chrism
07-27-2003, 09:19 AM
As this board is mainly for sharing info, I thought I'd relay the highlights of what I learned this summer - some I already knew but was reinforced, other tips were given to me by fellow fishermen(women)...
First, was to gently load up the superlines when they get snagged - this would allow them to most of the time flip the rock or lift the tree when snagged, as their static strength is 3-4x what their dynamic(labeled) strength is. When I or others yarded on the snagged lure like we were setting on a strike, most times the line snapped. When we simply pointed therod at the snag and held the bail/line, you could feel it load up and flip the rock/lift the tree, or straighten the hook. Of 32 days on the water, I lost 2 cranks and one bouncer.
I used the last of my flourocarbon line I was using for spinners - then used the spinners tied with 20# cheap mono... I will never go back to flouro, and I caught and landed more fish with mono
We did notice a huge diff in #'s caught when we cut our crawlers into 1" pieces. They gobbled those up at an unbelievable rate as compared to whole crawlers - and, when you are in a remote location, this makes your crawlersupply last a long time! I think the fact that the walleyes had small crays and mayflies in their stomach had a lot to do with this tip.
Seafoam is the best thing around. Not only did it help others fouled up two strokes (all-day backtrolling), but on the two occasions when we had friek storms with lotsa rain, it solved the problem of those who had accidentaly got water in their gas tank (submerged tanks/gas caps left open)
With a little practise, electric knives rule. I have since switched to cheap walMart electrics, as I can buy six or seven for the price of one AAngler or MrTwister, and do just as good of a job. Yes, the cheap knives(motors) dont last as long, but I still come out way ahead if I have to throw them out every 150-200 fish or so due to fatigue. I cleaned well over 1000 fish, and went through three knives (i helped the lodge owner who had fish cleaning as a service). and he went through two AAngler heavy duty models... His cost was $80 USD, mine was $20 USD (3 x $9.87cdn) and 1/2 hour spent resharpening the blades (dremel)...It's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned. Perfect 100% boneless fillets in well under a minute with practise.
And then there's the dreaded drain plug....my new friend in his new boat couldn't figure out why his new trojan 225 was dead or almost dead after a days use when all it was powering was the starter, sonar, and panel....well, all I can say is thank god for a good working auto bilge pump....he forgot the plug!
And as for eats, I tried a lot of different ways from people all around, but the opinion was that walleye dipped/brushed with butter, seasoned with Cajun, and cooked on a low heat wood fire in a wire basket just until it flakes was the hands down winner!
My personal opinion on trolling motors - I had a motorguide, and with the knowledge gained from this board I sold it and bought a minnkota pd this year. All I can say is yes, the minni is much better mechanically, but, the footpedal sucks (motorguide wins, no comparison whatsoever - -and who ever thought to put the on/off switch 1/2" to the side and at the same height as the steering pad??? Almost every time I went right, I ended up shutting off the motor!), the deploy mechanism sucks (Gator mount is decades ahead of minni), and it is a battery hog compared to my same spec'd motorguide. However, it was reliable and dependable, which is what I wanted. My brother, who is an engineer and designs little things like these (and now a walleye addict), blurted out that the designer of this motor should be stripped of his credentials and demoted to cleaning the toilets in the building. Perhaps minkota can't move past 70's technology because of copyrights, etc...who knows.... But issues aside, the little plastic prop spun around flawlessly and it went in the direction I pointed it to.
Other things worth honorable mention - there are dorks everywhere....Darwin nominees are also everywhere, and summer is way too short!!!
Chris
First, was to gently load up the superlines when they get snagged - this would allow them to most of the time flip the rock or lift the tree when snagged, as their static strength is 3-4x what their dynamic(labeled) strength is. When I or others yarded on the snagged lure like we were setting on a strike, most times the line snapped. When we simply pointed therod at the snag and held the bail/line, you could feel it load up and flip the rock/lift the tree, or straighten the hook. Of 32 days on the water, I lost 2 cranks and one bouncer.
I used the last of my flourocarbon line I was using for spinners - then used the spinners tied with 20# cheap mono... I will never go back to flouro, and I caught and landed more fish with mono
We did notice a huge diff in #'s caught when we cut our crawlers into 1" pieces. They gobbled those up at an unbelievable rate as compared to whole crawlers - and, when you are in a remote location, this makes your crawlersupply last a long time! I think the fact that the walleyes had small crays and mayflies in their stomach had a lot to do with this tip.
Seafoam is the best thing around. Not only did it help others fouled up two strokes (all-day backtrolling), but on the two occasions when we had friek storms with lotsa rain, it solved the problem of those who had accidentaly got water in their gas tank (submerged tanks/gas caps left open)
With a little practise, electric knives rule. I have since switched to cheap walMart electrics, as I can buy six or seven for the price of one AAngler or MrTwister, and do just as good of a job. Yes, the cheap knives(motors) dont last as long, but I still come out way ahead if I have to throw them out every 150-200 fish or so due to fatigue. I cleaned well over 1000 fish, and went through three knives (i helped the lodge owner who had fish cleaning as a service). and he went through two AAngler heavy duty models... His cost was $80 USD, mine was $20 USD (3 x $9.87cdn) and 1/2 hour spent resharpening the blades (dremel)...It's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned. Perfect 100% boneless fillets in well under a minute with practise.
And then there's the dreaded drain plug....my new friend in his new boat couldn't figure out why his new trojan 225 was dead or almost dead after a days use when all it was powering was the starter, sonar, and panel....well, all I can say is thank god for a good working auto bilge pump....he forgot the plug!
And as for eats, I tried a lot of different ways from people all around, but the opinion was that walleye dipped/brushed with butter, seasoned with Cajun, and cooked on a low heat wood fire in a wire basket just until it flakes was the hands down winner!
My personal opinion on trolling motors - I had a motorguide, and with the knowledge gained from this board I sold it and bought a minnkota pd this year. All I can say is yes, the minni is much better mechanically, but, the footpedal sucks (motorguide wins, no comparison whatsoever - -and who ever thought to put the on/off switch 1/2" to the side and at the same height as the steering pad??? Almost every time I went right, I ended up shutting off the motor!), the deploy mechanism sucks (Gator mount is decades ahead of minni), and it is a battery hog compared to my same spec'd motorguide. However, it was reliable and dependable, which is what I wanted. My brother, who is an engineer and designs little things like these (and now a walleye addict), blurted out that the designer of this motor should be stripped of his credentials and demoted to cleaning the toilets in the building. Perhaps minkota can't move past 70's technology because of copyrights, etc...who knows.... But issues aside, the little plastic prop spun around flawlessly and it went in the direction I pointed it to.
Other things worth honorable mention - there are dorks everywhere....Darwin nominees are also everywhere, and summer is way too short!!!
Chris