SlowPoke

Matthew recommends a short lead off the swivel, about 1/2 the length of the diver. In theory it could wrap itself around the line but it won't be near the fish. If you use the elastic technique and the elastic breaks, the diver will slide down the line but this shouldn't effect the fight either. -Brian

I got mine 2 weeks ago with a free tutorial!!! Mine will be in the water tomorrow morning and I hope to have a great report to share. If the fish don't cooperate, I'll at least comment on thier performance. Why use them instead of a dipsy? I don't think they will replace the roll of a dipsy without using planer boards. More accuratly, they would replace the pink lady, jet divers or deep 6's by achieving much more depth givin the same amount of line out. They would also be a great alternative to downriggers for those guys that want to get down deep but can't justify the cost of downriggers for the amount of time they would use them. For me, I think they will be a great addition to my spread off the boards. -Brian

Now why would I want to lose a days pay (or more) to protest against high gas prices? Why don't you do something about it? DING DING DING! Give the man the giant fuzzy giraffe! Prior to the Enron days, online trading of energy resources was impossible. Enron lobbyists wanted energy commodities open for trade online to promote speculation trading and drive up energy prices. Once exempt from commodity trading laws prices began to soar from spec investors. -Brian

I use 80lb leaders, no problems yet but that's on LSC and mostly trolling. If you plan on doing any trolling, you may want to buy/make some longer leaders. Looks like you have a nice setup! -Brian

Most importently, go W I D E for comfort. If you're going with a tinny with benches, a 16' usually has an extra bench which is often a nuisanse - just another obstacle to climb over. If you're going with a flat floor and pedestal seats.. 16' all the way! Launching a 14' or 16' won't be much different. A 14' and under is ideal for a car topper but if you're trailering, size is not an issue. Last year I saw a 14' Harbercraft with an 84" beam.... unreal! It would make most 16'ers feel small. If you can find one of those, you'll fall in love. -Brian

Great introduction and nice pictures! Welcome to the board. -Brian

...on a marshmellow tipped jumla.

The Pike derby is on June 21. There will be a bunch of people there on both sides of that weekend. -Brian

Congrat's Alex!

I would also add that this year's Symetre is last year's Stadic and has a better feel for 2/3 the price. -Brian

It probably has more to do with technique than weight/balance. If you can develop another way to get the job done, switching techniques throughout the day will probably ease your pain. I cast left and right with both my spinning gear and baitcaster and found a big difference at the end of the day. I still have to work on another technique for trolling, my butt gets sore! -Brian

I would have missed the shot from that range.

The trouble with the inner bay is that when it gets choppy, you can touch the sand between the swells. The upside is; if you have a problem, you can get out and walk. UB, was considering LPB or Dunnville myself this weekend. I'm probably going to pass on both but given the forecast I'd opt for Dunnville if you really have to get out. Go get that big cat for the team so I don't have to! -Brian

I'll come by and pick it up... save you the postage.

You prefer something more curvasious?

Thanks Lew but now my brain hurts.

Tin cans can have downriggers too! Planer boards take your line away from the boat but are similar... replace the cannonball with a board that wants to pull away from the boat.

- The dealer indicated that they will provide a 30 day warranty - is that normal or should it be longer? Any warranty is better than no warranty but ask very specific questions about what it applies to. You might also try to negotiate hours instead of days.. ie. 60 engine hour warranty. - Anyone have/know about this boat and if so, any comments/advise? Bayliners have always had a bad reputation. Sometimes deserved, sometimes not. Overall they are much better than they used to be but still suffer from low resale value and they are often under-equipped. They're a bit of a budget brand and most well used Bayliner's really show thier wear. The Trophy model in my opinion is the best of the brand but still middle of the road quality-wise. - Dealer said they would do a compression test on the motors (115 hp and 9.9 hp) in front of me. Can anyone give me a clue as to what I should expect/look for? Have them show you in the manual what the compression should be for those motors before doing the test. Have them do a dry test first, then a wet test. The numbers may be all close but way under factory compression. ie. 109,107,105 work work out to be around 7.3:1,7.2:1,7.1:1 which is okay as long as the factory compression is 8:1 (117). Not so good if factory is 10:1 (147). I can't emphasize enough doing both dry test and wet test! This will absolutely reveal bad head gaskets, rings or valves. - Any other advise as to what/how I should inspect the boat? They said they would let me take it for a ride on the lake for 45 minutes-1 hour to try it out. Check every square inch of the floor, if it's soft you will know. Check the transom for discolouration, especially near mounting bolts. Tap it hard handle screwdriver or small hammer. If it goes thud, run away. Make sure the boat gets on plane quickly with the maximum number of passengers allowed in thier seats. It might plane out fine with you and the salesperson but it might not with a family of four. - the 2" ball on my hitch (which is a 3500 lb rated hitch) says 2000 lbs on it - is that the tongue weight or the allowed weight of the boat being trailered? Your tongue weight is probably 500lbs. The 2000lb number might suggest that you have a Class I or II 2" ball with a 3/4" thread. A Class III or IV 2" ball will have a 1" thread and 5 or 6000 lb rating -Brian

Well done G!

You can visit the cup anytime you like, it's in Toronto.

You miserable P----! I hope you wore your arms out! I have something here for you to pick up... $25.00. You probably won't need them for your brookie trip so no rush to come by. -Brian

Great report Rich! I'm sure Brice is telling some stories right now about a nice family from Ontario that wandered into his store! -Brian

"....and if the boat sinks I can use all those rods tied together as a raft"

Nice one Cliff... got rid of the "new reel smell" didja?

Your spool might suggest 6/170, 8/120, 10/100 (lb/yrds mono) Most companies will provide line diameter on packaging. If you want to put braid on, look for the highest capacity on your reel. In this case 6/170. Find the line diamter of 6lb mono (.25mm) and load up with braid of the same diamter. So... 6lb Trilene XT Mono (.25mm or .010") 8lb P-Line Floro (.23mm or .009") 20lb P-Line Braid (.28mm or .011" ... will all yield about 170 yards on the spool in this example Some manufacturers will advertise thier braid as 20lb equiv. to 6lb mono diameter -Brian