TyeeTanic

Ya, I love my TD - this is the real deal - it gives me a great picture of the temp profile and what range of depth I should set my lines for a start. Then I see what the fish start bighting on and zero in on the perfect conditions. The TD does measure depth indirectly via water pressure - and this is fairly acurate. I haven't done a full calibration on the TD using a down rigger, but I do send it right down to the bottom and the depth there matches what I pick up on my fish finder. I also always set my lines between 45F and 55F, and I always get hits at the depths my TD tells me this temp range is in, so it works for me. If I stop getting hits I drop the TD in and sure enough I can explain why, the temps are way too hot, or my line depths need to be adjusted. Now - hear me out here, I don't think temp is the only magic parameter here, as I've caught fish outside of temp on several occasion. I do think it helps you zero in on fish faster, but you have to pay attention to other variables as well, especially down speed.

Forgot to mention I use 40# Seaguar Floro Leader - this allows me to fish without a snubber. Works much better. Some of my pretide bait, like the bait holders I put my herring strips in, come with lighter leader probably 20#, this is the only time I use a snubber now.

I removed my snubbers 2 weeks ago and my success ratio has increased A LOT! Mark

Underwater currents can drastically affect down speed - I know going east in front of Bronte there's a lot more pull on my lines than going west. There seems to be a current moving towards the West. I don't have a down speed probe and generally troll between 2.5 and 3.1 mph on the gps, but I find if I travel East in front of Bronte I have a lot more hits than if I travel west. I keep my eye on the curve of my dipsy rods - that tells me more or less how much drag I'm generating on the dipsy. I try and speed up to keep the curve right - and it usually works to get hits. So the real answer is .... you need to find areas and direction of travel where you get hits. You need to know what speed to travel in those areas on the GPS and memorize it. This is the only way around not having down speed.

The predominant amount of members on this site are from the USA. Spoonpullers.com is a Canadian based website - you might get a better response then. June, July are good months in depths of 120 - 160 feet - generally speaking. August - the fish start to stage around rivers like the Ganaraska, Humber, Credit and Bronte. You will find them in shallow water then 80 - 120 feet. September - the are really in tight and waiting for some rain to cool down the rivers with fresh water - you will find them in about 40 ft of water and less. Water temperature and trolling speed are two important variables - you should know wher 45F to 55F water zone is and fish in that depth. You should troll at around 2.5 - 3.0 mph (lure speed, not boat speed - as underwater currents can add or take away lure speed). What you need is a good set of fishing rods - not sure if you are running riggers, if not you will need dipsy's. Early in the season spoons work well. Mid to late seasons I find flies work well with agitators like flashers or spin doctors. Later in the season I also find MC Rockets and meat on large flashers work well. Some basics - you will need an 8 foot or longer heavy action rod. You will need a reel that can hold around 1000 feet of line. Steel line is good as you can get deeper in the water with it - but then you will need a special rod for this. Braid is good, but fleas in the lake around July make it impossible to use - so we normally switch to mono line or flea flicker. You will need large trolling reels for mono line. We generally put on 30# test line. Use long 10' florocarbon leaders 30# or 40# test. There's a specific way to fish here. Best thing is to spend some time reading through the MANY topics discussed on this site - and go to a knowledgeable tackle store to get you set up with the right stuff. Don't waste your money going cheap - you will end up buying the right stuff anyhow - so zero in on what is good and get it, or save for it. Cheers!

Your leader is way too short and ensure it is florocarbon min 30# - I use 22" with a lot of success (my hit ratio on flies has to be around 60 - 70%. Are you using a florocarbon leader up to the flasher - if not you should, at least 10 feet long.

I was wondering why the posts slowed down. When is the tournie over?

Okay am bored right now - wishin' I was fishin' Two polls combined in one - make sure you vote on each poll, which are seperated by dashes. You will have 3 votes in total! First one is what line is landing you most fish - if it isn't exactly your set up, just vote for the closest one! USE ONE (1) VOTE! Second one is what tackle is landing you the most fish. VOTE FOR TWO (2) OF YOUR FAVORITES HERE. Fish = anything over 15 lbs. Mark

The mono lead works - but when the fleas come out they will stick to the joint (using a micro swivel) between the wire and mono and then you will have +20 feet of line out to net a fish (good luck). I use 7 strand wire which is pretty flexible and forgiving. I can break my rods down without causing kinks. I just don't tigthen the lines up all the way - kind of keep them loose over the guides. I then put the rod into a nylon rod storage sleeve which keeps the line from tangling on something. It is the easiest for me.

