TyeeTanic

No it doesn't. The rigger release is on the main line that comes from the rod. The slider is connected to the rod line by hooking a swivel through it (I use the smallest ball bearing swivels you can find for this one). To let it out, I normally set my downrigger line up to the depth I want. When the downrigger rod is all setup (as if you were normally fishing with this rod), I attach the slider line to the rod line, and then throw the spoon into the water off to one side. It basically trails back behind the main rod line, and then grips from drag and slides down the line. It stops around 1/3 to 1/2 way down (depending on how much blowback you have on the rod line). The rod line isn't straight down to the clip, it actually has a "C" shape from rod tip, out due to drag, and then back in to the clip. So the free slider goes to the furthest point out in the "C" shape, and then no more (if it went further down, the line would have to beat drag, which it can't). When a fish hits, it might not release right away, but you'll see the rod bouncing. The fish will pull the slider line down the main line. At this stage I pop the release and reel FAST! Take up all the slack quick and when that swivel hits the main line lure, it stops and you have full tension on the line. You bring in the fish and there are no tangles. The swivel is close to the main lure, and the fish is trailing that on the slider lure. I catch a lot of fish using free sliders.

Sad state of affairs.

It's a technique. Free slider is take a 6 ft fluoro leader with a spoon on it. Put a snap swivel around your downrigger rod line. If a fish hits that line it will slide down to your bottom lure and you have the fish on. You need to reel really fast if a fish hits the slider to take the slack off.

3 rods in the USA, 2 rods on Canadian side (if you have the permits). You can use a free/fixed slider to get an "extra" line in the water, without breaking the rules.

I had lake insight with my old HDS 5. Contours were every 3ft which was good. The new Gen 2's and Gen 3's have 1 ft contours on the Navionics maps. I'm talking about Lake Ontario, but I'm sure it's the same for all great lakes. Can you look at the unit, power it up and have a look at the maps?

Mike, what speed are you running? I assume 2.5 mph? I changed my walleye boards for TX44's. I can pull anything with those boards (wire, copper, mono, whatever). I don't think I'd be too worried about the angle of the walleye board though, as long as they were getting my lines way off to the side. With 150' of large diameter line, I would be suprised you are only getting 45 to 50' down. You're not going to hit 70' down until you get about 250' of line out. Generally works on a 3:1 ratio, but does plane out. A #1 dipsey probably planes out at 300' or so, but it is dependent on line diameter and density (drag and boyancy). If you do go to wire lines, twillie tips work great. I've used them in the past. I think they are more forgiving then roller tips. I've used the torpedo roller tips - they are pretty good quality (at about $35 a tip). Wire is definitely the way to go. Have fun.

Beckman. Awesome net. Got a used one for like $100. It has lasted years. Very strong, extends to 10' long! Would easily replace it in a heart beat.

I had my bottom sandblasted but it's a fibreglass boat. It worked pretty good.

Don't use mono for dipseys. Too much stretch and you will either lose fish due to poor hook set or find it difficult to pop and retrieve when you want to change bait. Rather use braid or even better 7 strand wireline. Braid will collect fleas in mid summer. You should get a book called Precision Trolling, it has a lot of data on depth vs. line out. J plugs are okay late season (and sometimes early season), but spoons and spin doctor/fly combos take by far the most fish. Meat also takes a few fish. Plugs are basically the last thing I resort to, and normally only in late August.

I just use plano boxes, and move the compartments to fit the bait. Carry about 5 of them in a tackle bag (others contain spoons, flies, artificial meet, and terminal tackle). I just find that puts everything at my fingertips.

I would say Walker Divers or Torpedo Deep Sea Diver. Both are solid. The torpedo one is interesting as you can add a drop weight to help it dive steeper. I have a few Dipsey Divers, and I really don't like the ring - it gets loose and is just something that can break over time. I would just get black for now. I have 100 different colors and now resort to 2, black, and frog pattern (green with black dots). I wouln't have a problem using clear as well.

