HONDAM

I've sold and used at one point or another big Jon Scotty cannon walker vector traxstech and even fish landers so I don't get you point of coarse I can't help but recommend something you sell if you sell them all. And I don't work at calumet marine anymore, just an enthusiast. I am very passionate about the sport as a lot of us are and if something from a quality manufacturer is new and innovative then I get excited about it. These downriggers are what's new right now and top of the line. Just like up until a few years ago I was a big believer in the depth raider, it was the top probe system on the market and I would tell anyone that. Then the x4 came out and that was the end of that. Things change all the time and these riggers are new and just because one rigger has proven itself in the past as something that is reliable and effective doesn't mean it's going to be the best rigger forever.

Have you ever used them on the water? The biggest hurdle with the traxstechs is the price easpecially if you have another working set paid for then those are almost always going to be best. but once I usedthose traxstechs out on the water the features, speed, and technology was nice and easy to use and well worth it.

Right now the only dealer that is getting them is Calumet Marine. They have shipped out a couple dozen this year and from what frank tells me is supposed to getting another shipment in this week which may or may not be all spoken for. As far as issues Jeff is confident he's got them solved. He is a perfectionist which is why it's been taking him so long to get the riggers out. He's been working on his version of the vectors for almost 3 years now which turned out to be something completely new. The last issue was simply a premature wearing of the roller on the tip of the boom so made some adjustments to the machining of the roller block and allowed for a much smoother rotating pulley on the end. All of the controller issues from what I understand have been solved he did have a problem with the screens mainly on some but got on his supplier about that and solved that issue. And once he finds a problem all production stops and nothing is sent out until it is fixed. It's that perfectionist thing again which has made some people wait longer then expected for their equipment and get very frustrated but i bet they'd be happy in the long run that he did. Another thing is the old vectors outsourced all the machining to different machine shops and anadizers to whomever could do it at the time. Jeff does all the machining in his facility and uses the same anadizers that he has for years so quality control on his stuff is really tight and once it fixed it pretty much stays that way. And you guys waiting on them not that pulley issue I mentioned above is what initially held them up and then once he engineered the fix and machined all the pulleys he sent them to the anadizers which had a power outage with them sitting in the acid bath and ruined a whole batch of them so Jeff had to start all over. Now that's some bad luck.

IMO the ONLY way to go with a stand alone chart plotter is with a Garmin. They have by far the best one on the market and even outshine the Furuno stuff. Take a look at the 500 or 700 series, I've used them both and they are awesome.

Humminbird and lowrance doesn't match up really well because although they have the same features the way they do things is so different. But the short and easy answer would be the 900 series. Which has a bigger screen then the hds 7 but a simuliar price point. Humminbird pros: Price Reliability Customer service Easier installation It may be a personal preference but I like the widescreen orientation Coming soon 360 imaging Lowrance pros: Modular system with more optional features to choose from without having to upgrade the whole unit Networkability 2 transducers when using structure scan rather then 1 odd extremely hard to install ducer Possibly performance which many claim but I'm not completely convinced Integrates with simrad equipment There probably some more but those are some big ones that I could think of off the top of my head.

The new traxstech downriggers are incredible! Traxstech bought vector and has improved on what was my favorite before. aPd0DsCKTw8

Dizzy chicken - spin doctor with a meat head and no teasers. Usually run it anywhere from 18 to 30 inches behind the spin doctor depending on the size of the attractor and the desired action.

If your looking at aluminum make sure you take a good look at hewescraft. They are the best built aluminum boats out there right now. Strictly fishing boats but really heavy duty all welded and lightweight. [ Post made via iPhone ]

This is really a problem you should take it in for. Electronic components are expensive and non returnable. Just guessing on what's going on can be very expensive after all labor on ignition repairs is relatively low it's the parts that cost. So consider that $80 or $90 or so you will pay in labor as insurance. Here is an example why, I was working on a Johnson last week and through some testing I determined it had a bad stator. So I changed the stator and it ran great...... For about 10 minutes then the problem came back. It turned out a bad voltage regulator was burning up stators. So now I had a brand new $200 stator paperweight, the had to install another one with a new voltage regulator. Now I work at a dealership so we had the luxury of sending it back to the manufacturer but you won't have that luxury say your stator is burning up cdi. Now if you get brave and want to try to do it yourself, here is the best resource there is for working on outboard ignition systems: http://issuu.com/cdielectronics/docs/tr ... e?mode=a_p You can do some of it with a standard multimeter but to measure DVA you need special equipment. (Stevens model 77 meter or the Stevens or cdi adapter)

There are actually 3 different styles of strips right now. The first is what they call their trolling strips. This is the bait that everyone here has been talking about. Its made of herring and on the thinner side. The second style of strip they are calling premium strip. This is a very tough and bright strip of ballyhoo. Erie Dearie says its a little thicker then the trolling strips but i dont see it, they look about the same. Although the reports ive heard on it so far have been positive. (older photo from before they redesigned the label, the label says herring but it is actually ballywho, the current labels now say ballywho) The third style strips is called a thick strip or King strip. It is 2 to 3 times thicker then the trolling strips and made of herring. It is something that Calumet Marine has custom cut (by erie dearie) and is only avialable from them. Here is that side by side photo mentioned

These are some pictures of an install i did a few years back on a sylvan offshore. The bracket is a pather marine 4 stroke bracket and if you decide on something like this make sure you get the one with more lift. ITs like 11 or 14 inch lift vs something like 9, makes for a much better install. It is very heavy duty and designed to be able to handle the heavier 4 strokes without any issues. After all you dont want a 130# motor moving around to much when the weather gets rough.

