Dave Scroppo

Outboard Engine

fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 05:45:00 -0400

Mercury Verado
After $100 million in R&D to develop the ultimate in R&R, Mercury's new Verado four-stroke outboards are now supercharged. Translation: Power is boosted by forcing a higher air volume into the combustion chamber. One advantage is a split-second hole shot. The big block sounds a lot like a jet engine when it takes off, capable of pushing a 1-ton walleye boat in excess of 60 mph. Before, a minimum of 3 liters of displacement was needed to produce a 250-horse outboard, but the six-cylinder Verado has a displacement of 2.6 liters for 200, 225, 250, and 275 horses. Furthermore, power steering is incredibly smooth, and troublesome accelerator cables are a thing of the past-the controls are entirely digital. Naturally, with a four-stroke, emissions and noise are reduced as well. $15,895Â¿Â¿Â¿$19,787; 920-929-5000; www.mercurymarine.com

Gear Review: New Trolling Motors

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 30 May 2006 16:00:00 -0400

In the domain of trolling motors, where brands have come and gone, only Minn Kota and MotorGuide remain. They've prevailed with more powerful motors that maneuver large boats with multiple batteries and run longer because of greater electric efficiency. Features are smarter than ever, including hands- and foot-free navigation based on compass headings or depth-reading technology. We tested four units that stand above the others; one of these should be right for the fishing you do.

Click on an image to enlarge

Minn Kota Engine-Mount
FEATURES Quiet oomph from the back of the boat-that's the ticket with these new motors that bolt to the main engine's cavitation plate and ride out of the water when on plane. They're excellent for trolling shallow water or pulling spinner rigs below 1 mph. They provide power from the stern to augment the thrust when you maneuver with a bow-mount in current, and have strength to spare.
MODELS Available in 12-, 24-, and 36-volt models, with single or dual props, for a range of thrust from 55 to 202 pounds. $550Â¿Â¿Â¿$1,450 for freshwater units; $600Â¿Â¿Â¿$1,500 for salt; www.minnkotamotors.com
HITS You adjust trolling speed with a rheostat, so it's possible to dial in increments of .1 mph.
MISSES Don't expect to go backward, as pulling water past the shaft of the big engine saps strength.

Minn Kota PowerDrive Bow-Mount
FEATURES AutoPilot automatically steers your craft in the direction you select, adjusting for wind, waves, and current. (A wireless remote is optional.) Combine a PowerDrive with a gas motor on the transom and you can control speed to tenths of a mile per hour.
MODELS Includes 12- and 24-volt versions, with shaft lengths of 48 to 60 inches. Power levels range from 40 to 80 pounds of thrust. $340Â¿Â¿Â¿$1,050; www.minnkotamotors.com
HITS Set the AutoPilot and you can fish without attention to the foot pedal.
MISSES Electronic steering is somewhat slow to respond when a river rips.

MotorGuide Transom-Mount
FEATURES This freshwater series is ideal for moderate watercraft. These electrics are more reliable than ever and have better seals to protect against moisture. Internal communication is digital, to monitor amp draw and heat.
MODELS A collection of 12- and 24-volt motors provides a range of thrust from 30 to 82 pounds. The bigger electric has variable speeds and an extension handle. $100Â¿Â¿Â¿$400; motorguide.com
HITS To back-troll, you can turn the motor around so it operates in forward mode when it's pointed in reverse.
MISSES It's trickier to steer when you're pushing a boat from the transom.

MotorGuide PTSv Bow-Mount
FEATURES Set a PTSv to follow a contour, or steer it manually with a foot pedal. When you want to navigate a precise depth, this motor lets you do it hands-free, using five transducers in the lower unit. Catch something? Return to the scene by punching the 180 feature, which allows you to backtrack.
MODELS There are models that can power bass boats measuring up to 22 feet. $1,600Â¿Â¿Â¿$1,800; motorguide.com
HITS The 36-volt model has a power curve, so it can blast a 20-foot boat at 5 mph or just creep along.
MISSES The Bottom Track mode has some difficulty over flat lake bottoms.

