Sk8man

Congrats on a hell of a day!

Just a point of information. The minimum size limit for Bass on Hemlock is 12 inches.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=splake&docid=608035350660929175&mid=2421A71098B5DC4EEC0F2421A71098B5DC4EEC0F&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Looks more like Splake - hybrid between male laker and female Brookie?

The most effective setup for cowbells (if not using a downrigger) is the use of a weight (I use 32-40 oz.)which you can get from Troutman87 on here very reasonably and suspended about 18 inches from a three way swivel as a "dropper weight". You want this to make contact with the bottom as you troll slowly about 1.4 mph. The cowbells will be straight back from the other ring of the swivel (with a heavy duty Duolock snap on it) with the third hooked to a heavy duty swivel on the main line. You run the rig as close to the bottom as you can feeling it keep touching bottom as you go along. Generally you start in shallower than you end up letting out mainline as you go keeping the contact with the bottom. If using bead chains on your rig line an additional leader with a spoon can be used where the leader is long enough to follow behind the cowbells (e.g. 20 ft long) and located about 3-4 ft above the cowbells. This is where the term "cheater" line came from back in the old days.

x2

In these days of litigation and ambulance chasing lawyers there is a substantial liability issue as well for the landowner and I would also wonder how the property insurers would be reacting too.

One of the main reasons there is a paucity of access on many tribs is the problem of littering and it is a hell of a concern for property owners no matter what the one time money is and it is really too bad. A lot of the streams I used to fish in the 60's and 70's haven't been accessible for that reason for years.

Ifishy's tip about the 19 strand is a good one. If you are going to use 7 strand wire you'll need either a twilli or roller tip although the individual rod eyelets composition are a question mark. I use Shakespeare Tidewater 6 1/2 ft rods with Allen roller tips and first guide a roller with 7 strand and have no problems for my short rods, and Okuma GLT in 8 1/2 ft for my longer dipsies. On one I have an Allen roller tip and the other a twilli and I haven't notice any wear on any of the guides or tip thus far after about 5 years use. Not sure about extended time frame though as 7 strand is very abrasive. Here is a pic of what it can do to aluminum side plates on inexpensive roller tips.

Looks like you folks kicked some fish butt Bill

Years ago security told me they would tow me if I parked there again and they took down my license plate number so I figured it wasn't worth the hassle.

Send Greg (troubles) a PM good reputable guy and makes good stuff reasonably.

Good luck with it

Looks like you're good to go Nice rig by the way. Give them a try and see how you like them. They are always a good standby anyhow.

You mentioned the outrigger poles but not whether you have the holders installed as they are the expensive part of the equation. I've used outriggers for many years and have used both the aluminum poles and the fiberglass. The aluminum are better as they don't flex as much. The type and positioning of the holders are important as you want the angle to be fairly low to the water but high enough that the poles don't drag the surface in the waves. Usually positioned about 45 degrees or so. A lot of folks used to use outriggers but in recent years the big boards and then inlines (or both) have pretty much taken over. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses. The inlines are the most convenient, and easily adjusted, the big boards excel in rougher water and at handling bigger setups (e.g. long coppers etc.) but properly set up outriggers can not only run multiple lines like the big boards but they and ward off traffic (e.g. in derbies) where people can see them for long distances. On the downside contrasted with the inlines and some of the big boards they aren't as maneuverable in in terms of regulating the distances from the boat lures are run horizontally from the boat. In very rough water they can "slap" the water surface (especially if not installed at the proper angle) but when it is that rough even the boards can suck too. If you intend to run heavy stuff (e.g. 600 coppers etc.) big boards from a mast may be preferable. For toplining, running short coppers or leadcores, and running small to medium dipsies the outriggers will suffice. I have tried many releases for the outriggers over the years and for the main release I stick with the Black outrigger model release (very adjustable and predictable tension). For additional lines run on them I used homemade rubberband releases with shower hooks which I could just slide down the outrigger line (sometimes I weighted them to slide better).

Looks as though you know your scotch as well as the fishing

Are you sure you don't mean column?