Sk8man

Nice fish and good report. Let's hope that those boneheads without life jackets on lived to see another day....I strongly suspect that they aren't folks who would be likely to be on here to see the posting....I would think that the rest of us would know better than that ...but...it is always good to have a reminder when you see idiocy in action I was wondering how deep you were getting those fish (below surface)

Nitro is right your chances of catching an "incidental" Muskie in the lake is about zero point crap.....spend your time figuring out the salmon.

Kinda shows that man can prevail over the weather (to a degree anyway) neat post gets the rest of us motivated too. Thanks.

When using copper wire boat speed becomes a big factor...especially when running other types of setups along with it. Copper like other lines has a "bowing effect" especially when speed is picked up and you have a lot of it out. When running in deep water the "lift" when speed increases can be beneficial but when using a copper rig in shallower depths you can't slow up too abruptly because you'll hang up on bottom and sometimes it's not the lure that hangs up its the "belly" of the copper if you have too much out for that depth. Unless fished relatively deep it can sometimes be difficult to regulate your speed for the other equipment for optimal performance and it can be difficult to assess exactly where the copper is running when you are changing speeds frequently. The 45 lb braided (stranded) copper seems to have more drag than the 30 lb but it also seems more resistant to kinking and that for me is more important....the braided is certainly less liable to kink than the single strand that is primarily used for bottom fishing (e.g jerking copper).

First of all there are different types of fleas and their ability to adhere to line differs as well. They occur intermittently inthe water column so sometimes you may or may not troll through them. For those folks who have hit massive concentrations of them it is virtually impossible to get your line back in through the eyes of your rod eeven with a roller tip and guides with a fish on especially....they are no fun....

It's a phishing scam usually its by Email. It has been around for years. Don't respond to it in any way. I'd let Chad know here on the site too.

Welcome aboard Pete. Sounds as though you are ready for action now Best of luck to you! The important thing about being a fishaholic is that its almost as expensive than drinking but you don't have quite the hangover...

I seldom change to trebles on stick baits because of the balance problems possible, but for other lures such as flutter spoons I changed over to 1/0,2/0 and 3/0 (depending on size of spoons 2 inch,3 to 4 inch, and larger respectively) Mustad Stainless Steel triple strength SINGLE Siwash salmon hooks ages ago and have never had a problem since changing away from trebles. On the downside they can be relatively expensive and I've bought probably a thousand or more over the years but they are worth it in my view... they never rust either.

Welcome aboard and best of luck this season.

Hey Bill don't stick your arms out or you'll be in Syracuse boat and all if this wind is up again tomorrow Good luck if you get out there.

