perchhound

check this site out. this is the real deal when it comes to west coast aluminum boats. I am sure you will get some additional insight to what these folks have said. http://www.aluminumalloyboats.com/

The Penn Squall 50 had no issue either with the swivel and knot going through teh levelwind.. But i ran an albright knot instead of a swivel. Guessing the swivel would be fine since I used 50 pound mono out to the paddle.

I heard through a friend that they are updating the Leaderboard sections and information to reflect 2014.

Then I stand corrected. Thanks Yankee Troller

I just bought a Penn Squall 50 for copper and size 30 for 300 foot copper and 2 Squall 20 line counter reels for dipsy wire. I purchased the Abu Garcia Alphamars for downrigging for my new boat. I did get one Daiwa too. I went with Ugly Stick Tiger Lite rods. We shall see how they perform soon enough

Atomik is made by American Fishing Wire in PA and Blood Run not sure who make stheir wire but they are from the mid west. All of this stick with the local guy I agree with. That said, why is everyone going to Cabela's to buy gear when local shops are local and support the causes on this site. Two sides of the mouth fellas. dont get it but funny

I muskie fish and began using Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarobon and mainline and found it to be really soft and easy to use, especially when making fluorocarbon laders out the the 130# test. I started to usethe 20# in different colors on the Gennessee river and the brown color on teh Salmon River last year and it worked just fine. I was using seaguar but since pro spec is made in USA, i switched. Finding it is tough but i found it online at a dealer on Long Island.

Thanks Everyone. decisions decisions

Thanks guys for the input. As stupid as this sounds, i am more concerned about getting the right reels and rods as opposed to finding cheap ones or used ones. Thanks Bottom Feeder and I will keep that in mind if I decide to go used. I put enough aside to buy rod and reel outfits up to $300 each so I think i am good there. Just not sure if i should go Tekotas, Penn, saltist by Daiwa. I was hoping that someone on here used the Abu Garcia Alphamar. They look perfect for downrigger reels but too small for copper. I plan on putting my boat in oswego and mexico so i will probably buy from the local tackle shop around there like the one in Oswego. I live in rural PA where we used to have two decent shops and now they are gone and I can't get perch bait too easily. I would rather support the shop and hopefully get good reports and bait if needed in return. Driving from Tamaqua Pa to Oswego is long and expensive so hopefully that shop helps me because I am supporting him. maybe I am naive. Thanks guys for your input.

I am new here because I finally got a boat big enough to fish Lake Ontario safely. I had a small 14 foot perch killing machine in PA. I saved enough money asie for about 8 outfits and some flies and stuff. I plan on using a copper rig, wire dipsy rigs and downrigger outfits. My research shows that Okuma and Daiwa are on most boats up here. what about reels from Penn and Shimano. I don't mind spending more money on the reels knowing that they tend to last better than cheaper reels. I also saw on You Tube an Abu Garcia Alphamar line counter reel that is new with some cool features. Has anyone used them? It looks like I will go with the shimano wire line rod and probably some Ugly Stick Tiger Lite rods. Do you think that i am covered on the rods? I would like to hear feedback on reels and how they performed for you. Eight outfits is a lot of money so I want to do it right. Thanks