AnglingAddict

Friday out in 730 fow about 18 miles from port we had 48 degrees down 85-90 feet. Knowing we had a hard south coming for Saturday and realizing we wouldn't be running out to the border in 25 knot winds we stopped a few places on the way in and dropped a probe down while in neutral. 375 fow we had 52 degrees down with 160 feet of cable out so likely would need 180 feet of cable at trolling speeds to get that temp. Inside waters were better on Saturday morning - set down in 105 feet of water - 46 degrees with 105 feet of cable out and temps continued to push up about 5' each pass throughout the morning. Today we have north winds around 20 knots blowing so inside waters will swamp out again. It changes day by day, hour by hour - no standard answer as to where to find the temperature. This time of year though fish tend to spend more and more time out of temp as they reach the end of their life cycle - you can certainly get by with fishing the marks - speed is more important now than temp although knowing what temps your bites are coming out of is important for dialing things in day to day as water changes.

Meat rigs - don't be afraid to go long 60-72" behind the attractor. Whoever gave you a 26" recommendation on length for a meat rig probably isn't very successful running it.

If you are seeing fish up high in the warm water then it might not hurt to run one - mid-august for me would be a little early - flashewr/fly's and meat rigs are better option mid-August typically. If you are only running a 4 rod spread I probably wouldn't sacrifice one of those rods for a j-plug right now. That's just me though.

No real standard answer here - all depends on how winds move waters around. Have been out deep there and needed 60 feet of cable to get to temp and have been out there and needed 150 feet of cable to get to temp. After the last west blow you needed 165 feet of cable to get to where you needed to be on the inside - this morning heard 45 degrees down 27 feet - always changing between constand winds and currents. Some days temp can change 5-10 feet from pass to pass.

Don't run spoons behind spin doctors. Attractors with flies - 30# is perfect. Run 30 pound mono right to a swivel and snap to the attractor - no need for a flouro leader there. Fly leaders from attractor back to fly I run 50# to get the action I want. I tie my own fly leaders but if you run pre-made fly harnesses they come ready to rock. For spoons I rig mono to a swivel then a 4' section of flouro leader to a snap. For spoons 20# is about right - I run 17# this time of year for kings and 15# earlier in the season and we almost never crack anything off - maybe lose a couple a year but I also fish with very experienced people and running high end reels with smooth drags.

Hi Earl - what motors does your boat have in it?

Run one attractor on each rigger (don't stack) and then add a couple divers to your spread and run and attractor on each diver. We typically have a 7 or 8 rod spread out for kings - this time of year I'll have an attractor on every rod except for maybe my high rigger which will carry a spoon or jplug once the stagers start spending more time out of temp.

Its complicated but my guess is its baitfish driven - bait move offshore after completing their spawing in the embayments in late June/early July - most years the transition offshore happens fairly quick - this year it seemed that there was bait and kings inside forever - not complaining because a 2 mile run is better than a 15 mile run offshore but my opinion is its driven by the bait - their movements are determined probably partially by currents and the desire to seek stable water - farther offshore you go typically the more stable that water becomes. I fished Friday and Saturday offshore and burned 105 gallons of fuel in the process.

Oswego is fishing well for kings but its an offshore bite rather than on the inside right now. We did somewhere north of 60 bites between Friday and Saturday (Friday being a bit better than yesterday). Up until this past week you didn't have to go beyond 200 fow for all the kings you could handle - has been reduced to a slow pick for most guys on the inside at this point.

They can be an issue for sure - more prevalent the warmer the water is. Not sure how "light" you plan to go if you are fishing kings but stagers can be nasty and will rip up gear - might be worth the cost to upsize regardless. 30# main on your rigger rods. Assuming you are running wire for your divers.

I like the 18 for BTs - possible I got a bad batch maybe? Could have gotten cut by mussels or something as well I suppose.

Hopped on the Stealthcore bandwagon this spring and not a fan for short cores - usually if I get something in the bottom the 12# leader breaks - I had multiple breaks in the 18# leadcore itself versus the 12 or 10# leader this spring. Always had decent luck with the standard Sufix Leadcore over the years and almost never have had that sheathing break unless that core was extremely old. My 2 cents.