There are a number of types of wire line used for fishing . Much of its use in fresh water has transferred from salt water fishing. Here are the basics for fresh water use: Monel wire is a soft single strand wire that has been often used like single strand copper wire for bottom fishing (primarily for lake trout) with either heavier spoons such as the Pfleuger #4 and#5, barracuda spoon and many "knock offs (the Ace etc.), or used with a monofilament leader with flutter spoons such as Suttons etc.with the wire gradually let out until you feel the bottom and then it is dragged along with the lure "ticking" the bottom. Monel can be used on automatic reels such as the A and S reel or victrola rigs which automatically take up the slack wire as you are fishing it. It is heavy in the water ( sinks rapidly) like copper and also soft which means it is prone to kinking so it isn't used much (if at all) for the type of fishing now done on Lake Ontario (especially with chinooks in there . Copper wire - historically the single strand type has been used like Monel for bottom fishing for lake trout and other "incidental species" in the Finger Lakes just as described above ( lure dragged on bottom attracting the fish to hit by stirring things up and perhaps appearing wounded by its action). In the old days the copper wire was rolled up on a number of things including a piece of wood even and let out gradually along bottom and then rewound on the object (Victrola rig, automatic reel, various home made devices to store the wire or even wound in a ring in the bottom of a row boat way back in time. "Pulling" or "jerking" copper is still done today on most of the Finger Lakes and it takes a very specialized technique to do it well. Traditionally18 lb test wire has been commonly used. Stranded copper - More recently stranded copper wire (interwoven small single strands) has been used with a variety of high capacity reels largely in a different manner but with the same objective of the wire sinking to depths not reached by most other conventional line types ( e. g. lead core). Copper rigs can be used with dipsey divers, just a straight leader to lure presentation with or without additional weight, dodger fly/lures/ flashers, cowbells, Spin Doctors and their like and many other options. It is quite versatile and meant to achieve depth. A downside to it is that it can like the other soft wires kink but the stranded copper is somewhat more resistant to it than single strand. Commonly 30 or 45 lb. test stranded wire is used and it requires a high capacity reel to hold enough wire and also accomodate mono or braid backing. The backing is necessary so that the wire can be usd with a variety of planer boards or outriggers without damaging the wire in the releases. Commonly 600ft or more of copper is preferred to be used depending on the reel capacity. Stranded Stainless Steel wire - 7 Strand stainless has been around quite a while and depending on use (everything from making up tackle from it, to wire leaders for pike and muskies, to downrigger cable, and also for Seth Green main lines among others) various wire diameters are used. 7 strand stainless is strong, it is basically rust proof, and very durable and resilient and not prone to abrasion. It is however in larger diameters quite stiff and at smaller diameters quite prone to kinking which like any kink can lead to a break off. There is also 19 strand wire that is relatively new in use and thus far I haven't used it so maybe someone else can fill in the gap here as far as the strengths and weaknesses but it basically does the same job. Stranded wire is currently being used with high capacity reels and rods with Twilli tips or roller tips (and some with roller guides as well) to help prevent kinking of the wire and also reduce friction and wear on the tips and eyelets of the rods. These set ups may run dipsey divers, cowbells, flashers of various types, Spin Doctors, and a full range of other options ..again very versatile and depth oriented in most presentations rather than more surface oriented set ups. Most commonly used is 30 lb. stranded ss wire for this but stranded wire can go into the thousands of pound test and into the "cable" range. Like most other wire the larger the diameter the more resistance in the water. Single Strand Stainless Steel Wire - More commonly used in salt water for a variety of things such as leader material, main lines for big game fish, although some folks use it for general trolling as in stranded wire use but it is not as resilient and in larger diameters can be stiff and hard to control on the reel. That's wire 101 off the top of my head and I may have left stuff out as a result so maybe folks can chime in if I've left things out.

Here is another aspect to it...thought it was another appropriate opportunity to post it: Yesterday my wife, daughter and I attended the world premier of an important documentary (entitled: "We Can't Eat Gold") by friends who are young film makers who have lived in Alaska and have been extremely touched by the plight of the Native Americans living there dealing with a proposed gigantic strip mining venture currently before the Federal Government (Obama) for review at this time. These Native Americans (and the salmon) are being royally screwed over and their whole lifestyle and their own very lives and those of their children are being placed in grave jeopardy by the mindless greedy concerns of big mining business. They basically have little voice other than this documentary to get the word out to hopefully gain the support of the public who are for the most part totally unaware of this situation. I told Josh ( the film makers Josh Tucker and Gigi Marcantonio ) about LOU and that many good hearted, conservation minded people frequent this site from all over the country (and world for that matter) and noted that everyone should be made aware of this because if this stuff can happen in the very heart of the Pacific salmon spawning grounds (Bristol Bay Alaska) variations on it could happen anywhere to the salmon. I seldom take up "causes" or "plug" anything but the concerns expressed in this video and by these young people (excerpts are on the You tube segment) are truly touching and the folks in this video are very REAL PEOPLE with very real fears - and greed is at the root of the threat to them and as importantly to the very existence of the salmon themselves (as well as a $300 million dollar commercial fishing industry). Please take a few minutes to take a look at the video "snippets" and hopefully offer them support in their efforts. Thanks. Les Their website is: http://wecanteatgold.net/ Edited by Sk8man, April 07, 2013 - 4:59 PM. They call them "Kings" for a reason

Try using a fluoro leader with a either a Fast snap or Duolock snap at the terminal end and a small barrel swivel at the main line end of it.

Lake trout has it right....and about $600 for the seal on mine a couple years back

Best of luck to you out there. Hopefully this weather will cooperate and bring the water temps up a bit

Welcome aboard Tony! I think you'll enjoy this site and gain something from the content as well as the great social aspects of it.

or pollywogs (tadpoles)

Yes and especially so if you have a through hub exhaust opening where the water could sit while out in the air.

Nice well thought out setup.

What would anyone say if someone took the view that the color is irrelevant? and that it is the action that gets the fish...the color is happen stance (geared to catch the fisherman buyer) and the proximity to the fish is what really counts ?