LongLine

It'll often make a junk spoon good. Tom B. (LongLine)

The Best net = one with fish in it. Tom B. (LongLine)

Obviously one difference is cost. Second is UV resistance. Rubber deteriorates in direct sunlight. Marine is more resistant to it. Tom B. (LongLine)

Ray gave you some good pictures of wind effects. As to your question: Fish can see above them better than they can below them. Remember you'll have some blowback on your cable. A lot of marks at 50 I'd probably set at about 54 and stack a line up 7-10 ft up. Probably mupp rig'd. 2nd rigg'r would spend a few minutes higher then a few minutes deeper. If really long arches then I'd shorten leads. (I probably won't stack late June) One thing to remember is that there'll be a lot of clean screens this time of year but that doesn't mean the fish aren't there. It only means you're not seeing them. They may be very shallow in the water column even though you're out deep. You have to be careful that you don't have everything under the fish. That's very easy to do. With a clean screen, I'll run 1 rigg'r in the 30-50 ft range, 2nd 10-30 range and have a board out to cover surface, searching for the fish. A lot of marks on the bottom, then new game & "lower the boom." H.I.H. Tom B. (LongLine)

Lake Ontario has some very interesting thermal events. This time of year fish can be found in basically 3 places. In shallow where warm tribs feed into it is where everyone loves to fish. There are also pockets of warmer water scattered all over the surface out a little deeper. These can often be seen as calm patches or stretches that are bounded by areas with small waves. Then there's the thermal bar. Early in the year there's only one main one but later there's 3 or 4 lesser ones. If you had gone out another 40 ft deeper today you would have hit the main thermal bar. A thermal bar is a vertical wall of colder water. The lesser thermal bars are known for scum lines. They are not always parallel to shore. Some stretches may run N-S. The lesser ones may only change 1 or 2 degrees. The main one has 38-39 deg surface on the outside. Most often, fish are on the colder side. When you hit a thermal bar, you need to watch you sonar to see what depth the fish are at. Today there were a lot of "slobs" down within 15 ft of the bottom. When you hear guys have gone "off-shore" early in the year, this is usually what they're hoping to find. Unfortunately the main thermal bar doesn't last too long and will probably be gone in another couple weeks. When it disappears, the lake goes into transition and in a couple more weeks the thermocline will begin to set up. Unfortunately the winds mess with it being set up, hence it may take a month or more to set up. Tom B. (LongLine)

S-T: For salmon on Big-O your speed has to be right and your depth only has to be close. Salmon go all over the lake in search for the right food. Another simple case in point is with a floating lure. No weights, rigg'r or dipsey. Go real slow - it goes to one depth. Go faster it digs deeper. Go real fast - it comes up. Very possible to have one depth & two different speeds. Tom B. (LongLine)

I run my 18 ft'r at 50. There's a big difference between 35 & 50 for hauling it. Tom B. (LongLine)

If you're worried about damage to the hull, why don't you put some water in it, while on trailer to see if any rivets/joints loosened? (check for drips) Was your gas hose routed thru the ice? Tom B. (LongLine)

If someone can explain the difference between outdoor carpeting & "marine" carpeting, I might be interested. I put outdoor carpeting in mine about 6 years ago & it's held up fine. Tom B. (LongLine)

Sorry, sometimes true but many cases just not true. example: Fishing Lakers - blades close to the ball, cannonball dragging sandy bottom. Turn 180 deg & go with the down current w/o touching throttle. Your depth stays the same but your downspeed will change quite a bit. Tom B. (LongLine)

S-T: I think you should go to u-tube and look at underwater salmon strikes. There are plenty of videos showing fish following lures but not hitting. Obviously those lures are at the right location i.e. depth & temp, because there are fish shown following the lures. BUT many don't hit - Why? (hint - speed - action isn't right) On other videos you'll see salmon come out of nowhere & smash the lures. Obviously in those cases the lure wasn't where the fish were yet they got smashed. Additionally, on Lake Ontario many Salmon & Lakers are caught every year way out of their temp range. I've seen salmon on my screen come from 80 ft down to hit lures 15 ft down, as have many of the guys on this site.. Thank you for your infomercial. Tom B. (LongLine) BTW: my reference to two identical lures has applied to my experience where I fish a lot with one and catch a bunch of fish then lose it via break off or snag. Put the 2nd one on & zip-nada. (This is why fishermen need to be able to tune a lure)

You're thinking too much. A particular lure has a particular action: at a particular depth, at a particular water temperature, at a particular lead, with a particular leader, with a particular main line, with a particular hook, with a particular ring, with a particular snap, with particular water clarity & sunlight (flash), with a particular tape on it, with a particular bend in it, in a particular current, in a particular wave condition. Change any of these & the action of the lure changes. Many times over the years, I've purchase two lures thinking they were identical but found that one catches fish while the other is a dud. What's the difference? Look lures over very closely, you'll generally find minute differences, especially in plugs. I don't know of any "captains" that when they first put a lure out, don't check out it's action close to the boat first. Additionally, when someone gives you a speed, don't take it as gospel. Is his instrument the same as yours? All instruments have tolerances, What are the chances yours is calibrated exactly the same as theirs? What are the chances that the currents are the same where he fishes & where you are fishing? Some troll N-S, some go E-W. I've seen currents be different 1/4 mile away. Direction of the current hitting which side of a paddle wheel probe also make things interesting. The good thing about a probe is the ability to reasonably repeat speed after you've found a speed that works for you. Tom B. (LongLine)

Never had any issues with Blacks. As for weights, cannonballs will give you more blowback than the torpedo or fish shaped. Tom B. (LongLine)

Problem is that the mussels are taking the "good" stuff out of the lake and leaving the "bad". Tom B. (LongLine)

Try "lurepartsonline" and "luremaking" Both dot coms. Tom B. (LongLine)