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Tom, Just to let you know we do electionics by e-mail only Just give me a shout if you are interested... Mark

I have learned over the years never to trust this guy!!! HE LIES!! (I have no fish in my cooler and he has a box full) But then we are all fisherman............... Jimmy & Bev.... Welcome Mark

Ken Welcome.... Everytime I see your name pop up all I can think about is you out there in those 5 foot seas in the Port Sheldon tourney in your 14' tiller and many of the big boats stayed home.... I was running Larrys boat that day and stood that boat on its tail 2x thinking we were going over backwards going thru the piers. Then we saw you out there in 300 foot of water.......simply NUTS Welcome!!! Mark

Howdy Tim.... Glad your here!! Mark

250 feet cable I believe. It might be 200. I will never have an occasion to fish below 140 I am not sure if your rigger will hold 400. Mark

Come on Mike, ya gotta do better then that. I will help a bit.... Mike is my neighbor. He & I have been fishing together for over 15 years and actually worked together as well. As of late, he has fished many pro boats as a crew memeber in major tournaments and has many wins under his belt. He runs a tourniment rigged Lund and is ready for about anything that swims. abit modest, I understand but he is an authority on on the Great lakes. He is one of the few that I mentor with. Steelhead is his passion and he runs a mean river program. I got some video that is impressive. Mike,,,,,,, Welcome, glad to have you on board..... Mark

With all the talk about leadcore, I thought I might mention a new technique that became a craze about a year or two ago, the SWR rig. Pretty simple stuff, start out with a 2 color or a 3 color leadcore rod, let out the lead and a few feet of backer and clip it on the downrigger. It should run about 4-6 foot per color below the ball. Example- rigger set at 40 with a 2 color should be running about 48'-55" dependant on speed and under currents. Now the question is why? Good question, when the fish are "bite shy" sometimes a lure below the turblance of the ball running in "clean" water may produce a strike whereas a lure 10' behind the ball may not. Very similer to the tailgunner approach where the tailgunner is deeper rather then farther back. Just another use for those 2 & 3 color rigs in the later season as the fish push down deeper. Don't leave port without them. Try it sometime, it may make a difference. Mark

From the Cannon Website Cannon Speed-N-Temp Monitor It's like having a spy in the murky depths. Now any downrigger can do more than just hold a weight at the end of a cable. The new Speed-N-Temp™ Monitor from Cannon® has its own monitor for use with any downrigger on the market. Simply attach this informative accessory to any manual or electric downrigger and unlock the mysterious secrets of dark and deep trolling waters. The sealed underwater transmitter attaches to the cable of any downrigger just above the weight. The sensors on the Speed-N-Temp Monitor register the absolute depth of the lure and the lure¹s true speed as well as light intensity and water temperature at the lure's trolling location. These readings are then electronically transmitted up through the downrigger cable and digitally displayed on the Speed-N-Temp Monitor. Absolute depth of lure eliminates blow-back estimations and calculations that anglers normally must decipher. While the boat may be traveling at 2.5 mph, the lure may travel at different speeds depending on underwater currents. With the Speed-N-Temp Monitor, true lure speed in tenths of mph can be adjusted by the angler providing optimum strike stimulation. A chartreuse and blue lure looks great in the sunlight but at a depth of 80 feet with filtered light the lure may look invisible to the fish. Speed-N-Temp Monitor measures light intensity and the appropriate lure color can be selected for the conditions at the trolling depth. Water temperature at the lure¹s depth is provided, crucial for tracking temperature sensitive fish. Using a standard cable, the Speed-N-Temp Monitor operates up to a maximum depth of 100 feet. A coated cable increases operation depth up to 300 feet. Speed-N-Temp activates when the speed wheel enters the water and automatically shuts off after 15 minutes of inactivity. A replaceable 9-volt battery powers the transmitter for up to 200 hours of operation. Battery voltage is also digitally displayed on monitor screen. The use of Cannon¹s Speed-N-Temp Monitor will not interfere with downrigger features such as Short Stop, Positive Ion Control and Stacker Releases. The 7.2* square inch screen, with 2,300 pixels per square inch, provides an easy-to-read display of the transmitted information. Overall, the saltwater protected monitor measures 5 inches by 5.3 inches by 2.5 inches and can be easily mounted at any location on the boat. For the look of factory rigging, use the optional installation bracket and mount the monitor in the dash of the console. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I installed one of these units last year. The reception is great with standard cable down to about 75'. I switched to coated cable that comes with the unit and the reception has been great down to 125. I have not had any occasion to fish deeper than that. Regular cable will have reception down to 100, but it cuts in and out after 75'. The best feature for this unit is the light intensity. This one feature has help me more than anything else in the boat. A couple of drawbacks- the coated cable is smaller in dia. then regular downrigger cable. Hence the line counter will be off as much as 10% but you get a true depth on the unit. The sensor is a sealed unit but the battery cover has an o-ring that needs to be watched. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN. Go snug and then 1/4 turn. To date, I have not had any issue. The cable has to be ran thru a sensor spring that is mounted to the boom of the rigger. There is no quick disconnect and as a result the rigger and the unit, if removed from the boat has to be taken off as a package. When I trailer my boat with the fitted cover, I just remove the rigger and lay it in the bottom of the boat so that I do not have to disconnect the Cannon unit. Plusses--- As far as the battery, it uses a 9v transister battery that will give you 200 hours of operation. The unit displays the voltage level in the battery so you know when it is time to change it. You can run up to 6 riggers off this unit and display all 6. All you need is 6 sensors. I did some research on all the units out there, from Moor to the new Raider and I chose Cannon due to the advanced features that it has. Some of the older unit did leak in the sensor, Cannon has since fixed this problem. I am very happy with my unit. Mark

