killerbe20

scotch tape works to start them. by no means anything of quality like a Big Weenie fly or similar but it can be fun to goof around with.

I have been looking to do the same on my 29 Tiara. There are a lot of options out there for you. if you are willing to spend the money I have found some places that will do custom rocket launchers. I have been quoted $2000-3000, hence the reason i do not have them! I have also found some decent ones on ebay but just not sure exactly what I want to do. I have been looking at 29 and 31 Tiaras for sale through out the country just to see what others have done. Here are a couple quick ebay searches: http://www.ebay.com/dsc/i.html?LH_TitleDesc=1&_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%253A2%257C39%253A1%257C72%253A5841&rt=nc&_nkw=fishing+rocket+launcher&_ipg=200&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1514 this is a seller i have had my eye one his stuff http://www.ebay.com/sch/carpv/m.html?hash=item5ad82e1316&item=390173954838&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&_trksid=p4340.l2562

I was more so talking the Catalinas, they have absolutely out priced themselves.

rumor has it the Traxstech downriggers will be debuted at the Novi sports show. Just rumors so far though!

I do not believe you can legitimately compare Convectors with Tekotas. Its just not an apples to apples comparison. That being said..... I have also been told that the stock inner workings of a Tekota are not up to par with their price - per the technician at the reel repair shop I use. I have not ever been inside one, so I can not speak for this myself. I have however fished many a fishing trips with them and they are super smooth, great reels. Besides price, I have nothing bad to say about them. Shimano, more specifically the Tekotas, have a huge cult following on the great lakes. This is a well deserved reputation but is also fueled by the huge amount of charters and tourny boats using and raving about them. Matt - you are going to get backed into a corner on this argument! I personally fish all Okuma reels. my Clarions and Catalinas are comparable, in my opinion to any Tekota I have fished with. Unfortunately, Okuma has not been a consistent player in the great lakes reel market. They have been established with their more affordable Convector line. Now with the Clarions/Catalinas reaching and exceeding the Tekota prices, Okuma does not stand a chance.

which rod holders do they have? the "vector" style or the original Traxstech holders?

They also have a crazy scary online question asking technical support. no need to even call if you have internet access. sometimes the internet freaks me out!

I never move any of my equipment and have gone with and without tracks. All my gunwale mounted riggers and rod holders are not on tracks, just mounted to the boat. I chose to use tracks on my radar arch for the simple reason of just having to mount two tracks as opposed to mounting 10 individual rod holders to the boat.

traxstech will pretty much cater to your needs. If they do not have exactly what you need, jeff will make sure you get what you need.

got ya! I have never done the shrink tubing over the twist. honestly, i just prefer keeping things simple especially for on the water fixes. I find if you do your haywire twist in the right direction you can actually unwind it and it blends in with the piece you are going over. keeps it nice and flat with a clean finish. not as fail safe as shrink tubing but tends to keep the twist from bunching up.

I also use spro swivels at all my copper to leader/backing connection......using a haywire twist. How do you connect your copper to your spros?

All I use is haywire twists, never an issue at all. My 350 is actually 325 with 25 feet sliced in with haywire twists.

mono for me. I just like it better and prefer to have the stretch in the line. 400ft of 45lb Blood Run with 30lb mono backing on a 55 convector and never even slightly concerned about running out of backing.

I agree the 32lb is much more user friendly. I am switching most of my lead cores over to 32lb copper segments. I do still love running 45lb copper for fishing deeper, 300+ segments. Hook a lot of big kings later in the day

Best Buy appears to have all its Alpine Marine electronics on clearance. Awesome deals but it seams like they are not shipping the products to stores anymore and they do not offer shipping either. I was fortunate enough to find the items I wanted in stock at the Best Buy near my fathers house in Florida and he is picking them up for me. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Alpine+-+50W+x+4+Apple%26%23174%3B+iPod%26%23174%3B-/Satellite+Radio-/HD+Radio-Ready+Marine+CD+Deck/9913228.p?id=1218212254838&skuId=9913228 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Alpine+-+Wireless+Marine+Remote/9966431.p?id=1218209322271&skuId=9966431

for treble hooks, I tie them with a uni knot instead of snelling. Hooks are straight and re ties are fast.

Drove past a local marina today and found all the roads blocked off and a bunch of fire trucks around. The local paper says a couple boats were damaged by a fire but judging by the video, I think it is more than a couple. Now comes the chicken or the egg argument, did the wire fall on the boat and cause the fire or did the mast fall on the wire first? either way, it is bad news for some poor boat owners. http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/fire-at-racine-riverside-marine-damages-boats-closes-three-schools/article_21ef2d02-120c-11e1-a45d-001cc4c03286.html http://racineuncovered.org/2011/11/boat-fire-state-douglas/

Thanks! Im not quite at withdrawal point....yet. Went on vacation the day after the boat was put away and still trying to get back in the swing of things around here. Nice to relax a bit and take my time with things around the house instead of rushing because I am going fishing or the boat needs work. Time for a slow down!

Well fall is here and the boat is put to bed for the winter. What a breeze it was to clean the bottom after a full season in the water. I could have washed the bottom of with just a garden hose if i wanted too. Still chose a power washer just to make it go a little faster. Bottom growth hardly sticks to the super hard and slick coating of the VC-17 and unlike many bottom paints, the VC-17 is still there! I also picked up 4 knots on my cruising speed last season over 2010. I do not think this was solely because of the bottom job, but it definitely helped. I also had my props tuned and my rudders were slightly out of whack.

I am currently running all the Okuma series reels. As mentioned before, I do not believe there is a better reel for the price than the Convectors. The Clarions and Catalinas are definitely a step above the Convectors when it comes to their drags and overall smoothness of the reels. I have a half dozen of the Convector 55s with the upgraded gear ratios. It is nice to have the long lines reeled in faster but it also seems to put more torque on the other end of the line. After a full season of fishing them, I am still not sure if I like that especially with 90% of my fish being reeled in by customers. Maybe the Clarions are a bit better. I have spent a lot of time fishing on boats with Tekotas. They are awesome reels no doubt. In the past I had a hard time justifying the cost of them when Okumas top reels were just as good at a better price point. Now that is no longer the case with the new Catalinas. I am a huge fan of lever drag reels. Not everyone likes them but I really do. You always know where your drag is set and minor adjustments are a breeze. I also find customers "bump" the star drags much more often then they ever accidentally adjust the lever drag. I currently run many Okuma Titus reels which they unfortunately no longer make. The new Okuma line that also offers a levelwind with a lever drag is the Solterra. I have not fished them but they seem awesome just playing with them. they are also supposed to be making a HUGE one with a levelwind (very rare in large reels) which will be great for your 600 foot Blood Run Coppers

Traxstech has outstanding customer service. I do not believe you will have any problems with them helping you out.

white and UV spin doctor, green rattlesnake spin doctor mirage crinkle, green crinkle, aqua, Big Weenie Whistling Dick flies cheap sunglasses with green glow tape super slim

best i have ever used

I would personally like to see the CHRONIC problem of Milwaukee dumping raw sewage into lake Michigan addressed instead. Not that this is not a problem, but it is a one time accident that is being delt with. MSD's dumping of raw sewage happens regularly

Wisconsin has good fishing too ;-)