I looked at the traps but they are way too expensive for me. Hammerhead Cowbells works awesome so I will stick with them. Spin N Glows and peanuts will work fine behind them if you do make the purchase Matt.
I still stack once and a while if I have enough guys in the boat to put extra rods out. The key to keeping them tangle free is rod holder placement. Stacking works best in the transition times of the year when fish are scattered at different depths. Try stacking a rod and put a cheater on the top rod. You are covering 20' of the water column with 1 rigger.
Sounds like the drag washers are shot. They will start to show those symptoms before they go. If they are stored with the drags not backed off in the off season, the life will be shortened.
I think a lot of the salmon size was lost due to early staging. The salmon started to get dark and their stomachs were tight really early last season. We caught a bunch of dark kings in early August instead of mid to late August. They started to burn the fat reserves early therefore the weighed less by the time they hit the hatchery.
Here is a link to the report. http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/lou2012hilights.pdf
Things are looking up for the alewives for sure! The other thing that is good is cormorants are eating tons of gobies and leaving alewives, bass and perch alone compared to years ago.
I started working on the boat last weekend. The new engine goes in tomorrow! It feels good to be this far ahead of schedule. Now if we could only get some warmer weather to get things going!
I purchased a new net today so the old one is up for sale. Not sure of the hoop size but it is very large. The handle extends from 4' to 8'. Here is a photo of it. The net also comes with a scotty net bag clip that holds the netting back when netting fish. . $40.00 - local pick up only.
Yeck, NK, Stinger (standard size and scorpions), Moonshine, Honey Bee, Crippled alewive, Evil eyes, and R&R spoons $65.00 with free shipping to the lower 48.
Magic,
I can't remember the size off hand but the swivel goes through the guides with ease as long as you use heat shring on the swivel. Look on the atommik site and you will find the swivels and the size.
Yes I do. I only have a couple 47lcs left and they are getting upgraded in 2 weeks. I will no longer need the parts so they are yours if you want them.