Nick,
You may want to check out the Jazz music at the Water Front Landing in Lewiston this evening ...... A friend of mine is playing there.....tribute to Bob Marley.......music starts around 9. The boss and I are planning to get there in the 8 o'clock hour.
Vince,
Add to your list of exocits:
Power dams on nearly every trib
18 mile (superfund) creek
Nutrification runoff
Ontario's (not so) golden crescent
It's all about trade offs, except that the trade has already been made!
If I were a just for fun fisherman fishing with my boys, I would run only spinning outfits on riggers with 12# test. In fact, I don't even think I would use dipsys out over 150' and certainly would not use copper over 200'. I would also learn to catch em jigging and would never leave 100 fow except for when/ if I wanted to chase summer steel!
BUT, since I don't fish for fun much, I use the heaviest line possible and high quality, high capacity level winds on heavy rods that move fish quickly out of the water.
Use all of your lines to attract the fish.....we call it our trolling spread or "program", think three dimensionally -- what does the fish see as you invade their niche?
I remove the front hook on those with 3 hooks because the front hooks end up in the gill plate of a hooked fish causing the fish to twirl in the water. From my limited experience Rusty hooks are a result of improper storage, solve the storage problem and the rust will go away.
Reel has not been used much, spooled with 50# power pro.
Missing tension control cap and name plate on handle, clicker is functioning but quiet.
$90.00 with line
$70.00 with out line
It is not that complicated and you are right ...... You just need the right spoon. Get a Moonshine ratchet jaw in the standard size and run it just like your running what you run now. Just be sure to keep it off of the bottom, you don't want to donate $8 lures to the rock fish!!