I use them all the time on the meatrigs. Most 3 fly meatrigs (3 twinkies then the meathead) are about 48" in length which puts about a foot seperation betweekn everything. Also agree that they should be used with a larger flasher, most of the time i used them with either 10 or 12 inch flashers. Definately makes for a more aggressive presentation.

70s did not have VROs. Spray a little bit of starting fluid down the troat of the carb and if it kicks over on you then its a fuel issue, if nothing then its a spark issue. With a sub par battery you will have great spark with the plugs out and nothing once you put them all back in, this is why i always recommend a 850 mca battery at least and those cheap ones are sometimes more trouble then they are worth. From what you said it is most likely fuel related but this will confirm or deny your suspision. Also you can take a drain out the side of one of your carbs to make sure that the bowls are filling with fuel. I believe that engine has 2 small plugs on either side of each carb you want to take out the bottom one on either side. You will also be able to see the quality of the fuel draining out the sides of that carbs and also give you some kind of inclination of whats going on.

Make sure your intake screens are clear, your housing is not melted or wear cup spun, and that you have the water tube properly installed. If your previous impeller was completely toasted the you almost always have to replace the housing and may get chunks of rubber plugging up the water tube and passages.

Correct me if im wrong but shouldnt all rods be oriented correctly in the holders to get the right action out of the rod? I know its more important with a MRG but i still try to keep all my rods reels up, helps me to get to them faster too.

That is a great rod for that stainless steel wire.

Wire dipseys can be expensive, most good rods are $150 new, reel about the same, and $45 for the line, then another $20 for the dipsey and snubber. And if you dont use decent equipment on wire dipseys you can have a lot of break offs which can get even more expensive since youll be buying things twice. I would recomend going with either leadcore or if you can get a good enough price on a reel that can handle it, copper line. They arent as hard on the equipment and leadcore is pretty easy to pick up on for a beginner. Also finding a used downrigger would be high on my priority list for a budget rig. Weather it be manual or electric i would get it first over wire dipseys.

The 7 and 8s have a roller tip, the 9s and 10s have a swivel roller tip I would use a Torpedo Tip, it is a swivel roller tip and has a unique design that hes functioned really well for me. Much better price on it at about $30 and in my opinion a better tip (plus a sponsor of this site)

My favorite way to run meat is with the 12inch flasher 4 or 5 feet behind a magnum dipsey on wire. HANG ON cause weve caught some monsters on it and its a ton of fun. Make sure your using a good rod/reel/wire because if you get broke off $$$, there goes at least $50 and more importantly the FISH. John King stuff is awesome. Big Weenie makes some good rigs too You can get whole and cut bait online here: http://calumetmarine.3dcartstores.com/Bait_c_9.html I would suggest starting off with the strips as a beginner, much less of a learning curve. I personally use the Erie Dearie King strips because they fit in the john king and bw meat head best.

Drill the whole as high as possible on the transom and not below or just above the waterline.

If is a decent fishfinder but dont get caught up by the furuno name. It is only a 350 watt unit and it has been discontinued for some time. Basically 300-350 watt sonar units sell new these days for under $300(not furunos, furuno doesnt make anything under 600 watts anymore). Also pay close attention to what kind of transducer you get with it and that its not a super narrow cone like a lot of salt water guys use. You want something at least with a 25 degree cone and 45 would be ideal. Im not saying dont buy it because it is a good fishfinder and it is color which is really nice but you have to get it at the right price.

So what you get?

Ever hear of the Cal City Chicken rig? Is basically a 0 size luhr jensen silver glo dodger with a meathead ran 18 to 24 inches behing it. One of the best baits on my boat.

Im thinking if the large 12# + weightand SS line doesnt spook them the light wont. Plus your bait is usually a good distance behind it.

If you decide the solution is that you need an external antenna i would recommend against getting the Lowrance antenna. Ive seen more Lowrance antennas fail then all others combined. The greatest thing about NMEA is that everything pretty much works together. If your adding an external GPS antenna to your Lowrance you can buy a Garmin, Raymarine, or Maretron and its all plug and play. If your looking to save some money your can go with a NMEA 0183 antenna, this will be a little more difficult to hook up but again less money. IF all you want to do is plug it in and have it work then NMEA 2000 is the way to go.