BAZOOKAJOE

Malin wire. 30 lbs big game mono leader with flashers. 20 lbs floro if I run a spoon. About 8-10 ft back.

I'm with Ray K! But I'm running light action ugly stik for all species. I spool my 30 series reels in the spring with 15 or 20 lbs mono and leader down. Then i add 250 ft of flea flicker in the summer.

I'm on year #8 with a pair of frog toggs. Granted I wear them 10x a year. And i take care of them.

I do the same thing with the short cores. But I use the same reels I used the previous summer for kings off the down riggers. I pull off about 1/3-1/4 of the mono spooled and tie on a swivel and tie the core then swivel then leader. I try to have everything do double duty as much as possible. Those smaller reels take forever to reel a 100 ft of line in on. I run 3 color cores with spoons for most of the spring with a couple split-shotted. Then i added 5 and 10 colors as the fish were over 40+. For those I bought a couple new high speed reels and backed them with power pro.

I agree with John! The ugly stik's are a great rod! What I like about the 8' 3" rod is the light action and versatility. I run them off big boards for browns in the early spring. Then run lead core (and short coppers) as the fish slide out deeper. And they fight kings off the down riggers. Personally I like light action rods. I like the feel and forgiveness.

I fished west of Rochester a few times and the bait was over-abundant to say the least. 80-100 fow in the summer. Lower 1/2 column was loaded!!

I would say this past seasons size (in general) was smaller than the past 2 seasons. We caught fish from the spring till September. We tried different patterns and adapted as we fished. And had (in the back of our minds) the mindset that mother nature was a few weeks behind from past years...due to a cold winter and a late spring. Spoons were hot all season! Especially on junk lines. A lot of the flasher/fly combos that were productive in the past didn't fire this year. Dipseys took fish. But the rigger bite was equally as productive. We stacked spoons with flasher flys towards the end of the summer. And we slammed them! June was null as usual. But the steelhead bite was red-hot!! It was catching (not fishing) a few of the days. I never fished deeper than high 300's in my boat. 90-350 was my best water.

I fell in love with the 57lc this year. Can't beat 6.1-1 ratio and a tournament drag for $120. The next best thing to a Saltist IMO. Same reel as the Seagate but with a LC.

I'm on year #13 with a cheap pair of breathable hodgemans.

Any breathable wader will last.

Okuma leadcore/copper rod

I'd go with Daiwa...47lc, 57lc or saltist.

Yup. I run 20 lbs mono leadered to 10 or 12 floro. No need to go down to 6 or 8 IMO. Sticks off the planers in 8-10 ft. As the fish slide out deeper I change over to spoons. Leadcore rocked last year! 3-color cores were hot!! And as the season progressed: 5-10 colors. And 150-200 coppers.

I agree with the ugly stik...unless you are running the church or off-shore type boards. Then go with the okuma leadcore/copper rod.

You can run the tadpoles and dive bombs half way down the copper or on the backing.

I have some michigan stinger dive bombs and they work the same way. Tried them quite a few times. They work...but do have a different searching action than straight copper or core. The heavy ones drop like a rock on the inside of turns. And are a major pia to take off on a hot fish (and require an extra person). Never had tangle problems, but I'm careful with my turns and usually only run 1 junk line per side. If you only have one or two short copper's you can cover different depths on the cheap. But I prefer straight copper or cores. IMO these are better for walleye fishing.

Been using 30 lbs Big Game (no snubber) just because that's what I've had laying around. No breakoff's. I do check and re-tie a new leader pretty often. Using 10 ft ML Starfire rods with a lot of bend to them.

Keep in mind the Sealine 57 LC is the same reel as the 50 Seagate but with a linecounter. They're $20 cheaper and you can double duty them. I take the cores off mine later in the year and run 300 ft of Flea Flicker off the backing for DR rods when the fleas get bad.

50 Seagate with 200 copper and 150 yds of 50 lbs pp has a little room left. You might be able to squeeze a 250. I'd go to a 60 for a 300. Both size reels are the same price.

I second the korker boots with studded rubber bottoms. Any bootfoot breathable waders will be fine. I'm on my 15th year with a cheap pair of hodgemans and 5th on a pair of frog toggs. IMO~the more expensive waders are a little better...but your mostly paying for the name and better warranty.

Good report John!!

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