anonymous

I have a 788c with external antenna on the way. Thanks for all the help!

I have a bimini top that is up during sunny periods. Thanks for the help.

I am considering upgrading to a Humminbird 788 ci combo unit. I have an old Eagle Intellimap 320 gps with an external antenna that works well. Is the external antenna more reliable for keeping a lock on your position on a new unit such as the Humminbird or is an internal antenna ok. I will be mounting the unit on my dash right next to the windshield. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

They definitely work, but you have to leave it on the rod. The advantages are that you can adjust your lead length to what ever you want it to be and more (6) adjustments to to take it out to the side. On days when stealth is required, you can use them more efficiently because of the longer lead. They are great for walleyes for this reason as well. I also think they work better with mono than braid because mono dia. is larger and they lock down on the mono easier. I keep two rigged on mono during the summer months to use as high divers on the outside of my braid divers if I want to run two per side or to swap in if my divers and riggers won't fire during daylight. To help set the line hang a large snap down from the body of your tip guide to hold the wire on the diver. By doing this you can feed out line without holding the diver in your hand, which normally requires two people. Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the help guys, I guess i need to try these.

I feel that you can never have enough rods and lures, but my buddy gives me alot of static when I bring 14 rods and 3 tackle boxes of lures when it is just us two going out. I have no problem doing it though.

I have a Sub-Troll and my buddy has a Depth Raider. If you decide to go with the coated cable in stead of another transducer and less price, I like using both. I decided to save the money and buy the Sub-Troll because it was on sale for a little less than the Depth Raider. I do like the smaller probe and smaller display on the Depth Raider and would probably go that route if I have to again. If anything the probes give you one more thing to play with and one more thing to talk about if nothing is happening. Come on spring!

We are catching fish on riggers and divers because of the relationship between the two most of the time. I have had times where keeping the two close together worked and other times the opposite applied. On one our last 2009 trips, we were marking fish all over the water column depthwise. We did not catch anything on divers or riggers in bright light until we took off all the flasher/ fly rigs and went to spoons. On one side we put a watermelon spoon 80' ft back on a diver and ran another spoon at 120' on a rigger (about 10' off bottom), the diver spoon started firing so we put on a watermelon spoon on th rigger and brought it up just below the diver and both shut off. We moved the rigger back down and right away the diver started going again. We changed the other side over to that combo and it started producing also. At the same time we caught some fish on copper and lead, but not on the same colors even though we were above and below the hot divers in depth. What I am saying is that most of my trips, I do not have the same thing hot on all presentations. How close or far apart affects riggers and divers and your stealthy long lines do not always produce at the same depths with the same lures as riggers and divers. Learn what works for you based on different conditons you face, start there and never quit asking questions. Up to date info from good anglers in your area helps unlock the puzzle as well. Good luck.

I have yet to use or be with someone using dive bomb add on weights. I would like input from those of you who have. I am thinking of getting a few to use on my copper rigs for more depth on my longest rig (300ft of 45#) and to mimic other productive lengths such as trying to simulate a 200ft with a shorter length that is not working. Are there accurate guidelines out there on what weights to use for specific applications?

Remember that it takes more light to see red than any other color, thats why it disappears higher in the water column than any other color. I would think that a bright green or yellow would be more visible in low light than red.

I highly agree with Kyle on the previous reply. Switch to braid or wire on your dipsy's and don't give up on them, they are sometimes my hottest presentation. If they are not firing, trying a spoon on one side is worth a try and if it works, switch the other one over. But remember that your dipsy's and riggers are working together, so changing one thing can affect all of them. Another thing to try if your dipsy's and riggers are not working during daylight periods is to swap in a slide diver or 1-2# lead ball with a 50 ft or longer lead in place of a dipsy. This stealthy presentation is sometimes the ticket. It is tough to beat fighting a big King or Steelhead on a rod with a lead ball. I attach the ball with 2 church walleye board clips or 2 offshore OR-16 (red) clips and a large split ring. I am not a big fan of dropping lead to the bottom of our precious waters intentionally when a fish hits. Good luck and more importantly, have fun.

One thing I have not seen mentioned here is to pay attention to how much line your reels hold. Most of the reels I see here will hold 300 to 350 yards of 20# mono and a reel of that capacity will hold 5 to 7 colors of lead after applying backing first in my experience. To get a reel to hold 10 colors, 1 color is 10 yards, of 27# lead you will need a reel with the capacity similar to the Penn 330 or 309, Daiwa 57lc, Okuma 45 series and the like. If you want to nail things down closer, post what reels you want to use by make and model and there are plenty of good, experienced fishermen here that can give you good solid guidelines. You should be able to run 1 or 2 boards per side comfortably outside of your dipsies within before too long, just remember patience and taking things slowly will go a long way. Good luck and have fun!

I have found a fair amount of big lake gear at Gander Mtn. on Saginaw Hwy by you, I would try there first. Al & Bob's in Grand Rapids is another good place that does not get mentioned much, and the trip to Jay's in Clare is good as well as D&R Sports in Kalamazoo. Good luck.

I use the red Offshore heavy tension release 50' down or less, after that I use either the Big Jon Band Buster or the same Offshore pinch pad red release with a # 31 rubber band. If you use the pinch pad with a rubber band, make sure you put the band past the pads. You can load up the rod alot or very little based on the size of fish present. Works good for me!

2 fish early 70ft , 1 on 50ft 45# copper ms flounder pounder, 1 on dipsey 40' back on wonderbread lyman lure. After daylight worked out to 160ft and back to 120 ft. Ended up 12 for 16 with 1 laker, 4 steelhead and the rest kings from 4 to 13 lbs. Ms tnt on rigger 85 down and near botom worked as did glow/blue spin doctor with black spots and blue fly. Dipsey 100' back with modified blue dolphin, 7 color lead with carmel dolphin, full core lead with mixed veggies and 300ft 45# copper with stinger nbk all worked. Alot of our hits came on turns and speed changes. Great day on the water.

Sorry, but I was in correct after thinking about it for a minute, I have put up to 100ft of 45lb copper on the previosly mentioned set up and it has caught fish.

You can fit 150yds (450 ft) of 20lb mono backing and up to 150ft of 45# copper on this reel with a 30 ft mono or flourocarbon 20# leader. I have done this and it works well.

Fished South Haven 7-4 6:30am to 12:30pm, went 6 for 8. 2 kings, 2 steelies and 2 lakers. 2 fish on 300ft 45# copper Natural Born Killer Stinger. 3 fish on watermelon spoon 80ft down on rigger. 1 fish on green dolphin Spin Doctor and blue/white fly. Lost 2 nice kings by boat on wonderbread JP Slammer on 300ft 45# copper. Best day in a while, beautiful day on the water!