TyeeTanic

You mean inline boards or outrigger boards? Inline boards has to be church tackle TX-44 boards, but there are mods to help prevent them from submerging ... as well as technique in reeling in especially that last 50 ft of line. But nothing compares to outrigger boards ... fish hits, line releases off the board, you are fighting the fish, not the board. Big Jon Otter Boat Planer Boards work really well, I know a captain that uses them regularly, and I've tried them vs. the TX-44 boards, and hands down it is way better.

Lead and copper, typically use longer leads of 20' to 30'. For dipseys, basically when you real up the line up to the swivel that attaches to the dipsey, the remaining line length to the end of the tackle is the length of the rod. Typically the leader between the dispey and the spin doctor/flasher is adjusted so that the overall length of the rod is achieved including the dipsey, leader, flasher, leader, lure. The lead between the lure and dipsey is often pre-set if you use flies, but generally 2 to 3x the flasher length. You can use longer leaders on dipseys, but then you have to hand bomb the lines in after you've reeled it in to the max.

I think my mate twists the copper, super glues and then shrink wraps over the twist. Don't quote me ... I am going from vague memory.

Good joke. Not unless you've seen some large ice-burgs floating in the Great Lakes. Haha.

And now we have come to the bottom of the issue. Here's your truth people. Ships are overloading ... lake levels need to be higher to ensure minimum draft is maintained in shallower areas.

I went a couple of weeks ago, soon after my last post. Was great, one of the better returns I've seen in years. They've all run up now, so we have to wait for the bows to come in now.

Thanks. Maybe, see you on the river!

Nice. I live about 5 minutes away. I'll probably go on Friday. Was that this past weekend?

I river fish, have for many years. Salmon breathe rapidly when in the rivers ... so I'd say the majority of hook ups are simply placing the hook in the right place at the right time. No doubt, many salmon are snagged. However, I have also see with my very own eyes salmon aggressively striking a bait (flies, lures, eggs). I mean the incidents are where salmon are a good 6 feet away from the bait and actually dart out and grab it ... I've seen it in clear water. I've seen 5 guys at a whole with roe, and then one guy comes along with a fly, and suddenly they are interested in that one bait ... won't touch the roe, but the fly is on fire. I speculate that this is out of irritation, and possibly some feeding. I do know for a fact that first thing in the morning they seem to be more active than later in the morning. Perhaps they have some hunger when they wake up but after that they have no appetite? Anyhow, I think the only real legit technique that works is to try and tick them off ... bright colors, keep moving past them, erratic baits.

Only reason to do this is if you want to put the dipsey on a planer board to get more separation. This allows you to have whatever length of wire in the wire (at least by segment length), then clip the board on. I wouldn't do it though ... crazy having all those knots in my opinion.

They work, I've caught some high 20's fish with them. You can dose them with herring scent.

2 riggers one higher, one deep ... I'd cover 42F on bottom one and maybe 48F/50F on top. Try spoons and meat. 2 or 3 dipseys, again cover range of water depth. Put on SD and flies. Green, UV 2 or 3 copper ... probably the 300' and 400', unless water is cold on top, then I'd go shallower. Meat.

https://torpedodivers.com/ 7 strand, 30 lb, smoke, 1000 ft

Not exactly what I'm saying. You'll have a main line and hook that up to the downrigger cable above the ball. Drop the ball say 20 feet. Attach the free slider line to the main line (it will be loose at this stage). Take an elastic and tie the elastic to the downrigger cable, and the slider swivel. Swivel is now fixed to cable at exactly 20 ft above the main line lure. But slider is still attached to the main line. Fish hits, it snaps the elastic, and slides down to the main line lure. Main line and slider on the same rod.

What temp are you targeting for kings? Steelhead like it warmer, so will almost always be above the kings. Around 52F. That normally puts them 20 to 30' above the target temp for kings (42F to 48F), but it does depend on the thermocline profile. Just measure where you see 52F as you lower the probe down.

Typically happens if you drop the balls down to fast ... think it basically pulls your line almost vertical, and the paddle starts twirling around the cable. Drop them slower and you should be alright.