Just as a follow up... We do not use a black light for charging. We use a 2 million CP rechargable spot light. Set 2 spoons on the deck, turn on the spot and lay the spot on top of them for 1-3 min. I too, added a Cannon Speed & Temp to my boat. I echo what Dave said... Mark

Join us for an informitive chat revolving around fishing and "how to's" every Wed eve starting around 8:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to participate. Join us in the chat room and meet others on this board every Wed at 8:00 pm. The Moderators

Levi, We should see a decline this year 2006 as the Joe was treated last year (2005). All the rivers are on a 5 year rotation. Normally after the river is treated there is a rapid decline over the next 3-4 years. Mark

I started out running 4 riggers. I rigged my Lund with 2 for much the same reasons as stated. More important in choosing how many riggers to put on a boat is the choice of how any rods holders are going to be needed and where. When you have a full arsenal of rigged rods from leadcore, wire divers, dipsy’s, copper rods, drop rigs and planer boards, the riggers are just another tool in the overall presentation. I believe that rod holders and many of them will allow one to fish more effectively then adding an extra rigger or two. I currently have installed 8 rod holders on each side of the boat along with the 2 holders that come on the rigger. This gives me 20 total holders for the boat that allows me to be very versatile in my presentations. Don’t get me wrong on the riggers though, there have been days that I wished I had 4 of them, but many times if it is a hot rigger bite, one can put out a mag Dipsy on “0†straight out the back and it will serve as a “poor man’s†rigger. There are so many more presentations that are as effective, if not more so, to run these days that adding extra riggers may not enhance the success of the day. However, adding more rod holders may make one more successfull. Mark

Darrin, Great to see you here. Make sure you give us a report from your upcoming Bay-D-Nock trip. Sounds like it could be a great time. Welcome to the site. Mark

Nick... Welcome..... See you at lunkers tomorrow! Now, about that boat.....lets make sure that we rig it so that I keep an advantage on the big water!! I know you will be fishing against me. I take back everything that I tought Darrin!!! Look foreward to seeing you on the water! Mark

I already did my 2 months in New Orleans...I am NOT ready to go back there. I am home every other weekend for a 4 day weekend and I take off the month of July & 1/2 of August each year. I am sure I will get plenty of fishing in this year. Thanks for the warm welcome! Mark

Levi!! I have looked and looked for those blasted things. I am coming up empty. I'll keep trying. Right now I am working in Florida, looks like I will be there for a bit. I rented an apartment in Orlando for the next 3 months. Home today, Edwardsburg tomorrow, Chicago Sat and Sunday and back to Florida Monday........Don't even try and keep up!! See you soon. Mark

Howdy Guys...... Mark

Many of you already know me. I am an advid fisherman of the great lakes and my home port is out of St. Joe. I have over 20 years under my belt in chasing these fish. Steve Arend & I are co-founders of the St. Joseph Fishing league that runs year round and we will make sure that we post our activities and dates of these events. I am a co-owner of the Fish Dog Company and I am also employed in the insurance business as a storm adjuster which allows me to travel the country. I am looking forward to meeting everyone. Mark