fishdawg

what reel did you get? no backing needed.... a 1000 ft spool perfectly fills a 30 size okuma or 600 tekota or a 47 dawai

I have found a useful tool to keep aboard for when the fleas build up... http://www.fleastripper.com/

my mast set up: mast, 4 rod "rocket launcher" & net holder it looks bush league but is quite functional (net handle is 12 feet long)

I love it all, HOWEVER its a no brainer, offshore trolling for trout & salmon gotta love when there's a double header of 20+ lb kings on and then a 3rd rod fires and its a 10lb+ steelhead doing surface cartwheels between the Kings

everyone likes different riggers for different reasons some suit a certain boat's layout or an anglers fishing style (ie. some guys fish very deep with heavier balls, like 15lbs or more..) ive used them all, and my boat has Scotty Pro Packs 116's, a little bulky yes, but very fast durable and fucntional mind you though, if you know that you never plan to fish deeper then 50 feet down, then go manuals all the way! (walker or cannon make the best manuals) Much less to worry about with manuals.

looks like your typical Saturday on #3 in Dunnville

great advice from Tony there's lots of other sites full of great info that will help shorten the learning curve too ( I wont post the links here, but if you PM ill send em too you) also sharing a boat with an experienced troller helps as does taking in some of the various seminars held at local club meetings, tackle shops & shows dont give up a on the Lake O trolling, its a phenominal fishery once you get dialed in

here a tip Roy make sure you do a fine net job on my teamates fish

another vote for FINtastic Sportfishing http://www.fintasticsportfishing.com/ Shane is excellent to deal with and a pleasure to fish with.

see Jos at Angling OUtfitters in Woodstock he gets lots of trade ins and should be able to work with your budget

Best shop in the Golden Horseshoe hands down! Martin has been doing great things with the store. Cant beat the slection of gear and the free food & coffee every Saturday I noticed that there spring sale is April 10-14 and line spooling clinic is on the 14th, 1 cent/yard Triliene and 8 cents/yard Fireline

my wifes ol stomping grounds, as well as where we got married Stemmlers, 3 Bridges, Anna Mayes & the buffet "Crossroads" are all great spots as stated. Ive stayed at the Best Western there a few times and its quite good & reasonable.

I do the same at Grimsby Tackle. Recently I ordered a larger trolling reel for copper line, and it was in & ready to be picked up a week's time.

picked up a an Okuma 55 and Rapala RSC copper combo from Grimsby Tackle tonight 400 feet of copper going on it!

sounds like your going to be fishing Lake Erie? (walleye/steelhead) now what size is the Magda? a 30 or a 45? a 45 will hold the whole spool of leadcore (aka 10 colors) and you can fit 150 yds of 50lb braid backing behind it. I think a 20-30 ft leader of 5-20lb test mono or floro should do well if its a 30 Magda, you might get 7 colors to fit the spool with the backing... if you can, consult a local shop that specializes in great lakes gear to help ya spool it up

my exact thoughts too Tony, got the pen imprinting to factor in too! i may be out next weekend.... I would have been out all winter, if it werent for my boat project & renos

8 seasons now for my '04 Canadian tiller most of those seasons are 10-11 months each year ive been a aboard a couple others Fishhawks, and i like the layouts

which reel did you buy? a line counter isnt neccessary when using leadcore... Okuma does make nice leadcore rods for about $35 retail but almost any medium action 7'-9' downrigger rod should serve you well

sure hope so we're long overdue John

I cant be the only one who's pumped for the upcoming Lake O trolling season. Hopefully my boat will be set to go in a week or two. It sure will be interesting to see what potential positive effects will come from the mild fall & winter we've had. Convetional thinking would be that baitfish population should be good as well the predetors would have had more time to bulk up on them? As well we should see what impact will be of the many pen stocking/imprinting projects that many local clubs have taken on across the lake the last few seasons. For the competitive angler, there seems to be many various tournaments & derbies scheduled to run from mid April to Sept in different locations and with different entry fee levels & formats. who else cant wait for screaming reels and big chromers ?!

LMAO thanks Boostnawd

I pretty much operate the same way Lew, most of my fishing buds have their owns boats, so its often agreed we just trade local trips with each other for the most part, and costs are shared if there's distance our additional expenses involved (ex: tournaments, longer road trips, ect..) I try to make a point of returning the trip in my boat in a timely manner when practical/possible. If I am taking "newbies" or boatless buds out, the first trip is often "on the house" as I love introducing the sport to to others. I once herd that you cant fill the tanks up with "thank you's and Timmies"

agree with dwc67! a Depth Raider or Subtroll cant be beat! I see helm rigger controls as being a little gimmicky

all 4 major brands make good electric riggers with various features that fall into different price ranges some types of riggers just to tend suit some boat's layouts better then others as well ive been able try 'em all in the last few years on various boats it looks like ill be sticking with my Scotty Propacks (1116) for a while now