spinnerspooner

Thanks for the better than expected response, guys. I'm taking a close look at the Starcraft Islander 221 BRKT. I like the room that it has and it appears that the towing weight would be about 3777lbs with a Standard 150 Merc OB Motor.

That makes it light enough I can tow that big hog with my little Toyota Tacoma.

I'd like to begin trolling Erie and Ontario mainly for Steelhead, Chinook, Browns, Cohos and Lakers and was wondering what recommendations I could find for a good aluminum boat in the 20-22 foot range. Something conducive to trolling, big enough for the Great Lakes waters, yet reasonably lightweight for towing?

Most of the alum boat manufacturers seem to be in the Pacific Northwest.

What are you talking about "free polls"

Hey Rob, I can't quite tell from the photo but it looks like alot of these spoons are single hook, not treble, which for me is good, not bad. Assuming they are still for sale, how many of these are trebles that I'd feel compelled to change out?

I saw this rigging method in a recent issue of Salmon Trout Steelheader. It's a simple wire or nylon coated cable perhaps 2-4 feet long with about 4-6 spinner blades attached. The same kind of spinner blades you might see on a Rooster Tail. The spinner blades are spaced anywhere from 3-6" apart on the cable and resemble a row of minnows swimming thru the water. This flasher/cable assy has no hooks that are directly attached. But it is attached to the downrigging cannonball and acts as an attractant to get the fish to hopefully notice the bigger spoon or lure that is trailing a little higher in the water column on the downrigger.

Was wondering if any experienced trollers have tried this while downrigging? If so, what advice can you give if I wanted to construct my own? Silver blades, gold blades, copper blades, colored blades, blade size, spacing?

How do you keep wire from kinking up? The stuff I see is not very springy at all, just seems very ductile. Like copper. Bend it one way and that's the way it stays. Any special brand you guys buy?

I am also new to Dipsy's and would like to know what is the big advantage of using wire? I have a couple of used reels that came spooled with wire, haven't removed the wire yet, but am just not crazy about the way it tends to kink up when I play with it. What's so special about it that I'd want to use it instead of 30lb Ande with a 30lb Fluorocarbon Ande leader ?

I have not yet trolled with Dipsy Divers but have bought a few used ones and would like to try them out next spring. Can someone tell me what constitutes a "Dipsy Diver Rod" ? I have so many, many fishing rods that I hate to have to go out and buy more sticks if the ones I have will suffice. It's understandable that the way a Dipsy is designed to dive while trolling that a little more force will be applied to the rod-tip, that's obvious.

I have 3 different rod types that I use while trolling. They are all heavy duty and cheap and have caught brown trout, lake trout and steelhead in L Erie and L Ontario while trolling with planar boards:

1. the Eagle Claw Star-Fire SF403-10 10' long, 20-30 lb line weight, marked "Diver/Trolling"

2. the Eagle Claw Water Eagle WE 504 8' long 10-25 lb line weight, Lure 1/2-3 oz.

3. the Shakespeare Ugly Stick CAL-1101 7' long 10-25 lb line weight, Action: Medium Heavy.

The Eagle Claws I'm pretty sure are fiberglass. Tips quite flexible. Both are 2-piece rods and the butt-end above the grips are quite substantial.

The Ugly Stick is a 1-piece rod, alot stiffer tips but with all the rugged characteristics that Ugly Sticks are famous for. I think it is the same kind of fiberglass-graphite hybrid as most Ugly Sticks.

All 3 rods are equipped with Penn 320GTI or 320GT2 reels usually with 25-30 lb test.

Which of these would be best suited for running Dipsy's ?

Cripples, we knocked em dead fishing with Capt Ken of Stingray Charters out of Hughes Marina on May 1, the day they got Bin Laden. We trolled in 3-15 fow with planer boards, never any deeper, never more than 200 yards from shore except in the vicinity of the Ginna Nuke Plant. All told we went about 9 miles past Ginna towards Rochester and then 18 miles back to Hughes Marina. Caught about 20 all told, mostly Browns, a few Lakers and just one Steelhead that I recall. This kind of side-planing as opposed to using downriggers is a seasonal thing so I am told Do not know if this method works in the fall.

Is there a bettter release than the Roemer?

Name: Russ

Location: ?

Home Port: ?

Boat Name/Type: ?

I fish for: Brown Trout, Chinook, Coho, Steelhead, Lake Trout, Atlantic Salmon

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I'm a 61 year old working stiff who has less than a year (hopefully) to go to retirement. Currently live in Greensburg, PA. Have fished the Lake Erie tribs alot, the Lake Ontario Tribs, a little bit but have always had my best times on charter boats between Pultneyville and Pulaski. Don't yet own a boat, at least not a bigun. Don't know where I'll end up but probably in early 2013 I'll buy a property somewhere in that area and hopefully set up shop. In the meantime, I'm sorta learning the ropes with a fishing buddy and his boat on Lake Erie and beginning to study up on getting a charterboat license.