Sk8man

Thanks for that tip Harvey

I don't know if they have solved that problem themselves by now but at one point they were having difficulty getting someone to silver plate their own spoons.

I'm with overthelimit - braid for the eyes with fluoro leader and mono for trout and salmon with fluoro leader.

It might help if you identified exactly what type of fishing you are referring to because 3 way rigs can be used for a variety of setups on either saltwater or freshwater and for many species. With the 'erie" in your name my hunch is you are talking walleyes maybe?

As with many species a lot of it depends on how the fish is treated at the outset after being caught, the initial prep work done (e.g. filleting) and then how it is cooked. Lakers especially large ones can be somewhat oily and "fishy" if these things aren't done right. A lot of folks feel this about Bluefish in the salt water environment but when prepared right both can be delicious. Much of the fishy taste in lakers comes from the lateral line area (the dark grey area in the mid line of the sides of the fish, the back of the fish and the stomach area (most of the oil in the fat in these areas). It is not as pronounced in the smaller lakers but just as important to get rid of and the smaller ones are "milder" in taste. Probably the most important step other than removal of the lateral area happens when you first catch the fish. They should be "bled out" by making a large cut across the bottom area under the gills. To avoid a mess in the boat it can be done by placing them in the net over the side and letting the blood drain out of them. They then need to go immediately on ice right until filleted not just thrown in an iceless cooler to get "mushy". When they are filleted it is important to remove the thick part of the back area, the fatty areas of the underside and remove the skin (these are also the areas of greatest potential contaminants) and all bones (rib cage itself and the little bones above it) from the fish. Once boneless and skinless each fillet can be further processed by cutting out most or all the grey lateral area on the sides of the fish. Yes you will have less meat but what you have will be much less "fishy". A main reason people say lakers aren't good eating ios because they have either failed to process them properly or because they have heard others say they are poor quality and have not actually tried them. There are many ways to prepare them but I prefer coating them with olive oil and breading them with Panko ( Japanese bread crumbs) mixed with Old Bay seasoning. They can also (like Bluefish) be good with Cajun seasonings. I too believe that the lakers from the Finger Lakes seem better tasting but they are also usually smaller than the Lake O "beasts"

Just as an aside longbow I have 25 inch shafts on both my kicker and my 135 Optimax outboard and it allows me to steer under most conditions with just the big motor while trolling with the 9.9 kicker. Sometimes I have to tilt the kicker slightly right or left but that is it. I have the EZ steer but haven't needed it. If real windy or rough I use the big motor alone. I don't know whether it would work the same with your application and boat but before spending a few hundred for steering options I'd give it a try and see.

I'm with Fishmaster. All the auto gear in the world won't get you back home on Lake O when the storm comes up and your big motor conks out. Kickers are often a more reliable companion than most of the big motors that we so heavily depend on and...they can be hand started when power goes.

How cool is that?