JimB

I have no issues handling the lead...heck...people say I ate a lot of paint as a kid. Should have said...will it effect the fishing if I leave them alone? More hits with them black, or with them unpainted? I run flashers off of at least one, so it's in relatively close to the ball.....

I bought a pair of torpedo weights from Troutman a month ago (excellent service, and excellent quality by the way). Nice and shiny at this point. Just wondering if I need to paint them? I'm going to guess there are two camps on this one. Does it matter to the fish if they are shiny or black? Majority wins. Oh, and if I need to paint them...suggestions for what to use, prepping them would be helpful as well! Thanks in advance, Jim

I get a new page, but a small X next to the "camera image". Going to just keep trying. It's the closest thing to a set of eyes on the conditions out there as I can get....

Any info always helps! Thanks for the reply.

I understand the idea of zig sagging to alter lure speed and work more water than a straight track will. Just curious as to how often, and how sharp of a turn most make. Thanks in advance. Fishing out of Sandy Creek.

Sandy is just....bi polar. Went out yesterday afternoon (Yeah, I know...mornings are the best). Web cams and report from a buddy in Webster showed a flat lake. Got out to Sandy...NE wind, 2-3 foot rollers with some caps on them. It did die down as the afternoon progressed, but still, it was a good lesson for my partner. He never believed me when I said conditions out at Sandy can be drastically different than near Ibay. Anyway....one 18" brown hits while I'm still letting the first lure out. Thinking this is going to be a great day. Nope. Had one other taker that took a lot of line out, and then...gone. There was only one other boat out all afternoon yesterday.

You've never made a typo wilderness? Pretty sure he meant Dipsy Divers... I'm very new to this as well, so bear with me.... I'm going to guess that the Canadian side of the lake has pretty much the same opportunities as our side of it does. At this time of year, Brown trout and other salmon will be found near the outlets of streams. Most will fish stick baits in 5-15 feet of water. You can use your downrigger by just letting the ball down 2-3 feet, and running a stickbait a good distance behind the ball (browns are a bit "shy" so most let out at least 50' of line. You can also buy small side planer boards that will help get your lures away from the side of your boat. https://www.google.com/search?q=side+planer+boards&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe= A few rod holders will make life easier for you as well. There are a TON of brands out there, and a lot of them are not that expensive, and are easy to mount. As far as later in the season. One thing that will make life easier is a decent depth finder. You need to at least be able to see what depth the bait fish are at, or even better, mark some fish. The simple answer is where the bait fish are, most likely there are fish near that depth. Most people troll at 1.5 to 2.5 mph, depending on a whole bunch of stuff like currents, wind speed, wave action, etc. If you don't have gps, just try trolling at your lowest throttle setting, and occasionally bump it up a bit to vary your speeds. How far from shore you go is up to you, and of course the topography of the lake. You can target Lake Trout on the bottom all year, and they can be found at almost any depth. On our side, I know someone that uses a kayak to troll for lakers. Buy some "cowbells" and "peanuts" (a lure) and let your cannon ball hit the bottom. Let out a few more feet of cable, and wait for a strike. With dipsy divers and downriggers for other species, most use flies or spoons. Google your dispy diver size, and find a "depth" chart. That will tell you how much line to let out to reach a certain depth. The most important thing if you do go out, and are nervous....life jacket obviously. Cell phone/marine radio. Letting someone know where you are heading. Knowing the short term forcast. Hot muggy days in August, late afternoon? Most likely don't want to be a few miles from shore. T storms come up quick, and can be brutal. There will be a LOT of days where the lake is either flat, or just a light chop. Don't be fooled however, it can build up quickly. Ask around the docks/launch where you put in. Almost everyone there will be happy to give you advice, and answer question as to whats hitting, where, and on what it's biting. Sorry for the novel. Hope some of it helps a bit?

Not sure if iboats sells used parts? I Googled used mercruiser parts and came up with this... https://www.google.com/search?q=used+mercruiser+parts&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=

Thanks. I put out of Sandy Creek in Hamlin normally, but just wanted to make sure the OP was talking about the same Sandy. Had plans to go out of there yesterday around 4, and am glad I didn't since it sounds like it would have been a wasted trip. Very strange how the wind seems to come out of a completely different direction around there than any of the weather services, or local weather stations are reporting. I've seen everyone reporting winds from the south, only to get there and find NE winds and 2-4 footers...

I get so confused....is this Sandy Creek outlet, or a different Sandy. Yes, I'm still a newb to all this. Thanks for not mocking me....

Thanks for the replies. I did manage to find it, but same results...its down at the moment.

I had it at one point, but apparently removed it from my favorites list. Anyone have the link for their camera? Was a pretty good way to get a feel for what the lake was actually doing vs. what the weather folks say it should be doing.... Thanks in advance, Jim

Ace hardware sells packages of it as well.

Thanks for starting this thread. I had the same questions about the Subtroll. Just bought one last year. Had the same thoughts as to how big an angle the rigger cable was at when trolling at 2-2.5 or so. Ordered 12 pound torpedo weights this spring to see if it helps with blow back. Was using a 10 pound ball last year. (Max weight for my riggers is 12 pounds, or I would have easily gone with a 14 pound). Also going to try to tweak the transponder angle to see if I can get it to register the balls. At this point, they "disappear" from the screen when I get above 1.5 mph or so trolling. It was pretty cool seeing just how much of a current you can be in with the unit. There were times my gps was showing almost 4.5 with a down speed of 2.2 or so. It was also interesting to finally "see" the thermocline. Water would be mid 60's, and then suddenly in the upper 40's. The first few times it happened I thought the unit wasn't working correctly....

Just bought a UV flashlight for spotting urine (new puppy in the house). I had wondered if I could use it to charge my spoons. Question: Do I need to bother if I let my spoons sit out in the light for 10-15 mins before dropping them over the side? Will a UV flashlight still "charge" in daylight, or is it more of for use at night? Thanks. Jim

Contact Troutman 87. Excellent service, great price. Just had 2 12 pound torpedoes made by him. Pretty sure he has a variety of sizes and weights.

Same here. Bought our 2002 tracker last year, and the owner never replaced the water pump. Living on borrowed time as far as I'm concerned. Worth the cost of someone going over it top to bottom for peace of mind. Good luck!

How old is the water pump?