thompsm7

Dapper Dan, I also got the first blood on my boat this weekend.... 2 - 20lb Kings taken in 120 fow. First fish came on a Wonderbread dipsy out 180 with green dot spin dr / hammer fly. The second came off a rigger down 100 with a Glow Coyote ProTroll and Green Hammer. All the hard work and research paid off this weekend. I'm thrilled and completely hooked on the Big O! Yellow Fever

Hey Jekyll, Excellent work on the salmon. I may head back up this weekend with my wife, but not sure. Let me know if you'd like to get together. Team Yellow Fever

I'll be there for the Little Salmon River Challenge with a couple buddies... It'll be the blind leading the blind, but I have no problem with just being lucky. My boat name will be Yellow Fever. Look me up.

Agreed... I had a great time boating my first Steelhead! I'm hooked....

I definitely learned a lot, and look forward to the opportunity to hit the water again.... I'm definitely HOOKED!

Landed my first Steelhead on the Dapper Dan this weekend. Many thanks to the Captain and I'll be on the water next weekend.

Made it out in the morning for a while but the storm blew us off the lake. Looking forward to getting ASAP. Did anyone do well in Mexico? The people I spoke to had a few early knock offs but nothing too spectacular. I assume the low pressure from the storm didn't help the bite.

Perhaps I'm getting a bit too granular, but what size and color of Dipsy goes with 30lb steel? Does the rig go, dipsy tied direct to main line, snubber (optional), 48" leader, dodger/fly or spoon? I'm getting the book referenced above to give me more direction on overall presentation. I'm going to head to Mexico Bay on Saturday morning and try my luck. We'll be heading to the State Boat Ramp near Mexico. We'll be needing to find a good tackle shop, and could use some direction. Any ideas on places open early, as I understand the need to get out by 5:00am.

This is phenomenal advice! I'm planning on heading up for a Saturday morning launch and I look forward to trying the Big O out.... Are there certain radio frequencies that are used by fishing fanatics? I'll shoot for launch at the Mexico Point State Launch. I must say I fish with my wife as well, and I feel your pain on the tangle patrol. Need more info on the Dipsey. Rod / Real suggestions? Nothing too expensive since I'm only a recreational fisherman. Wire suggestions? what can I fish off the dipsy? Where do I get Dipsy charts or how do I figure out how deep they're running? It makes a lot of sense, just need more direction. Thanks much for the great advice.

Excellent advise! A few points of clarification: Dipsy Rods - Cost effective rods? How to rig them properly? No experience with Dipsies. How do you properly spool wire? Do you use backing? How much wire is needed? 300'? 450'? Cheating Rigger Rod - One ball bearing swivel on each end? How long should the leader be? What do you use on the cheaters? Spoons / Flies? What is the reasoning behind using 2 Dipsy's as opposed to stacking a rigger? Seems this is very common, I'm just curious why that is the case. Any ideas on where one can put in on the Big O in the Mexico bay area?

Hello, I've just moved to NY from Wyoming and am excited to get involved in the Lake Ontario fishery. I need all the help I can get because the only salmon I've caught has been a 5lb Kokanee and a couple Kings from the Columbia River. Here's what I have and let me know where I have gone awry. I have a 23' Walkaround that can troll down to 1.5mph. I have 2 Walker downriggers and the ability to fish 2 rods on each rigger. My rods are 7'6" Eagle Claw Starfires with 20lb PLine flourocarbon. I need to assemble 2 thumper rods for salmon in late July-September. Any input on the thumper rods and the line type? I am thinking wire or Tufline for thumpers. Is my setup with the rigger rods sufficient? On the lure front, I'm thinking dreamweaver spoons and dodger/Howie flies. Any suggestions on size, color of spoons? How about the fly setup? Any ideas on what else I should have in my tacklebox? I'm thinking about heading to Mexico Bay or Port Ontario and trying my hand at the browns in the morning, and maybe try to pick up a salmon later in the morning. Any suggestions are welcome as I'm competely now to this area. Many thanks in advance.