jekyll

I'll take them. PM sent

Guests first, me last. My gear and decisions got the fish on the hook. Guests reel them in first. 

I would be worried about creating a weak spot in the copper and the leadcore??  Also, doesn't attaching the weight to the leadcore kill the flowing whiplike action as it travels through the water?

No and no.

A 3rd vote for a thumper. It will give you a very good speed indication. 

Jekyll,

Are you hooking the bomb to  the leader or the backing?  If the backing, how much line are you letting out after the dive bomb to achieve that much more depth?

I let out about 2/3 of the copper and attach the DB to the copper. I let out additional backing once the entire copper is in the water. Make sure you install and remove them over the boat or you may donate one to Neptune. I usually run 10, 1-way passes of the reel after the end of the copper goes in the water (Takota 800). Try and adjust as necessary. I do the same with lead core.You can cover a lot of depths with fewer cores. I use 2, 6 and 10 colors and adjust in between, and deeper, with DBs.

I've used Daiwa Accudepth Plus 47 reels for 3 or 4 seasons and have put well over a 1,000 salmon in the boat with nary a hiccup. IMO, there is no better price/performance point. I like them more than Sealines for riggers (Sealines cost much more as well). A couple of my buddies use them on dipsies with no issue. Daiwa Heartland, Okuma and Ugli Sticks are all great rods. I've had some problems with Okuma Blue Diamond  but, the less expensive GLT rods have been faultless. 

If you are going to keep running it down the chute, get a 300 and a handful of Dive Bombs. Each ounce adds about 8 feet of depth and increases the down angle at the back of the boat. I run 2, 4 and 6 ounce Bombs and don't worry about running long coppers much any more.

Great fish Mark! 

I ran a depth raider for a number of years and found 1.8 to 2.2 to be best however; the GPS always showed about .8 mph higher.

I switched to an X4D last year. You can calibrate the speed settings so, I found some calm, no wind, conditions and lowered my X4D down 10 feet. I then adjusted the speed calibration settings so it matched my GPS. As a result, I fish my X4D between 2.5 and 2.9 now. This also makes it easier to read currents since the probe and and GPS match in calm water.

Definitely agree with Silver Fox. Light weights with lanyard style releases connected to the ball's tail will pull the ball back and up. This really tilts the probe to a steep, nose down angle which screws up the speed signal as the water doesn't flow over the wheel correctly. You need to connect releases above the probe so that the ball and probe run as level as possible. Try setting a rod/rigger just below the surface and you can see how the line pulls the ball up at trolling speed.  A buddy had trouble with his DR for 2 years after installing it. I finally fished his boat and saw how he was rigging and running using Scotties off the tail of the fish weight. I ****ed, and he switched to a Blacks slider release pinned above the probe and all his issues disappeared. You can also try a Scotties stacker release above the ball if you really want to stick with inch pads. His probe runs great now. 

^{OP, what type of releases are you using and how are you connecting it?}

I don't fish the big lakes a lot but I'd been running 30# flouro which is what was recommended to me for Lake Michigan when I was working out there. Last year Lake O's big kings tore the crap out of it and I lost a lot of tackle within seconds of being hit!!  We had several big boys on and only managed to land  3 over 20 including a 32#!!  That's because I switched all my leaders over to 50# the second day of our trip!  I found out 30# is just to light for me!    The new Seagar Salmon leader is nice,  I have some but haven't run it yet,   too much ice here in Maine yet!  

Where have you been breaking 30# flouro, dipsies, riggers or junk lines? Don't use it on dipsies, It should be fine for other techniques.

Sheryl Verheeck at Catfish Creek Fishing Camp does seats and canvas. She does very good work at good prices. 

I run 2 color, 6 color and 10 color for trout and salmon in the spring. Adding dive bombs to short cores can yield a lot of depth flexibility with fewer rods. Short coppers work as well.

The East end was much slower this year and less predictable. Saw lots of bait in the early season and then not much in late July and August.

I talked with a DEC sample taker at a tournament and he stated that well over 50%of the fish they saw this year were natural reproduction.

Roller tip or twilly tip is required only for stainless wire. Not needed for twisted copper wire.

Backing is needed to copper just like lead core because copper is normally fished with the entire section in the water. 

Took it on a 600 copper?

I hooked one about 8 inches on the river several years ago. It was unlucky to be exactly where my cast landed. What an amazing commotion it caused. Ounce for ounce, that little guy put on the best king salmon display I have ever witnessed. He went between my legs, up, down and around logs and almost jumped over my head. It soaked me pretty well.

Rambo, like I said, 20# is used by a good number of charters. Keep your drags as light as you can on your dipsies without it clicking out. Also slow the boat as soon as you take a dipsy hit until you have the fish under control. Your 20# will hold up.

Don't use a lighter leader on the flies. The 50# is not there because 30# won't hold. It is used because 50# fluorocarbon provides the necessary stiffness to impart a tantalizing rolling motion to the fly. Lighter, softer fly leader will be feckless. 

Yes, if you have 30# main, connect it to the flasher without a fluorocarbon leader. Fluorocarbon is NOT needed in front of a F/F. You could probably use bailing twine and the fish will hit it. They are zeroed in on the fly flailing behind the flasher.

For the OP, if your rods are spooled with 20# braid, no need to go through the expense and effort of replacing it. It will work fine. 

Your 20 lb braid will be fine for riggers as most fleas will be gone by then. Add 100 feet of 20 lb mono to the end for salmon. Add a 15 lb flouro leader to the end of the mono for trout. I would be less inclined to use 20 lb braid on dipsies but, it can be done as long as you set the trip arms lightly. Lots of charters use 20 lb wire for dipsies. 

My rigger rods have 300 yards of 30 lb braid and 150 feet of 25 or 30 lb mono on the business end.

Also, the marinas on the Little salmon are ethanol free. Mikes is straight gas and Salmon Country adds ValveTech.

Good advice. A charter will give you lots of info on your first day to use the rest of your trip. Be open with the charter captain and he will help you get on fish with techniques, locations and depths. It can turn a barren trip into a 9-day trip full of fish.

Two 2-colors and one 6-color. 2-colors are great all year off the riggers and 2-colors will work a long time on boards for trout. BT in the spring with no weights and BT and steelhead in the summer with dive bombs. 6-color will replicate a 10-color with a 4 oz dive bomb.

Dive bombs give you a lot of flexibility with shorter cores. No need to outfit with a large number of varying core rods. I know a lot of guys with 10 or more lead core rods because they want to cover more depths. Dive bombs do the same for a whole lot less money and room. They cost about $5 each.

Call BJ direct if you can't find them local. They are very fast in getting parts out. Fish307 also has them in stock.

I think the Magda 30 has the same size spool as a Convector 30 but, I may be wrong. I have 150 yards or so of 30# Big Game under the steel on my Convector 30Ds. It fills the spool.