TyeeTanic

Get the line counter ... you need that for wire ... I mean there's other ways to figure out how much line out ... but they are a pain in the backside. I would never do that while trying to attend to a few other rods.

I surprisingly got really good life out of the Convector CV30D's. I don't think you can get better value for money. Takota 600's are nice, but $$.

Yes, this ... but for beginners I'd say set the outside ones first. The reason is, until you've locked the real and it bites deep into the water, even on a 2 1/2 or 3 setting, the dipsey is not pulling out to the side as much ... it's like just sinking in the water straight down where you plonked it in (on the extreme) ... which is why Gator is saying let it out slowly, so it bites and pulls a bit to the side ... but if you don't know how to do that, and have the inside dipsey deployed ... you can drop the outside dipsey down too fast, it can be inside of the inside diver! Then when you lock that real ... it grips into the water and pulls to the side, right into the inside wire and cause a massive tangle. If I haven't written that clearly, just trust me and put the outside divers out first. It'll save you a lot of headaches. If the outside diver hits with a fish, and you real it in and want to redeploy, the safer option is to pull the inside line, then deploy the outside first. Good time to check or change the inside wire bait. Once you get good at it, you can deploy the outside without retrieving the inside.

Depends on use, I'd say every 3 or so years. But you'll feel it, the texture gets a bit rough, and it starts looking frosty/opaque ... that's when you definitely know it's time.

I think I'm going to bring a banana on my next charter outing and see what happens. LOL.

Fish often come in to see the rigger weight, and drop back ... they come down to see that. We fish from around 42'F to around 52'F ... bigger fish normally caught in 42F to 44F ... but not always.

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.