13owhunter

You can probably just drift with a thumper rig and get a descent speed range. If you can contact the bottom consistently and go real slow you will catch Lakers with just about anything.  Easier to hit bottom consistently  with a heavy sinker than a dipsey. Catch Lakers until you get bored of that then go for kings. This site has the best info out there.  Read up and ask questions....

I would try and get my feet wet with Lakers.  They are easy to catch. You have to be creative to get something on the bottom in 120 foot plus with your rig.  30# braid with a heavy sinker aka "thumper rig" might be a good choice.   You will catch fish with cowbells and a spin glow a couple feet off the bottom.  Also can run a spoon or flasher fly for kings a little bit higher. 

Edit: surprised you didn't catch a Laker if you had a flasher and spin glow 5 foot off the bottom.  Maybe not optimal but I think you'd get bit that way. Maybe slow down a bit? 

Using a camera has been eye opening for me as shown in the video above.  From my own experience, calibrating your fish hawk with a camera is the only way to guarantee your lures are running the way you want them to.  Last time I was out I couldn't believe how my spoon was running when surface speed and fish hawk said I was trolling just over 2mph. Video suggested I was running on the fast end of things.  Slightly faster and I think I would have lost effectiveness.  Makes you wonder how many spoons you have that don't run effectively within the full speed range.....  Wouldn't take much of a bend to impact speed range. Great info on this discussion... 

While color can be important it is not the most important variable.  I try making turns if I'm marking and not getting bit as you are both speeding up and slowing down your presentations at the same time.  Outside rod gets bit and I'll bump up the speed and vice versa. Problem is that there are too many variables in this game to fully control. Control as many as you can and don't over think it.  I don't change lures very frequently unless I'm seeing lots of streakers and no bites personally.  I ran 2 of the same spoons every time out up until recently. Checking lines frequently to make sure they are running correctly is something you can control. 

My 2 cents.. 

Wanted to buy - Okuma Clarion reels.  Looking for size 453 and potentially interested in other sizes as well.  Must be in good shape.

Whatcha got?  Shoot me a PM.  Thanks!

23 minutes ago, SmokeyNBandit90 said:

Thanks all, one possible related question is i had 1 line on a downrigger and when the winds came i pulled it back up and got the unpleasant surprise of the worst line twist ive ever seen. I had a flasher spoon on with barrel swivels at every connection point so i can only hypothersize the waves had to be the cause. Any other reasons?

Something probably got tangled on the way down like your spoon catching the line attached to your clip on the way down.  If that happened your swivels won't help. 

18.5 footer for me.  Good advice above.  I think the most useful weather data is which way the forecast says the wind/waves will go throughout the day.  If it says its going to build throughout the morning and it starts to get a little spicy think of heading in or fishing close to port.  If its a little spicy and the forecast says its going to calm down then Im more likely to go for it.  Wind speed doesnt really matter as much as direction as mentioned above.

Example: A couple of weeks ago I was fishing out of Sandy. Wind finder app said it was going to be flat and that the wind was going to shift around 10am with waves increasing as a result.  Other weather apps seemed to suggest the same.  Got out there and it was bumpy but fishable.  (not flat calm at all)  Sure enough, the wind shifted around 10 and it got pretty spicy shortly thereafter.  We were prepared and were right in front of the creek so not a huge deal.  Puling in gear was not fun as we fished until the last minute but nothing unsafe.  If we were out a few more miles and fished another 30 minutes it would not have been cool at all.  Probably wouldnt have been in any serious danger but I dont really want to beat up my old boat or myself.

Unfortunately we have to be prepared to get to the dock and turn around if the weather isnt as expected.  Ive had to do this once this year when predicted 1 footers were white caps and 4 footers.

I set lines at 630, out at 1030. and had our first hit about a minute after I got my last rod set.  After that we missed 3 hits in a row with 2 on the rigger with carbon 14 spoon and another on a slide diver.  Ive had a pretty good hookup ratio this year but not today.  Ended up with 6 kings and a couple of lakers.  Kings all on wire slide divers with mag ring out 150-175.  Lakers came on a 400 steel with large Spin Dr and meat.  Total for the morning was 4 skippies, a small 2 year old and either a very small mature or very large 2 year old around 11-12#.  Small mature? I fished 110 to 140 most of the morning.  Had a great screen for the first couple of hours and then had a hard time getting any consistency on the screen.   I spoke to a guy that was out solo walking back to the truck on the way out.  Was that you HB2?

Looks like bait.  If you turn off the fish icons, it'll give you a much better idea of what's going on down there.

The term "stacker" can mean different things to different people.  I am under the impression that the OP is talking about what I would call a cheater which attaches to the line and not a stacker which I would call a second release attached to the downrigger line. Running a stacker with a spoon above a FF can be a good technique and shouldn't have an issue with tangles as it's on a second rod. Often a fish comes in to the attractor and hits the spoon. 

Love to see this stuff! 

