genEus

I got a couple quick questions... 1) The Magda DX30 is rated at 310yds/25lb test. Does this mean I can't spool the 30lb mono I bought yesterday and need to get 25 instead? 2) This might be a stupid one, but when trolling with dipseys, how do you know when you got a hit?

Got an 8'6" Daiwa Heartland rod but Gander Mtn didn't have the Convector reels. I got the Magda Dx 30 for $39.99. I've read a lot of good reviews on them and I think I'll quickly want to buy another rod/reel set anyways, so I'll get the Convector then as the second one? I just feel like I don't want to lose a weekend by waiting for the Convector one to get ordered. Add a couple Dipsy Divers and snubs, Stinger spoons, a spin doctor, rod holder, 30lb mono, a set of boots and a hand pump, and $220 later I was outside Opened a credit card w/them too, to get 10% off and a $20 gift card... i have a feeling i'm gonna need all the spare cash I can get.

No way. I knew it was small but didn't know it was like "pond" small! Heh. So, that means NO room for fish to hide! Here i come!!

Can you provide some more detail please? Depth? Area of the lake? Time of day? Tyvm!!

Same price as WalMart after shipping.. Thanks for the advice - a difference in $20 is not a big deal I guess if the quality is that much better. What about those Cabela's setups that Chas0218 mentioned above? Seems like an awesome deal and they get great reviews. Also, does WalMart carry a combo worth looking into? Another question - there's this spiral bound book on fishing NY or something like that which has depth charts and fishing spots; it's like $20 at WalMart - is that worth getting I assume? I couldn't find it anywhere else online... Thanks!

Thanks for the great advice, everyone! I'm really glad for myself that I seem to be following in line with what people are suggesting in here. After doing some research yesterday and finally finding an awesome page on dipsy divers that pretty much explained them in as much detail as one could wish (http://www.landbigfish.com/articles/default.cfm?ID=1026), I am planning on getting a Daiwa Heartland stick and an Okuma Magda DX30 today at Gander Mtn, together with a couple dipsy divers, and see how things go this weekend at Canadice! On the topic of the Big O and safety... I am not in a hurry to get out there in a 16' aluminum boat. Even with a little bit of a wind on Hemlock, things got a little too shaky for our comfort. But, when the Finger Lakes offer such amazing fishing opportunities, I think we'll be all right for quite a while.

Wow, that is *exactly* what I was thinking about for a while now so it's funny you should mention that... I was also thinking of trying to find an experienced angler and pay him for a couple hours to fish off my boat, but didn't know how the logistics of that would go and where to find one. Perhaps on this forum?

Hello everyone, I apologize in advance for this post and expect to be somewhat reprimanded for asking this question, when I should just build up my knowledge and experience by trying out things and reading. Here's my quick background story... My whole life father-son bonding time involved fishing. It was never anything we took too seriously, although we have landed quite a few big carp and catfish while still-fishing on Irondequoit Bay with corn and balled up bread in the late 1990's. We'd never owned a boat and that was our excuse for never "really" getting into fishing. Skip to today. Finally, our dream came true when I acquired a 16' aluminum fishing boat (nothing fancy) with a 9.9hp outboard. In a matter of a couple weeks we started absorbing all that we possibly can on fishing, because we NEED to catch big fish. (We have a boat and we feel that now we have absolutely NO excuse not to.) Ha ha. We've taken it out already once on Hemlock Lake, to "test out the waters" so to speak, and ended up catching a smallmouth and some other small fish I couldn't identify, with a worm, and a rooster tail, respectively. My simple question is... given what we have TODAY, what do we need to at least get us closer to the chance to catch some trout, salmon, or other big fish. We have: 2 Shakespeare medium action spinning rod/reel combos with 12lb mono line 1 Daiwa medium spinning rod/reel combo with 12lb mono 1 Daiwa light spinning rod/reel combo with 6lb mono I acquired a variety of Rapala plugs, several little cleos of various sizes, bunch of soft plastics, a huge variety of sinkers, swivels, 3-way swivels, and so on and so forth. What we don't have are planers, dipsy divers, downriggers (all the things I learned about in the last 3 days of reading up on this instead of working!)... Question is, DO we have a chance, and how to approach it? What should our plan of attack be? Is there any hope here without using the other "higher end" equipment I mentioned above? I'm starting to read a couple books on trolling as well, so hopefully I'll get "real smart" soon, but looking for some positive comments here on what a good start would be to getting into the sport at a level higher than just casting off shore with a worm and a bobber, if anyone's willing. Thanks all!