Outboard Review: The Little Engines That Could

fieldandstream-editor — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 05:05:00 -0400

Yamaha T8
Features: Yamaha's 8-hp auxiliary motors are marvels in ergonomics. The electric tilt and trim is built into the tiller handle along with forward-and-reverse gear. Smart features include tensioning on the tiller elbow, which holds it in place where you tilt it, and a bracket in the steering mechanism that will keep the boat on track even if you take your hand off the tiller. A sensitive throttle control lets you goose or decrease the speed at a slow idle.
Hits: The tiller, shifter, and speed control are all in close proximity.
Misses: In very rough seas, the tensioning that should keep the T8 pointed forward when the big motor is under power is not strong enough to stop it from flopping to one side or the other.
Price: $3,100
Weight: 116 lb.
Contact: yamaha-motor.com

Suzuki DF2.5, DF4, DF6
Features: Portability is plausible with the new DF2.5; its weight rivals that of a full tackle box. Pull this little 2.5-hp four-stroke out of a car trunk and let it push a canoe or johnboat into places where paddles or oars can't cut it. The water-cooled DF2.5, like the 4- and 6-hp models, uses a 1.5-liter fuel tank enclosed under the hood. The DF4 and DF6 add a remote fuel connector for use with an external tank. Each has a tiller handle for steering, and a grip for transport. And unlike other little outboards, these go in forward, neutral, and reverse.
Hits: Thirty pounds is less than half the weight of a battery for an electric trolling motor.
Misses: At full throttle, the DF2.5 burns through its internal gas supply in 45 minutes.
Price: $875Â¿Â¿Â¿$1,760
Weight: 30Â¿Â¿Â¿57 lb.
Contact: suzuki.com

Mercury 9.9 & 15 BigFoot
Features: These small but sturdy four-stroke outboards are built in 9.9- and 15-hp models with the gear case of a 25 for greater durability along with a reduced gear ratio (2.42:1 instead of a standard 2:1) for better cornering. BigFoots have electric start with manual backup, and an aftermarket Mercury lift kit will tilt and trim the motors in shallow water-or stow and deploy them entirely. Best of all, the power in this package reminds me of a truck with low gear for hauling loads.
Hits: BigFoots have the torque to provide a burst of speed to steer away from hazards.
Misses: The slightest turn of the throttle moves the boat up to .5 mph faster instead of increasing the speed incrementally.
Price: $2,160Â¿Â¿Â¿$3,170
Weight: 96Â¿Â¿Â¿128 lb.
Contact: mercurymarine.com

Get the Point

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 07:15:00 -0500

You're going to do more harm than good attempting to improve the new generation of chemically sharpened hooks, but less expensive versions normally need touchups. Here's how:

Hold the hook by the shank between your thumb and forefinger so that the bend faces inward and the point is away from you. Grasp the file in your other hand.
Brush the left side of the point away from you down the file in one long stroke. Give it another stroke if you desire, but file any further and you'll weaken the point.
Repeat for the right side and the outside of the point.

TIP: Use a 4Â¿Â¿-inch inexpensive metal file for hooks up to size 4. A 5Â¿Â¿-inch model works for larger ones.

Ice Fishing Tip: The Flash Rig

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 04:20:00 -0500

This bastardization of an open-water stalwart, the crawler harness, adds fish-catching color and flash to tip-up rigs and can be appropriated for jigging below a bobber.

To catch walleyes or magnum perch, start with a 2-foot length of 6-pound fluorocarbon or monofilament. At its end, tie a No. 10 treble hook, and above it slide on a neoprene bobber stop until it's anywhere from 6 to 10 inches above the treble. Add six 4mm chartreuse or orange plastic beads and a clevis with a No. 2 silver spinner blade. Tie the end of the leader to a swivel. Tip the treble with a 2- to 4-inch shiner.

To arm yourself for pike, use a 6-inch sucker or shiner, beef up your treble to a No. 4 and your leader to 20-pound-test fluorocarbon, and use six No. 6 to No. 8 red beads with a No. 4 red-and-white spinner blade.

Used beneath a tip-up or with a slip bobber on a short, ice-style spinning rod, this rig outfishes a plain minnow.

