Sk8man

You got it

I live right here and fish it but the recreational traffic in summer pushes me to fish other Fingers and Lake O. I have fished Canandaigua since the late 60's so I'm fairly familiar with it

There are probably a million things that could be said here but each of these setups presents differently in the water and differ in flexibility of use. I would say the longest copper that is worth running on the Fingers is a 300 and with leadcore a ten color. The time of season makes a large difference. In the spring shorter lengths of each type are effective running ether sticks or spoons I have dedicated 1, 3, 5, 7, and ten color options.. As the summer moves on the thermocline (and desired temps) go deeper so the coppers and leadcores need to go there. The thermocline often goes to 70 ft and beyond so neither of them may get quite there so they may not be the best strategy then or use weights attached to them to get down further. A lot of care needs to be maintained running one of each at the same time of similar length in the spread as if they overlap and you will have the worst mess you can imagine. As far as cons to their use coppers can kink if you aren't careful letting them out or reeling them in. They can also "birds nest" on you for the same reason. They both vary depth according to your trolling speed. Leadcore can kink but is more forgiving but the lead inside can break and somewhat weaken it without your noticing it but the main strength is actually in the sheathiing that surrounds it so usually you are ok. There is a learning curve to deploying either of them and you should attach either above them on the braid etc. not on the leadcore or copper itself. Either can be run from boards or straight off the back down the "chute" and with a complicated spread you may want to do this and run it short down the middle avoiding riggers etc. These are the basic considerations - others may have additional things. Tip: deploy each of them slowly.

A couple things that may be worth mentioning: the distance back of the weight is something of a preference issue but it also depends on what type of attractor you intend to use before the fly. A Spin Doctor acts very different from a flasher and both from a dodger. In general the tighter to the ball you locate any of them the the more potential action from the attractor. I like to observe how they actually look next to the boat before fully submerging them. The length of the leader to the fly also can be important, and again it depends on which attractor is being used. It pays to look at how the setup is operating in the water before sending it to make sure it looks right. In general, the deeper you go with the rigger the closer to the weight you can be and this is especially true when down past 100 ft where you may encounter a mix of lakers and chinooks.

It is really a personal preference...I usually wait til the swivel hits the water and a few feet thereafter put the board on but i don't think it is something really critical.

Nice going Pete. Good to see you giving the new to you boat a good workout too

x2

You have a PM

Mono can be used for small divers in shallow water where it is ok to have a little give in the line, but not as much as with a lot of line out. Wire is often the best option for large divers and where a lot of line may be out and using a mono or fluoro leader at the end of it. 65 pound braid is another option. Although fleas stick to small diameter lines and especially braid the diameter at 65 or above seems less prone to build up. Be aware however that when fleas are thiickest they can adhere to about any diameter even 150 or 200 lb test downrigger cable. Usually the fleas stick to nearly any joint in a line so minimizing these places to the degree possible is also advised