Sly Selea

The question was about the depth chart...anyone?

http://www.fishdoubletrouble.com/DoubleTrouble/copper-line-depth-chart.htm

I have a pare of Great Lakes Plainer trees. I am happy with them. They are adjustable.

Are these the ones sold on eBay by MikesFalconOutdoors?

How were you running the spinning reel? Were you trolling with it?

Shoot. I was tailing around behind you and only got 5. Throw some back to me next time.

Is it just an acquired talent or is there an order the boards should go out in, i. e. longest first or vice versa? I forsee multiple tangles in my future.

I'm going to add more copper to my little boat, and wonder if there is a problem running all TX-44 size boards vs the smaller boards, even on short line like 100 or 150. I mainly ask because my tackle shop sells the big boards for just one dollar more than the TX-22. Seems like if I can get a Big Mac for the price of a cheeseburger I should.

Looking for some St Joe reports. Taking my Dad out for fathers day weekend. He's never done this before, and I've never been out of St Joe before. I'd like to get him on some fish so he can understand why I call this hobby an addiction. Couple questions:

Which ramp should I use, the one on the island, or the one across from the island on the Benton Harbor side? The Benton Harbor ramp is a nice launch, plenty of parking. Plus it's right across from Tackle Haven. Not sure about the St Joe side, they don't let me over there anymore. But if it's in St Joe, it's probably nice. It would also undoubtedly be jam packed with inexperienced boaters from Illinois

Is there a cleaning station at either ramp?Not at either ramp, but Tackle Haven has one you can use. No grinder though, bring trash bags.

Are skams around, and what's the best method to catch them off a boat? Apparently not yet, should be soon. When I finally catch one I will let you know what the best method is

Have kings been around and in what depth? Last week I was catching them surprisingly close, in like 75 to 80 FOW. Tackle Haven also has daily reports of the hot depths, phone call questions cheerfully answered

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

.......

i never really thought about cross current. i fish the central basin of lake erie. i only fish 50 to 65 ft down and have never tangled them, and havent seen them running to one side over the other except when we were trolling with a cross wind. but then they both want to run alittle to the windward side of the boat. but thats just where the wind is pushing the boat.

with the 13 lb weights running 1.8 to 2.0 mph theres hardley any blow back at all. and the 10 lb ball type weights i used was way back behind the boat. if i wasnt going to use the pancakes i would use the fish style weights. you can get them in about any weight you want as long as your rigger will lift them. i have seen them up to 25 lbs, but i dont know which rigger is rated for that weight.

the best of luck on making your own weights. let us know what you do and how it works out for you.

sherman

I considered the pancakes as well, if nothing else but for the fact that they look cool and would look awsome if i painted flames on them. But I think TJ is right about the cross current being a problem where I/we fish. He's a little farther north. I have very limited experience, but I think TJ even noticed how strong it is down where I fish.

Hey John,......

Atomik makes an AWESOME cannon ball. The torpedo weight which not only cuts through the water better than any other weight, but has a much smaller surface area for current to push on them. The one down side of these weights is the price... about $75 ea.

I just looked these up and realized what they were. As it turns out my boat came with 3 of them. 1 left.

youch, $75. I dunno man, I'm going thru cannonballs faster then I went through your planer boards. Hence my desire to maybe make my own.

Hey John,

In my opinion, either the fish shaped or the tradition canon ball molds are the best option. Pancake and flat style cannon balls don't preform well while fishing deep, and in strong currents. Right now out of holland current is pushing up to 1.3mph in comparison to surface speed. That can cause havoc for a flat weight, especially fishing as deep as we have been fishing(taking bites as far down as 200). The sheer surface area of the pancake weights will cause the water to push them in more(possibly causing crossed cables) For a boat your sized, the fish shaped cannon ball may be the way to go, especially if you decide you want to bend that tail section to plane then SLIGHTLY away from the boat. They have much less surface area, and you can still bend them to track off to the side if you wish to.

Atomik makes an AWESOME cannon ball. The torpedo weight which not only cuts through the water better than any other weight, but has a much smaller surface area for current to push on them. The one down side of these weights is the price... about $75 ea.

I'm considering buying molds to pour my own downrigger weights. What's your preference of form for them, traditional cannonball style or the fish shaped ones? Does it matter much?

If these are the ones your talking about I think they should work just fine. (No. 1039 Soft Stop Bumper)

Yes I saw those and was thinking they might work temporarily, but I believe those are intended for above the cannonball snap and would quickly wear out at the base of the cable housing. The thing I am looking for goes at the very top of the cable right in front of the top back cable wheel, and has a hole in it for the cable to slide thru. When a crimp hits it (crimp set at a pre-measured distance to stop cable when fully retracted), the cable automatically stops.

Due to some broken cable, I need to replace what in my Walker electric downrigger manual is called a stopper. I think what was on the cables previously was not factory installed, as the diagram in the manual shows a square looking stopper, and what is currently on the other three riggers is a round bead looking device, similar to a large abacus bead, or for other old timers like myself, a peg from the old "Score Four" game. The bead allows the line to feed thru it and acts as a stop when a crimp on the cable reaches it and retracts the bottom pulley in on the rigger, stopping it automatically.

The only thing close to it I have been able to find online are Scotty downrigger stopper beads, but they don't look anything like what I currently have on there. Does anyone know if the Scotty stoppers will work, or have any other suggestions? Thanks.

Does the tip guide eventually wear and abrade he copper, without a roller?

Jim, I'm curious as to why would you not leave the switch on both while trolling as that's when most of the battery drain occurs on the deep cycle from the electronics.

You will be fine.

Do you already have a battery switch installed or just considering your options?

Bought it, thought i better check with someone here before i installed it. My thought is like what Sherman said.

Is it safe to run a battery switch on "both" (to charge both batteries while underway) when one is a starting battery and one is a deep cycle battery? I'm concerned it may harm the deep cycle battery. I'm also concerned I don't understand completely the purpose of a battery switch, but that's for another post.

Wow. We're gonna need a bigger boat.

I talked to several others who were out yesterday in St Joe as well. It sounds like the bite dropped from amazing to zero overnight.

Our condolences on your loss. The pain softens with time, and the memories get stronger.

Was that you I was chatting with in Tackle Haven this afternoon?

I should have gone with my normal pessimistic attitide, lol.

Well, i shouldn't be such a pessimist. If the previous 2 posters don't take them, I will

Rats.

St Joe is the best kept secret on the lake>

Shhhh. They'll all be gone by the time I get good at this.

I want to thank TJ, his dad and Nick for being patient with my noobness. I mostly tried to stay out of the way, but every day I learned a little more. Thanks especially to them, and Dave Ashe and this forum, I feel semi-confident now at getting out by myself. I had a blast, needless to say. The tournament experience is a load of fun, and TJ wasn't kidding, we couldn't keep the fish off the hooks. I never thought I'd be fishing and throwing back 6 pounders saying ehhhh, not big enough.