How to Extend the Life of your Superline

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 19:00:00 -0500

Get an extra season out of that expensive superline by stripping it off neatly in a large open space, spooling some mono backing onto your reel, then tying what was the front end to the backing. Make sure you use the mono. Without it, the age-slickened line may slip on your spool.

Use a Jig to Catch Walleyes

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 19:00:00 -0500

When walleyes are fussy in calm, clear water or after an Arctic front, a crappie-style tube jig accented with live bait can be a magic "open sesame." The best sneaky snack I've found is a 1½-inch black tube with chartreuse tentacles threaded over a 1/16-ounce jighead and fished on 4-pound line with a wandlike, 7-foot spinning rod.

For bait, the streamlined shape of a leech or half a nightcrawler are my favorites, although a fathead minnow is a smart choice when the water is cold.

TIP: Sharpen the light-wire hook, and bend the point out slightly to get better hookups.

Everything You Need to Know to Start Ice Fishing

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 19:00:00 -0500

Maybe you've seen them sitting on buckets in the middle of a frozen lake, and you wonder: Is that any fun? Maybe you're the one sitting on a bucket, in which case you know the answer: Hell, yeah, it's fun! Why else would anyone fish when the water is frozen?

You might also know that being an ice fisherman means belonging to a subculture in the angling world, and like any group, it has its own rules, jokes, and customs. Learning them is as important as being able to put fish on the ice. The good news is that you couldn't pick a better time to join the club.

Call it a miracle on ice: The trend of high-tech gear and electronics and refined tactics has finally made it to ice fishing. The drill-and-hope approach of the recent past (think Grumpy Old Men) has been replaced by a new culture that catches more fish than ever. But don't worry, some things never change. Even the most modern lures are still improved with a hunk of minnow, and the day isn't complete without beer and brats, no matter how many fish you catch.

The Fish

Yellow Perch
They bite best in green weeds in shallows during the first month after ice-up, and they return a month or so before ice-out in anticipation of spawning. A month into ice, deep water (30, 40, even 50 feet) is the ticket as perch root on soft bottoms. For the best of both worlds, look for big underwater bars and islands that have shallows of 10 or 15 feet next to a steep dropoff to depths of 30 feet or more.

Bluegills
In the early ice season and again in the late, look for patches of green weeds in 12 feet of water or less. During midseason, check hydro-graphic maps for widening contour lines that indicate flatter, deeper areas of 20 or 30 feet. The nicest bluegills graze on the fertile soft bottom, or suspend well above it. This is a spot to let a tiny jig with a waxworm or two take a slow tumble and catch bluegills on the way down.

Walleyes
As the surface freezes, walleyes are going to be where you last left them: in depths of 5 to 10 feet on points. After the first month of ice, they drop to the edge of prominent structures, living in the deep water on steep breaks. By midseason, they go deeper, particularly on soft bottoms near humps. Toward ice-out, they begin a push to get closer to spawning areas on shallow, hard-bottom flats near creek mouths.

Lures

Northland Forage Minnow Fry
Perch love flash, and this lure delivers it with one side in silver or gold, and the other in holographic brilliance. Sizes 6 and 8 hang horizontally, allowing gill-flaring perch to suck them in with ease. $1.69

218-751-6723 northlandfishingtackle.com

K&E Stopper Lures Dot Jet
Both perch and bluegills are attracted to the simple, subtle shape of a teardrop jig baited with meat or a scented Berkley Gulp! plastic maggot. With a No. 10 hook, the Dot Jet, which comes in painted colors and my favorite, solid gold, provides a perfect panfish snack. $1.29

269-945-4496 stopperlures.com

Custom Jigs & Spins Rat Finkee
I love the name. Bluegills, meanwhile, love the infinitesimal scale of 1/100- and ½00-ounce jigs, especially with some plastic on the hook shank—but not beyond—and baited with a spike. They work best when bluegills feed on zooplankton. Look for the pale little critters, about the size of a pinhead, flitting through the water in your ice hole. $1

319-645-2247; customjigsandspins.com

Salmo Chubby Darter
Usually walleyes interrupt jigging action with a light tick. Not so with the Chubby Darter, which gets nailed. Made of weighted foam for gentle, gliding jigging motion without bait, it comes in three sizes and eight colors. $8.49

