LongLine

I raise & lower mine directly astern a rear corner, but have a swivel base & swivel it 180 deg to reach the release. Tom B. (LongLine)

Given only one, I'd stay with the rigg'r. Bottom lure about 15ft longer than the top and about 7-10 below it. Top being a flasher/fly that matches the spoon. Tom B. (LongLine)

Lake Ontario has some freaky currents that move the bottom of the lake, especially near shore. The waves probably won't do the damage but the lake bottom definitely will. The foundation, pilings etc will move. Just look at Port Bay outlet. It's all stones for 1/2 mile in every direction, yet every year the channel get plugged up & has to be dug out. After a storm many places will have a good size sandbar across them...next storm it'll be gone. Most people think the Great lakes are calm bodies of water but the waves are very steep compared to the ocean and this makes them very powerful when they break on the shoreline. Tom B. (LongLine)

Welcome to the site. Tom B. (LongLine)

Welcome to the site. Yes, Life is good! Tom B. (LongLine)

For Gammy's 3/0, buy the "Trailer" siwash. They're open. Normal siwash aren't. Tom B. (L0ongLine)

I run mostly 3/0 Gammy's and no I do not remove the ring. Tom B. (LongLine)

Welcome to the site Bill Tom B. (LongLine)

Chuck, Rochester is fairly well protected with the wind from all directions except NNW, N, & NNE. Luckily those winds are fairly rare. Directly out of the N & the channel gets real rough. Other directions generally don't bother my 18 ft'r unless they're really howling. Sandy is just beyond the point on the map and gets rougher with a west wind. Tom B. (LongLine)

Welcome to the site. Tom B. (LongLine)

Single hooks will allow your lure to have some action at slower speeds, however you can tune the spoon to get the same. Single hook spoons also have two less hooks to sharpen; two less to get caught in net; and reduces the "ouch factor" (risk of getting a point in your hand.) Tom B. (LongLine)

WTG Joe Tom B. (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)