Sk8man

They also work on lakers and pike.....I used to have pretty good luck with the dark blue and silver. They hold up well because they are metal instead of plastic etc. and dig down a little deeper.....careful real shallow

Go get em Kevin....one of my good buds said to me the other day........"Kevin is my idol",,,,,he does it all.... panfish,eyes, bass, pike, crappies, deer and birds....you name it! He didn't get any argument from me

Dick - You might also want to look at the Shakespeare Ugly stick 8' 3 '' downrigger rods...very durable and versatile.

Duckdog's suggestion is a great one and may be the way to get the best out of your material John.

Yes Justin trolling with copper is less dependent on weight or other characteristics of the lures (say shape or diving design) and more about characteristics of the copper itself and speed factors. Whereas the lure "guides" the line with mono and braid the copper itself (e.g. stiffness and weight) "guides" the lure is how I perceive the relationship.

As long as you aren't doing much SUMMER fishing in Lake O (and other unfortunate lakes) when the fleas are active you should be OK. Although there may be some "loading" of fleas on the wire too but it seems less than the braid. But with some"elbow grease" the stuff can be removed....just a pain sometimes. That was my reasoning on the wire suggestion but I hear you on the expense (but it does last a long time if treated carefully- mainly tension kept on the reel at all times even during transport). We all have our "trade off"s financially and otherwise so follow your own desires after seeking input and give things a shot...it isn't going to be the end of the earth" no matter which things you try and you can always switch later if it doesn't work out....it wasn't mentioned but most of us have "been there done that" and some multiple times till we found what we like. The main thing is to have fun...Best of luck to you whichever way you decide to go. Les P.S. Always nice to buy the "best" in equipment but not everyone is able to do so or at a given time. As I said earlier (and especially in light of your "light" fishing use - the 45DX's should work out fine either way you go....I've used them and they are pretty decent reels for the money regardless what might have already been said. If you are primarily using your lead core without intending it being fully extended or off boards where it is best to have a section mono or braid spliced in you can probably get a lot if not all of the 20 colors on it with say 50 ft of backing to be used just to "seat" the line more evenly and prevent slippage (if that is the thing you want to try) Okuma 45DX's (since you already have them and they seem heavier duty to me than the 30's) can be used with the wire but with more backing....and a twilli tip or roller tip on the rod -very important.

Just a suggestion - the addition of the second ten colors of leadcore may not do what you might be thinking about.....it probability will not get down to double the depth of the 10 colors and may be less effective in achieving depth itself (it bows out at some certain depth and may be more and more so at increasing speeds bringing it upward) because the backing with10 colors cuts through the water better than the 20 colors of lead core, is much clumsier to deal with, and is a "long haul" in retrieving especially with a fighting fish at the other end with a non-high gear ratio reel....just something to think about.... You'd probably be better off if for increased depth situations you elected to use 30 lb stranded wire with Deeper Dipseys or maxed out magnums or even downriggers run back aways.

That's what I call "class" the guy actually checks things out and get s back to us with good info. Thanks Sean

Maybe braid was used for backing?

It is a nice resource and I recently read that the government has gotten out of the map PRINTING business so this may be all we will be left with at some point. The Seneca-Cayuga Lake segment must have been put together by a kindergartner though.....all mixed together. If you wish to use the online viewer instead of downloading the maps (e.g. Sodus Bay etc.) go here: http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/14814.shtml

That's cool battlehammer I taught a few courses there in the past (Psychology). They have really renovated the place recently. I think if I had it to do over again I'd be doing what you are doing too. Good luck with the fishing and finding the right rig for your needs. Les

I've had great luck with the Daiwa SG47LC3B with 1,000 ft 30 lb 7 stranded wire and 30 lb Big Game mono backing with a Daiwa Power handle from Tuna Tom. I had a bunch of kings on it last season and it did great. The Saltist's are nice reals too but I didn't like the line counter location and some folks have reported that it hurts their wrist when reeling.

This year August if the ice is out by then ...

I'm totally with Gambler on the Vanish ....and have to try the Gamma Paul mentioned it is one I'm not familiar with and the "Made in USA" sounds great.

:smile: Must be torture....so close yet so far....