Sk8man

I would imagine that unlike the Lake O fish that have probably seen every possible color combination of lures and attractors those chinooks may have never seen any lure before given the great expanses of the water they inhabit. Great video and Dire Straits was a good choice for the music

I think if I were out in the woods I'd be wearing some "heavy duty" (canvas like Carhartts) for pants and sealing off the bottoms at the boots and then rubbing on a light coat of kerosene on the boots and low part of the pants (e.g. up to the knees) and let dry before putting on. I'm pretty sure like most parasites like fleas and lice they would be repelled by it and as long as there isn't skin contact with it it should be safer than some of the pesticides or insecticides. (I wouldn't be smoking near it before drying though...but then again I don't smoke anyway Have to stay downwind though.

I think I would be trying some of the hottest tobasco sauce I could find on those apples. As long as he has a viable and predictable food source he will keep coming back and therein lies the potential danger to people or domestic animals (they become more bold). Most black bears are skiddish by nature around humans but not all and certainly not in all circumstances (e.g. advanced hunger state or with cubs or if "cornered" or blocked from getting their food). If it were me I'd round up all the apples from the tree (s) and remove them and then spray a few saved with the hot sauce and place them far away from the house and next year place a few with the hot sauce distant from the house...their sense of smell is excellent and I think if they believe they are "contaminated" they may start staying away and look for another food source....just an idea...

Probably for seals too....

Tim's method is a good one and "flexible" too. As far as the "getting spooled" issue - If drags are set right (and operating properly) you should never get spooled....I've never even come close to it even using 12 lb test on 30 lb kings... you make the fish work against the boat and if necessary with large aggressive kings you pull up lines and use the boat against them by going after them. As long as you remain connected they lose. But it does entail patience and not "horsing" the fish like you see on some of the videos. The charter guys may be in more of a hurry (time is money) and may not feel it practical to "pull" lines and "chase down" big fish (and it sure is easier with smaller boats) but the objective is: once hooked to get them in the boat by staying connected to them. If they can do it with several hundred pound sharks on 10-15 pound test line and light tackle it certainly can be done with kings etc. When you think about the fact that 200 yds is the distance of two football fields...much of the time the "high capacity" issue is more in the minds of the fishermen than in reality.

If it is Lake O fishing (in late Spring through early Fall) 30 lb Big Game mono would be a good choice and about 240 yds will fit the 47. The main reason for using that lb test is because of the fleas (i.e. larger diameter harder for them to cling to). I have the 30 lb Sea Flee (275 yds fits on them) on two of my 47H's and although it sheds the fleas great it has way too much stretch to it for any use but on downriggers (can"t even release a small dipsey with it because stretch is so severe). I have some dedicated 47H reels as well with just 12 lb test Big Game for non-flea parts of the season on Lake O and the Finger Lakes and bodies of water without fleas as well as for early Spring browns on Lake O and they hold about 450 yds of 12 lb Big Game each. You can get about 280 yds or so of 20 lb test on them but it doesn't do as well as 30 for the fleas at least in my experience. For non flea bodies of water I'd go with the lightest line you can get away with for the species you are fishing for.

I've had my Vexilar Fl-20 Ultra pack flasher for a few years now and one of the things that has always been lacking in my view is a digital readout for depth rather than trying to remember which range setting I am on when I want a quick look at it. They now offer an "add on" for any of the Vexilar flashers called the DD-100 FL which installs in place of the older battery status indicator. I just ordered one from Cabalas ($49.95 plus shipping ='s about $59). The Vexilar website has a "how to" installation video for the Ultrapack. I installed it and tried it off a dock and it works great.

Like everything else in Albany (government)....it's all about the money....no common sense or logic involved in any of their decisions

I agree but you know that used to be said about the Seth Green rigs we used to run too when people unfamiliar with them would see them inaction (especially back in the old days when you could run 15 leaders per rod and would have 4 rods out with jugs) along with other stuff like boards or outriggers That young guy had his system down pretty good though...

Any NYS certified inspection station can do it. Many auto repair stations are certified and have their sign out in front stating it.

True. Because of the amount of tackle they use they try to get by with the minimum that actually works at the least complicated and most cost effective methods....we might have something to take away from this

Cool! Interestingly they use all SINGLE stainess siwash salmon hooks on all their stuff (even J-plugs (which I changed over to from trebles more than 30 years ago) more proof that they hold better and are easier to take fish off if these dudes are using them. It looked like they were using leaders from their flashers at about 3-4 ft to the lures and I think the case for hand lining in kings can be made too Thanks for sharing.

One of the things missing here is what are you fishing for and where? It is critical to your decision. If it is Lake Ontario that is one thing, and fishing the Finger Lakes is too but if it is a lake without fleas that is another matter.

Good point Brent. I think you may be amazed at what you'll find from the recent results you guys had trolling. There must be some real monsters in there. Sometimes ithelps to experiment once you find them with various jig sizes but the jigging Rapala in the perch color small/medium has always been good. They also seem to like things horizontal rather than vertical and the hook tip have to be covered for sure. I've watched them (in clear water through the hole) "test" the bait by gently mouthing and you couldn't even see or feel the line move And don't be too surprised if you find them in much shallower than you might think....especially early and late in the season.

Justin ...could be even worse....what if your fly was down while lying there looking down the hole for them