We have sucessfully released staging kings in the past. It takes a while to "revive" them. What we do is lock them on a boca grip, which is tied to a rope. We then put the fish in the water with about 8 ft of rope out and the rope secured to a cleet on the boat. Let it ride in the wake for about 5 to 10 minutes. You'll see them eventually start fighting the line. Just pull in the boca grip and open to release the fish. They normally shoot right down with lots of energy. The other good thing about it is you don't need to hang off the back of the boat to revive the fish. You put it in the water (takes 1 minute) and then get onto putting your rods back in the water and cleaning up the boat. It's very efficient.

I agree no boards. You will be in shallow water, and tight over fish. Boards will make it complicated. I know some run them, but the salmon are only biting now out of aggression, so the whole stealth thing isn't as good of a game plan as putting some brite colors with lots of movement in front of them. Having said that, for sure running paddles and flies, j-plugs, etc. is a good idea. Big paddles, bright colors, lots of agitation. Oh, and believe it or not, sometimes less is more. My biggest salmon came on when we only have 2 lines in the water (was actually pulling lines to go inshore). We had to lines out going in a fairly tight circle, and a big one hit. Admittedly that was on a weighted mono line with a Gator Spoon. But the tight circles over fish is what triggered the bite, it was definitely out of aggression.

Have they replaced the star wheel for drag adjustment with metal or is it still plastic? What about the reel spool itself is it still plastic?

The magda I know is a lower end reel, with many plastic components that probably should be metal. I wouldn't use them under the strain of a dipsey, if I had a choice. I rather use them on the riggers.

Although I don't know what happened, I can state that there was significant debate about this on Spoonpullers. The incident was apparently investigated by spoonpuller moderators and it was the Captain's clients that did this, not the Captain. The Captain did apologize. It was suggested that his autopilot was on and he wasn't paying attention - his fault. The behaviour that followed, was from the clients onboard. He isn't in control of that. Although I don't condone what happened, there is always two sides to the story. And for sure, respect and courtesy are definitely a must in this community. Just don't hang the wrong person. For those interested in a follow up post in Spoonpullers, here it is: http://www.spoonpullers.com/forums/index.php/topic,24973.msg149402.html#msg149402 gen-st, please don't take offence, but I've seen too many people burned at the stake because people got emotional, didn't fully understand the situation, stories turned into rumours, and then the accusations quickly fly. I agree with you, the guys that did that to you are idiots - but be careful who you blame, as someone's livelyhood is on the line.

Where are you located?

Albright knot seems to work fine to me. I pull up the sheath about 2", cut off the internal lead wire, and then make a loop with the sheath. I wrap the braid about 10 times around the sheath and pull tight, as per the albright knot. Have had no issues.

Plugs definitely on their own. You want that erratic action they provide on their own. I don't think a paddle will help anything. As for stacking them, I think it would be okay, but I'd probably only leave the back treble in (remove mid treble) to help prevent tangles between the slider and main line. They do dive to a certain extent, so it may work. I have never tried it though.

Actually Stan, yes I do remember that they looked at the scales. Something like counting the rings, similar to trees?? It was a few years ago. But I do remember clearly that the majority of salmon were only 3 years old, and a few 2 year olds and very few 4 year olds mixed in.

If you're in 100ft you should be fine just watch the inside copper on the turns as it will sink fast. My point is you might be actually fishing in 60 fow as that's where the fish seem to be lining up. Then your 400 copper will be too much.

I would think 600' of power pro is good enough. As others suggest, I would put the copper on the boards, as it has a steeper sink rate than the leadcore. Having the leadcore down the chute will keep a higher line in the center of the action, and that would help prevent crossing over from other lines. I'd also consider just 2 long lines. I don't like having a line down the chute. Rainbow can get acrobatic, and fast moving salmon as well can lift long lines right over into the chute line. Once that happens it's normally game over. You spend 1 hour fixing the mess, and you lose those rods for the rest of the day. How many rods will you have in the water? I'd go with 2 wire dipseys, 2 riggers, and 2 long lines (copper and/or leadcore depending on target depth). Consider a 3rd and 4th wire dipsey or a stacked rigger rod, if you want 8 in total. Remember also the fish are staging that time of the year, so you will be inside of 100 ft, and closer to 60 ft. A 400 copper won't really cut it, as you will be bottoming out. I think either a short copper like 250 ft or a 5 or 7 core will be good bets this time of year. However, don't underestimate the wire, a lot of guys are doing well using wire divers with meat on it. Good luck.