Yes, it was a bit tough landing the kings - basically we lost the one on the starboard wire, it shook off. I had a 22lb'r on my line which I reeled in while my son realed in the 18 or 20 lb'r (forgot now). When I got mine close he put his rod in the holder and took my rod so I could dehook the fish and release, then we moved onto his rod and landed that one. I don't know if I was more tire from reeling in the fish or from the emotional meltdown!! Ya, it's all good. Told him I loved him no matter what. He was so excited to go out tonight again, but the rain held us off. Did anyone test there luck out there tonight?

So, we were out yesterday evening, my 9 year old son and I. Got the lines out and trolled for about 10 mins - bam one line starts screaming out. Bam another line screams on the wire. So I pick up the one rod, and the other rod is to hard for my son to pull out of the rod holder, so we tighten the drag a bit and just leave it. He grabs the net and goes to the dive deck on the stern as I reel in the one fish, and bam the third rod goes. By this time the second rod in the rod holder stops bobbing so I figure fish is off. I ask him to drop the net and grab the third rod, as it looks like a more manageable fish. What does he do???? Drops the net into Lake Ontario .... He's like, uh Dad, was I supposed to do that. Figuring he shouldn't have he almost jumps off the boat to swim after it!!! I'm now screaming like a lunatic to prevent him from jumping, in between the bleeped out words because my $70 net is now sinking to the bottom of the lake, and we have 2 big fish on!!! Holy smokes, I nearly had a brain artery blow! After the screaming got done and I managed to calm down, it was all good. We had a good laugh at it. Ended up going 6 for 8 and had to pull out 5 salmon all between 15 and 22 lbs out with my bare hands. Off to buy a new net today ... I think I'll tie this one to the boat! By the way if anyone snags into a 20" net with a red retractable handle between Bronte and Sixteen Mile in about 130 feet of water (think it has my name on it Mark Bellino) - would appreciate a PM!!!

Okay, so I dropped the snubbers and landed this safely! Weighed in at 25.3 lbs using my digital scale.

Use tongue...

Okay - all my eyes have been put on the back of my spoons. Will test Ray's theory out tonight. Pray that I catch 30 fish!!!!!

I have a 20ft Tahoe Sfi with a 190 hp engine. No major problems with 3-5 foot waves. I have a bow rider, so the occassional big wave puts a few cups of water in the front, but nothing that would concern me. Where are you planning to fish? Just watch the easterly winds.

Okay Ray, You have me convinced - all the eyes are going to the ass of the spoon. I'm not joking. Let's see what happens tomorrow night! What color eyes should I put on em - red, silver or green?? Give us the scoop!!!!

Okay - I can always try. I think all of my rods are flexible enough to handle without the snubber. I have to 10'6" Rapala RSC Dispey Rod's heavy action, but the tips are very flexible due to the height. Also have 2 medium to heavy action Rapalay 8'6" rods, these are definitely flexible enough. I already use 40lb lead - so all I have to do is remove the snubber. I can't say I've lost too many fish, unless they are small rainbows jumping to the heavens 200 feet back!

Bazooka - I'm not sure what the reels cost on their own, but the rod/reel combo was $105. So I'm guessing reel on it's own probably $80???

Just got back from Le Baron. They had the Rapala RCS Trolling Rod (10'6") and Reel combo on sale for $105. The RCS reel looks amazing. Here's pic.

Doesn't the snubber prevent the hook from tearing out of the mouths, especially with wire?

Not needed - but I prefer having rollers - much smoother action. If you do get normal loop guides make sure they are made out of hardened steel or silicon carbide. If they are normal ceramic - the wire will likely saw through them in no time.

For what it's worth - I've use 4 Rapala Magnum II's all season and they are holding up just fine. Great reels, drag control is precise. Easily holds 1000' of 7 strand wire - probably could fit another 500' on if I wanted to. Mark

You can probably order them from one of the fishing stores here and have it shipped. Le Baron seem to offer worldwide shipping. Here is their web address: http://www.lebaron.ca/english/main.htm I would find out which reel you want and call them. Give them the model name and take it from there. Mark

Is it just downrigger rods you are looking for, or also dipsey rods. For my dipseys I am now using Rapala RSC 10'6" wire rods with roller guides.

Paul, Are you talking about a willis knot that uses two overhand knots. If so, you get no fleas holding up on the overhand knots?? I tied an albright to connect my braid to mono lead - which is about the smoothest knot you can get, and still got fleas holidng up on this, although not badly enough that I couldn't reel past it. Maybe there's something I don't understand.