slalom frog

I wish that the off season was not so long in Maine. Season is basically done for me due largely to kid's schedules. Won't be able to get back on the water until May. Going to have to do something about it someday in the future.

@aswinter05, As you already know, we will be at Coble's at the same time. I have some experience with my own course that has been up for 7 seasons. I would be glad to share my experiences with you there if so needed/wanted.

Very solid at 28. Was running 32 about 50% - 60% of the time, have been struggling as of late with consistency at 32. Have run 35 about 4 -5 times in the last 2 years. The long off season in the Northeast makes it so much harder!

@aswinter05, been to Coble too many times to count! Love the place and will actually be there for the last week of the season. It has turned into a tradition for my wife and I to go the last week of their season for many years now. Always look forward to it. I can't compare them to other places because I am extremely happy with everything there that I don't look for other options. Look forward to meeting you there.

Finally ran 35 this year for the first time. Ran it a few times at the end of last season for the first time ever. Didn't start trying again this season until a couple of weeks ago. Very happy with getting back to where I left off last season.

@Than, why would you want to take away from good skiing time to go fishing? :)

I like a Reflex front with a rear toe plate. Tried Powershells several years ago but had many issues with them releasing when they had no business doing so. You can get hurt with any system but I think that the Reflex is the least likely to cause injury. I did use the Reflex Bond system in the past and it worked very well.

I second the benefit of a properly sized trick ski. I am using a D3 rubber edge, 44".

Ice hockey. Coaching, playing, spend a lot of time on the ice in the winter. That's most of the year in my parts!

And I thought I was the only one that had this problem..........Nice to have some company in this department!

75 F, Central Maine.

Have never bent my US Gear handle.......

I used it on a ski that I set up several years ago. I was very happy with it. Nice and clean. Took a little time to set it up properly, but nothing outrageous.

Loons pop up in the course at times for us. However, the best one was when my wife go bit on the a$$ by a snapping turtle while waiting for the water to settle out on one end of our course. It was literally like a scene from Jaws. We had no idea what was happening as she was completely freaking out. We were about 40 feet from her, pointed towards the course. Couldn't make it back to her that quickly, at least not quick enough for her. She made me drag her into the boat with the ski on and everything, swearing the entire time. Once we saw the little bite mark on her rump, me and my 2 boys could not stop laughing at her. No skin was broken or blood was drawn but there was a bite impression.

I have been trying out an A2 this season, having been on an A1 for 2.5 seasons prior. Last week I started really poorly on the A2 and decided to switch back to the A1 for a bit. Not sure if it is me or the ski but my skiing was much better this past weekend. I have not given up on the A2 I did seem to struggle on it quite a bit. I was having a challenging time on my offside, not that I don't normally have some issues with it, but much more than usual. All this being said, it is early in the season for me in Maine and I'm sure the early season rust is playing a roll in all my struggles.

@Stevie Boy. If I may ask, are you course skiing? If so, what are you normally running? What did you use before?

@Sully - been using a rear toe plate for 20+ years.

I am considering trying a Radar adjustable rear toe plate. Couple of questions if anyone here has any experience with them. 1. It appears like a standard size fits a 7 - 11 foot. Can anyone confirm? 2. From what I could find they should fit a standard HO/Syndicate hole pattern? 3. Any preference for the Feather Frame or aluminum version? General comments and opinions about this product welcome and appreciated. Thanks, SF

Just wanted to send a thank you out to all of the people that contributed advice to my project. Got the course installed today. It appears that everything will work out just great and should be much easier to install and take out in the future. -SF

@Skierjp, where have you found good screw anchors? I've found some options but would like to know what works for other people.

@jackski, is it very challenging at all to crank on this type of winch underwater? Obviously, it's not mounted to anything solid and I would think that it would be difficult to prevent it from rotating when trying to crank it.

Ok guys, a few more questions. I went out to my site tonight to "survey" the bottom conditions a little bit better. I took about 30' of 1" pipe with me to see how far I would be able to drive it into the bottom. On the 8' deep end I was able to drive the pipe nearly 20' into the mud, yes that's correct, 20 feet! The mud was somewhat thick, definitely not silt. On the 14' end I was able to drive it about 1' into the bottom of the lake. Here are my thoughts. On the "muddy" end I am thinking that a rugged, homemade box anchor, something like the photo. On the 14' deep end I think it would be best to use a screw anchor as mentioned in some of the replies. I think that the bottom is "solid" enough on that end to hold a screw anchor. Thoughts, suggestions, personal experience........

@Klondike, couple of questions. What are you using for anchors? Any idea what the capacity of your come-along is? Are you using it in a single line or "double" line configuration? Thanks!

@Jackski - Are you using a winch like you would find on a boat trailer or more like a comealong? How many seasons do you get out of it?

I have looked online for some screw anchor options. Seems like there are quite a few options. What type is typically used? How long does one of these anchors typically last?