jekyll

If you are having trouble openinig Torpedo swivels you are doing it wrong. They open very easily if you do it right. Fish can't open them. Now, Berkly clips are hard to open.....maybe I open those wrong.

I hope you are working for the next 3 weeks, 24/7. Take one for the team! [ Post made via Android ]

Where is your boat a bobbin? West wind is worst on east end, east wind is worst on west wnd. See where this is going?

I don't think there is much difference to the fish. If your choice is rattle or chip, go with the cheapest. A-Tom-Mik sells both as you know but, most other companies sell neither - just the fly and beads.

Buzz bombs were very popular on Pugett Sound waters 30 years ago when/where I started fishing salmon and steelhead. I tried it once on Ontario but, didn't have any luck. Might be good for stagging fish cooling thier bellies in the mud. Entice/anger them into striking. I'll stick with trolling.

I use 12lb flourocarbon during trout season and 15 lb during king season.

Just got a call from a buddy on the lake. He just pulled in a 450 CU with a flasher and fly he snagged on a dipsy. Sometimes the lake pays out but, the odds are worst than in Atlantic City.

Torpedo swivels are great.

no, I was trolling about 6 feet from the bottom and hung up on something. Broke the boom and then the cable snapped at the pulley. The other cable got damaged earlier in the season when it jumped the spool and got wrapped aroung the motor shaft. Got the ball up ok but, needed a new cable. My boat is 28 long and 10 wide - no trailering for me. My drop cable broke below my probe as I was reaching for the ball last time out. I went to the local tackle shop and put a new ball on the counter and the owner looked at me and said: "Did you loose another one, Tim?" That shark likely left a puff of silt on the bottom remeniscent of a Wiley Coyote skit when it hit the bottom.

I ran plastic/fiber holders on my first boat for 2 years. Cabella's sold a holder that stood up to dipsies and kings. I tied a lanyard around the reels just in case. I was always nervous but, they never failed. You could run your dipsies in your rigger rod holders if they are are strong enough. Then mount plastic holders for your rigger rods behind your riggers or off the back. Rigger rods put much less stress on the rod holders. Rod lenght depends on the lay out. 10.5 are long and will clear your boat and equipment well but, they will add torque to the mount. Shorter rods mounted in your rigger holders might be worth considering - they apply less torque to the mount. It's that old fulcrum and arm thing they taught us in high screwal.

2-15lb balls, a torpedo and a shark. 3 coppers, a dozen or more spoons, 1 flasher/fly, 2 or 3 flies, 2 J-plugs, 2 broken riggers, 2 rigger cables and 500-600 gallons of gas. And that is only the 160 hours I've put on my boat, not counting the time on my buddy's boat. The big push starts next week with 3 weeks at fishing camp. It looks like it will be about 500 hours on the water this year and cost about $2 per hour not counting gas, beer, snacks, insurance, and camp and slip fees. Costs me about $6000 a year not counting boat payments. Replacing lost tackle is a small expense in the big picture. Running a boat is a big expense for the owner. Guys who ride on other's boats don't seem to appreciate the costs. I sure don't mind when riders replace the lost and broken tackle. They may dish out $100 or so but the owner is paying thousands to take him/her fishing.

3 seems a good fit. I have a 10ft beam and 4 foot arms on my side riggers. Puts my side riggers about 17 feet apart with the center rigger splitting the difference. I don't get tangles and have plenty of room in the chute for fiesty fish. I can swing the center rigger 45 or 90 degrees and have the entire chute for netting. I've a 4th rigger but, it only ever gets used as a rod holder or a back up. 4 riggers are OK with spoons but, I'm not smitten by them with flasher/Fly or J-plugs. Chance of tangling things goes up and I've not seen a change in my catch rate. Oh, I should add that I have a tuna door where a back rigger would mount which means the back rigger on that side needed to move more towards the center. I'm sure there are lots of guys who would look at my beam and decide on 5 riggers but, 3 works great for me. 3 riggers, 2 dipsies and 4 junk lines cover a 3-man spread and give me all the lines I need. My buddy was running 4 riggers on an 8 foot beam and finally switched it to 3 this year and is much happier.