952-224-3649 salmofishing.com

HT Enterprises Glow Rocker
Classic shape and modern colors unite for the best of old and new in jigging spoons that should be baited with a minnow head or tail for added flavor. Since walleyes want less action than in open water, a gentle jiggle, not a rip, is all it takes to get their attention. $3

800-216-5184 htent.com

Heddon Sonar
This venerable blade lure needs no meat to dupe walleyes. Attach a plain snap, not a snap-swivel, to the middle eyelet of a ¼-ounce Sonar (also available in ½ ounce) for the best vertical action between 20 and 40 feet, then work it in 6-inch pumps. $3

800-531-1201 lurenet.com

Nils Master Hali Sukkula
This curious little spoon-shaped Scandinavian import, with a dropper that resembles a jewelry chain, punishes perch. Bait the delicate dropper hook with a maggot, wiggler, or minnow piece. Drop it to the bottom, reel up a touch, and then start shaking. It comes in a few sizes, but the mini is the version you want for perch. $3.25

802-658-1070 www.nilsmaster.com

Bait

Spikes
Sorry, man—they're maggots, namely, blue-bottle fly larvae. (Warning: They'll hatch if you forget to refrigerate them and leave them on the kitchen counter. Trust me.) You can get them dyed in various colors, and a spike will catch dozens of panfish before it gets mutilated. Nick it through the fat tip next to the pair of specks.

Mousies
The tail of this maggot functions like a straw to let the water-hatched creature breathe. A pencil eraser–size mousie is the plump, juicy larva of the drone fly, and when one gets shredded by biters, particles will fall off like confetti and often start a feeding frenzy. Hook them lightly through the head for any kind of panfish.

Waxworms
Unlike spikes and mousies, they don't require refrigeration. Nip them through either the fatter, beady-brown head or the thinner tail (which end is up for debate among bait fanatics) for all manner of panfish. Put two waxworms on a jig like a Fu Manchu mustache to slow the descent and get more bites when the fish are touchy.

Wigglers
These wriggling, shrimp-like mayfly larvae will work anywhere the biomass is composed of mayflies, although they die fast. Nick a hook through their light shell, or spear them lightly through the belly one-third of the way up from the tail, with the hook going toward the head. Bluegills and perch chow down on them.

Gear

Clothes
Minnesota's Clam Corp. has long made awesome portable ice shelters out of heavy-duty, wind-blocking blue polyester. Now they've taken the same durable material and fashioned Ice Armor bibs and parkas that will turn back blasting Arctic winds. Padded knees are great for scrabbling around on the ice. $300 for the set; 763-231-4120; clamcorp.com

Auger
A clean burn and light weight (20 pounds) are what you get with the new four-cycle StrikeMaster Strike-Lite power auger. It has a synthetic engine housing to reduce weight but a stainless-steel shaft and 8-inch-diameter blades for cutting power. $500; 763-263-8999; strikemaster.com

Rod and Reel
Frabill's Panfish Popper combo pairs a balanced rod with a reel that is delicate enough to detect light winter bites. The 20-inch Micro Light version includes a spring bobber that will betray a panfish's faint touches. It comes with a durable, utilitarian reel that's lubed to operate smoothly in frigid temps, all at a great price. $20; 800-558-1005; frabill.com

Gloves Chota's Fleece Flip Mits are the ticket for ice fishing in nasty winter weather. You can fold back the flaps to get at fingerless gloves that let your digits tie hooks, jig, and reel—the important stuff, in other words—in sizes from XS to XL. $29; 877-462-4682; chotaoutdoorgear.com

Lifesavers
Even seemingly solid ice can erode to scary thinness. To help you claw your way out of an emergency, keep the StrikeMaster Life Guard, a rope connected to handles with carbide spikes, around your neck. $13; 763-263-8999; strikemaster.com

Line
Since it absorbs less water than most monofilaments, low-diameter, low-stretch Berkley Trilene Micro Ice is flexible, not wiry, during the deep freeze. It minimizes tangles and lets you feel bites better. $2.69–$3.49 for 110 yards; 877-777-3850; www.berkley-fishing.com

Fish Locator
The Vexilar FL-18 flasher-style fishfinder has a dial readout to show depth, fish, and even a tiny teardrop jig. It comes with a handy carrying case and a 9-amp gel-cell battery and charger. The 12-degree transducer, one of three angles, has the separation to read when your jig is within ½ inch of fish. $399; 952-884-5291; vexilar.com

The Shelter

The Bucket
Inaugural ice-fishing outings inevitably begin with an upturned bucket. Bundle up, park on it, and wait.

