Captain George

First Timer Here.. Any insight is appreciated here guys, I am depending on y'all for help.. First time trip comin up here for the 4th with my father. We have been fishing Erie our whole lives and my dad's dream is to catch a King before he gets too old. Planning on staying on the West Side of the Lake and launching out of Wilson area. Two things are on my mind mainly, FLEAS and LINE ON MY REELS. I'm hearing that fleas will stick to 20lb Fire Line braid pretty bad and clog things up. Are the fleas that bad or do I have to respool my reels? ALSO, we have all of the equipment to troll, downriggers, spoons, flashers/dodgers, dipseys, etc.. The only thing we don't have are flies for salmon.. Are we at a disadvantage? We were going to stick with spoons and plugs like we do on Erie. Realistically here any advice would help. From what I read up on, find bait balls and look for marks. Fish will be suspended through ought the water column and target that area? Thanks in advanced guys, I'd really hate to bring the old man up and burn gas all day for no fish. I'd like to have the odds in my favor.