I took a 20lb king last month like that. It was nice and fat, and it had one of my hooks in each mouth. The second mouth was about 3 x 2 inches. Each "mouth" had teeth. I assume it got injured by a hook that ripped its throat open when it was a skippy and healed up into the 2-mouth variety. I could be wrong as I was in 100 feet of water in front of the Nine-Mile nuke plant. It had 2 eyes and 1 bung but, it did seem to flop around smartly when I whistled "Dueling Bangoes". "Looks kind-a like a hog".

I've got 3 ugly sticks (all 2-piece). The female joints are fraying on each rod (2 seasons on 2, and 3 on the 3rd). These are the only rods on my boat with this problem and all my rods get treated the same way. Heartland (dark gray and green), Okuma (GLT and Blue Diamond) and Cabela's all show no simlar wear. Also, the outer half on each Ugly stick twist when fighting fish. No other rod on my boat does this. Guys swear by the 1-piece rods but, I've been unhappy with the 2-piece rods. Never had a problem with Heartland or Okuma GLT rods on riggers, dipsies and junk. From my experince, I won't buy another Ugly Stick or Blue Diamond.

22 inch, back, more action.

Every now and then the Lake gives back. I caught a rod and reel with 500 copper and a live fish on it last year.

I'm a snubber guy. The only snubber I've broken was a Lure Jenson snubber years ago. Never broken a "chinzy, melted together" Opti snubber. They work season after season.

I've taken kings on the small SD with peanut flies on a 400 copper. I use a leader that is 3 times the lenght of the paddle. I've also been known to run the small paddles on a fixed cheater for higher steelhead and cohos. Just remember not to pop to the rod to retrieve.

Big ones go to the smoker.

Yo don't "Miss em" with Chopper!

I go to ask, why try to make something that costs $5 and will last for years?

Splice on 200 feet using a haywire twist, no swivel required at the CU-CU splice. Shrink tube is optional. Shrink tube is handy over an Albright knot (backing to CU or leader to CU) to keep it from wearing but, check your level wind eye to make sure it will fit through. Attach the leader using either an Albright knott or, a Spro swivel. Spro connects to CU by passing it through the eye 2x and then finishing with a haywire twist. About 30 feet of 30# flourocarbon for the leader.

Check shows up in the mail within a month. I took 13th last year in fall salmon and it took a month.

Wait until you do 2 mature kings on 1 rod. Pretty wild. I once did two, 1-rod doubles on browns by muself at the same time. 4 fish comming in at once. 1 fish dropped off half way in on the second rod and I watched a 5th fish hit the free spoon about 30 behind the boat. In the end, it turned out to be a 5-fish fiasco on 2 rods by myself. Good times! I had a skippie get tangled in the center rigger cheater last year. It was snagged in the tail on one rigger and in the mouth on a corner rigger. It came in "stretched on the rack" from 2 riggers.

I won't hazard a suggestion of which brand is best. I run Lowrance but would have a Furuno if I could have afforded it at the time I bought my last unit. Not a suggestion, just a desire. Combo units are great if you have a small dash. Mine is a combo but, I also have a dedicated GPS which does most of my GPS duties. Ensure you get one that has a slot for a Navtronics card so you can add detail. My unit (and I assume most others) allows you to add data to the F/F screen such as GPS speed and bearing. This really reduces the need to have the GPS screen showing allowing you to devote the full screen to what's under your keel. Color is not necessary but, is much 'mo' better. Internal antenna versus external: Internal works through canvas and through my hard top (28 Penn Yan). External takes more work to install an antenna and coax run, also more links to fail. A good dual frequecy, internal antenna combo unit is an affordable, neat package that is hard to beat. I bought mine when I had a smaller boat with limited space. I purchased a second transducer and wiring harness, and a quick mount system when I purchased a larger boat. This allowed me to use the same unit in both boats by swapping the unit back and forth between boats when I changed up. One menu system to remember. I'm using a 5-year old Lowrance 527 and am very happy with it. Lake O is over 600 feet deep. 50 htz will hold the bottom and mark all the way down but, those fish are are made of unobtainium. 200 htz will hold the bottom to 450 feet and mark fish to 350 feet - still unreachable though.