Cheap Portable Shanty
The next step in the evolution is an entry-level shelter—say, a cheap tent. Usually it can't keep out the wind.

The Ultimate Portable After my cheap shanties got shredded, I moved up to the heavy-duty blue Fish Trap from Clam Corp. If you set up a heater, you can fish in shirt-sleeves.

Permanent Houses
Our crew has built a variety of these. It's like putting up a miniature deer cabin. One we called the Colossus measured 8x8 feet.

Monster Fish Shelters
I've seen some unbelievable places in Minnesota, where they take shelters seriously. It's not uncommon to find ones the size of cabins with bunk beds and couches. I've also seen an Airstream trailer with holes in the floor for fishing lines, and a school bus painted like a Holstein and outfitted with a keg-er-ator.

The Culture

Bowling
Up Minnesota way, I've watched Carhartt-clad cronies tumble frozen turkeys—which provide more bad hops than a punt in January at Lambeau—at a trio of pins during the Eelpout Festival. More than 10,000 brave souls unite there each February for the ultimate cabin-fever reliever. A basket-ball, volleyball, or dodgeball would suffice were poultry unavailable. If you're a purist, you can actually use a bowling ball.

Having One!
My personal favorite: When one of my buddies calls "game on," we reel up and let our lines down simultaneously. Hook a fish and the cry goes out in our silliest Midwestern accent: "Having one!" The last to put a fish on ice must take a penalty shot, ingesting either schnapps or bait. Lay out the ground rules beforehand to establish what will go down the hatch.

Fish Tag
You take the little fish that you're going to keep (my crew usually uses the smelt we catch at night), and then you hurl them at the back of your buddy's head. Now he's "it." No immediate tag backs allowed, of course. Pretty simple. Another version: Wait until someone exits the shack for a spell and leaves his jacket behind. Stash some bait in a pocket. There will be no question of who's "it" if he doesn't wise up before he goes home. You get bonus points if he finds the dried-up critter on your next outing together.

The Sauna
It's amazing how hot it can get inside a fish house. Crank up the temperature with lanterns and heaters, then resist turning it down until everyone's in shirtsleeves and still complaining. First one to crack loses. He's now fair game for verbal abuse for the rest of the trip.

THE FEAST
When you're on the ice, no food is more satisfying and suitable than bratwurst bathed in beer. Break out the hibachi, or better yet, fire up a highly portable Coleman RoadTrip Sport Grill ($139; 800-835-3278; coleman.com), which runs off a propane cylinder. When it's going at medium heat or higher, place a disposable foil pan on the grate and fill it with one beer, one chopped pepper, and one chopped onion. Put a pound of bratwurst on the grate, too, and grill them for six to eight minutes, turning them once halfway through. After the brats have browned, move them to the beer bath, cover them with foil, and cook for 25 minutes. You may as well open another beer while you wait.

Serve the brats on buns with peppers, onions, and condiments. Love life. Love the hard water. Ice fishing, I say, is living.

Three Trolling Tactics for Walleye, Pike, and Lake Trout (and How to Rig Them)

fieldandstream-editor — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 20:00:00 -0400

When it comes to putting lures in the strike zone—and walleyes, northern pike, and lake trout into the fish box—few late-summer methods are as effective as trolling. But if you don't pay close attention to details like speed, depth, and lure choice, you'll just be going for a slow boat ride. Here's how to target each species with the right combination of flash, dash, and dive

TARGET 1: PIKE

1. At speed, the size, brightness, and scent of a sucker or shiner minnow hooked to a weight-forward spinner of at least ½ ounce will absolutely crush northern pike. Motor close to the deep edge of weeds—leafy cabbage is their preferred territory—then cast or simply let your spinner and minnow out about 80 feet and troll at idle speed, about 2 mph, with your main outboard. Hold the rod in your hand and pull the spinner free when you feel it bog down in the vegetation. Pike will often strike as the spinner surges forward. Use 20-pound FireLine on a 6-foot 6-inch medium-heavy baitcasting outfit to wrestle these gators out of the greenery.