Stack with spoons only or your flasher will rotate on the way up and wind itself around your stacked line. This tends to really make a nice mess of things! 

I'd be wiling to bet a lot of us have made this mistake.  I sure have.... 

Was wondering about this myself.  We used to crush them on minnows back in the day in front of hedges.  As soon as the minnow was under the boat far enough to not see it anymore you had a fish on all day long.  We would have a contest to see how many fish you could catch on one minnow. Definitely not like the ones I'm seeing folks catch today.  Most were 1.5 to 2#s.  Still a riot on ultralights.

Would be amazing if someone made a high quality lever drag LC diver reel. Would be great to be able to get repeatable drag pressure without having to guess. I'll be upgrading my daiwa LC5s to saltists next year. 

My rig is a bit out of balance due to the kicker and extra house battery in the back.  Was downright difficult to make a 180 degree turn into the wind with a stiff breeze and some chop before I added the terrova up front. Would take full concentration which is not good.  The TM up front pulls the bow in the right direction which really makes turning effortless.  I really wanted that garmin force but couldn't bring myself to pony up the extra dough! 

I just put a 24v terrova on my 19 footer this year and am running lithium batteries.  I really cant see how any other AP system would be any easier to use and you get spot lock.  It really works amazing especially paired with a kicker and throttle control.  Only downside I can see is if its rough enough to pull the motor out of the water.  I got the longest shaft I could and if its rough enough to pull it out to the point it wont steer the boat, its too rough to fish in my rig anyways.  Shell go 10+ hours if its calm out which is plenty for me.  Total game changer!  No longer yelling at my dad, wife, buddy to steer the boat straight when im setting gear.  Just need to be a bit more creative when accusing others of the tangles I create.  =0)

If possible, dont bring them in the boat at all and release at the side of the boat if they are still spunky.  I tell my friends that if they want a Pic they are bringing it home with few exceptions. I'll have to try the boga rope trick....

We planted a bunch of apple trees at our hunting land.  They will need a good bit of light so not sure how successful they will be if planted in a mature hardwood stand.   We bought ours cheap from home and garden stores during the fall which is a good time to plant them.   Read the labels on the different varieties carefully as some of them have different requirements for pollination.  The gypsy moths will shred them unless you spray.  Seven works well and we have had luck spraying once a year as soon as you start seeing them. 

I recommend planting them 5' or 6' tree tubes and planting a few more than you want.  After a few years we fertilize with a "spike" and prune interior branches that will get little light.  Hope this helps!

While I don't fish solo very much i don't think i would run 2 riggers.   I would opt for 2 wire (slide) divers and a sinking line presentation off a board or one rigger set deep with a big paddle and meat.  Maybe a bit more technical to setup solo but should out fish 2 riggers most of the time and if you have a long line off a board tangles should be minimal.

+1 on windfinder app.  Its a cool tool but, as mentioned, is a guess.

-My 2 cents

Haven't had an issue with them not staying put.  Got to set them pretty tight as the rubber tubing wants to push against the trip lever. 

I'm running the mag ring without the heavy weight and have no problem getting down 80+ foot which is not as deep as a big deeper diver.  The mag weight is pretty heavy.  Probably more so than a DD.  Haven't needed to get down much more that that yet this season. I am getting somewhere between 2.5 and 3 to 1 ratio depending on current and speed.  Don't be afraid to run a long lead.  I'm running 40 foot of 40# mono and a 7 foot leader with good results. Check leader after every trip and pay close attention to any burs or slight defects in manufacturing on the SD.  I had one where the line would rub in a few spots that required a bit of sanding to true up.  I think you'll get more bites than with a 6 or 7 foot lead. 

Set lines in about 70fow right in front of sandy about 930.  Lines out about 1130. Was out with the wife and daughter and was a bit bumpy but doable. Rain started to come down pretty good shortly thereafter.   Temp was 42 down 40 over 70.  Picked up a real nice steelhead on a slide diver with glow green alewife spoon out about 150 over about 85 fow. I cant seem to go wrong with that combo this year.  Had a knock off on the rigger and caught a really nice grass bass that got hung up in the belly of the line.  I should have taken a picture.  Was a dandy.  Not much bait on the screen from 70 to about 150 but had fish in my gear fairly consistently.  Best marks were around 90fow.  On the way in there were a few boats fishing in 40-50 fow range.  Id bet there was cold water that close.  Not a lot of intel here but hope it helps somebody.  

Any tips for targeting steelhead other than running orange?  Bumping up speed a bit perhaps?

Great fish! What FOW were you fishing?  We thought we waited out the rain and ended up getting wet.  Guessing I was fishing a bit deeper than you this morning.  Thank you!

oops

I just installed the p66 with the adapter cable.  Works fine with the 93sv. As mentioned above, you need to select the frequencies manually so it doesn't auto detect.  Seems like it is a big upgrade over my Gt54.  Marks show up clearer and it picks up a whole lot more. Need a bit more time on the water with it but seems like it was great with my limited experience running it.