Sk8man

A 5 leader Seth Green rig can be run off BIG BOARDS depending on what you use as your main line (mine are SS wire so I don't do it) but if braid is used it can be done. The issue with inlines is that it is the amount of drag on the boards and especially if larger spoons or ones with a lot of action will sink the boards (even the TX44's). The drag weight (resistance) is substantially more than just the sinker and instead of just having one object horizontal behind you'd have 5 in the water column...very different principle than with just something at the end of one copper line. Whereas the jugs pull pretty much straight behind the boat (most of them) there is less resistance than the boards pulling all that weight to the SIDE. The bigger boards have enough pull to the outside (e.g. Otters) to pull it off.

You're right John. I was thinking along the lines of the Tekota 800 reel being nearly 20 oz. lighter, and should still be able to get 500 ft of 32 lb copper on with 300 yds of 30 lb braid, great drag and very smooth with roughly similar gear ratio and retrieval rate. I haven't used either reel and the only Solterras I've ever seen were in salt water applications. I've handled the Tekota in the store and it seemed like a very smooth system and very capable for Great Lakes use. Just thought it seemed a worthy contender to mention at least for consideration.

For that type of money I'd be considering the Tekota 800 LC. they seem like a better made reel and I think the gear ratio, line retrieval etc. are similar

Dave really hit the nail right on the head

He indicated 10A's (older models) and they have a 10 lb max the newer model 10 have a heavier duty and substantially faster motor

The color aspect is open to personal preference like a lot of things in this sport but Lucas is right about the 10 lb limit on the 10A's to be safe with the motors.

Credit Unions usually have good rates.

A couple things: the blades may "feel" sharp and yet they may be slightly off on the cutting edge itself and might not be apparent to the naked eye (always need to keep covered when not in use to keep truly sharp), and you may need to tighten the blade screws as they may be just ever so loose and "sliding" when they get to that point.....just something to check. I think fish307.com offers a sharpening service if you can't find one locally who knows what they are doing (important ).

John makes some very good points and I guess I feel a lot less "disgruntled" as I have a lot of respect for his opinion and upon reflection I may not have either realized the nature of the swap part of the venue or perhaps didn't put a lot of thought into my earlier comment. Events like this are very involved to put together properly and LOTSA does a great job of it and it is perhaps more important as time goes on that we have events like this. In case folks may not have noticed there was a fishing pond for kids and more kids need to be encouraged to attend and become involved in our sport. There was a noticeable absence of teenagers as might be expected these days. As we were driving home we were talking about the fact that many if not most of the attendees were middle aged (I'm giving myself a break here ) and the younger folks that should have been there were probably talking on their cell phones, watching TV or playing video games (or worse) someplace and that is truly a shame. Growing up as a kid fishing became a major part of my life and offset my teen years while also hanging out in the poolroom or getting into major trouble as some of my age-mates did. The long and short of it is that if we don't do something to encourage youth to get directly involved in fishing and hunting these sports will largely go by the wayside. My major mistake this year was not learning in advance about specifics relating to the events on Saturday and even worse I never looked at the program (just stuffed it in my pocket in the entry excitement) until I got home. We missed a lot of wonderful and truly interesting and educational opportunities as well as possibly connecting with fellow LOU members and I regret that now. I am wondering if it is possible to post a detailed pdf of the show beforehand here on LOU (if it wasn't or I missed it). My assumption going there was that "Yeah... they are having a few salmon seminars but I've been doing this awhile too etc." and it is obvious from the program this was an idiotic assumption on my part.... For those of you out there that have never been to it I picked up some great bargains in tackle (which my wife even liked ) and I would encourage you to attend taking into consideration my above comments. It is well worth the journey there at the very least (about 90 miles for us).

I like rolmops we felt that the swap show in the other venue room than the Expo sure lacked the completeness of last years event which was disappointing and hopefully this can be worked on for next year but I heard nothing but positive comments about the remaining events at the show. Hats off to the event organizers who overall put a great two day series of events together. They deserve our thanks and a lot of credit.