radar's view without significant slack on the line. I know that bait balls generally look like balls - but this is definitely something - you will see that even the predator fish underneath are picked up weaker than the ones on time. It's either bait spread out at one level, or someone else said it could be plankton.

The knot tbromund is recommending is a simple and VERY effective knot - it holds up and really is a quick knot to do. I have been using it ever since he recommended it to me.

Okay, here are pics of the formations on my fishfinder. First up are the diagonal lines across my screen - it does not happen often maybe once every 6 hours and lasts for 1 minute. Is this interference from something - if so, why does it not happen all the time? Second up is the 10 to 15 foot thick band that stretches over 200 feet - you will notice a few predator fish above and below this. Is this bait or thermocline??