TARGET 2: LAKE TROUT

2. Arm yourself with a heavy flipping stick, or even a muskie rod, and a level-wind reel spooled with strong, thin line such as 50-pound SpiderWire, which slices down easily into deeper water. Tie the braid to a three-way swivel, then tie on an 18-inch-long dropper of 12-pound-test mono connected to a 4-, 6-, or 8-ounce weight (the light line will break off if you snag). Finally, fasten a 4-foot leader of 20-pound-test fluorocarbon to the last open eye of the swivel, and attach a big spoon or a stickbait. You should run your boat at about 0.8 to 1.2 mph, but it's more important to keep your lure deep, so slow down and increase the size of the weight until your line trails behind the boat at a 45-degree angle and your sinker regularly ticks the bottom.

TARGET 3: WALLEYE

3. Rig a crawler harness on a medium-heavy rod and 10-pound-test mono. Attach a 2-ounce sinker 40 feet up from the harness (I use Off Shore Tackle's Snap Weight), then clip the line to an in-line planer board (like Church Tackle's Walleye Board) buoyant enough to support the weight. Now here's the trick. At speeds between 1.1 and 1.4 mph, your crawler will run at a depth roughly equal to two-thirds of the distance between sinker and planer. If you leave 15 feet between them, your worm will run about 10 to 12 feet deep. Leave 20 and you'll be dragging it 15 feet below the surface. Watch your electronics, then put the rig just above the fish—walleyes feed up, not down.

MAKING THE RIGS

THREE SIMPLE SETUPS FOR LATE-SUMMER SUCCESS

1 PIKE
Use 5/8-or ¾-ounce Erie Dearies or similar weight-forward spinners in Halloween colors of orange, yellow, green, or a mix thereof. Insert the spinner's single hook through the mouth and out the top of the head of a 6-inch sucker minnow or shiner. To keep the bait-fish from flopping free, tether it to the hook by sticking a piece of plastic worm between its head and the barb.

2 LAKE TROUT
Use a size 15A Bomber Long A in pearl, chartreuse-and-pearl, or Wonderbread colors, or a Fishlander 4¾-inch (or larger) Magnum Spoon in silver with green prism tape. To give the lure extra color, accent it with 3/8-inch red adhesive eyes and strips of green or glow prism tape from WTP Inc. You can also spray-paint red or black eyespots on the spoon.

3 WALLEYE
Buy a crawler harness or create one by snelling two or three No. 2 Octopus hooks 3 inches apart to the end of a 6-foot, 15-pound-test fluorocarbon leader. Thread six No. 5 plastic beads (I like chartreuse) or a Bass Pro Shops XPS blade spacer, then a medium Quick Change clevis and spinner blade in a holographic rainbow trout color, onto the leader.

CONTACTS

Bass Pro Shops: 800-227-7776; basspro.com

Bomber: 479-782-8971; www.bomberlures.com

Church Tackle: 269-934-8528; churchtackle.com

Erie Dearie: 888-433-2743; eriedearie.com

Fishlander: 231-943-7742; fishlander.com

Off Shore Tackle: 989-738-5600; offshoretackle.com

Quick Change: 800-869-8115; quickchg.com

WTP Inc.: 800-521-0731; wtp-inc.com

How to Make a Wiffle Bat Handle for your Outboard Trolling Motor

fieldandstream-editor — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 20:00:00 -0400

A Wiffle bat makes a good extension handle for a trolling motor. Cut the grip from the plastic bat and slide the barrel over the motor's handle, securing it with a hose clamp and electrical tape. Now steer to your heart's content without having to sit or stand right beside the outboard. —DAVE SCROPPO