King Slammin

rigger leads is experimental. Typically I vary lead length to find a pattern. Some days as short as 5’ is killer. Always have some meat down deep when the kings are around

The water will probably still be pretty cold by then. My tradition of hitting the night bite for the walleye opener is probably not gonna happen this year. I would start with two riggers with spoons for salmon and sliders riding high with super slims for coho and drop back steelhead. Two divers with flasher/flies, 200-300’ coppers on inside boards and 2 and 3 colors with small orange coho flashers and blue/green peanut flies on outside boards. That’s our typical charter spread for early to mid may. Of course you will have to adjust. If divers are hot and coppers not, swap out and run 4 divers.

Your definitely going to want all 1000’. If you have 300’ out and nice king rips it, you could easily be stretched out to 700’ in no time. Spool it on one reel, add your backer to fill then fill other reel from that one. Makes sure you remember how much backer you needed and start the next reel off with that amount and 1000’ of wire should fill it. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Riggers- Okuma Classic Pro 8’6” rod, Size 30 reels filled with 30# mono, whatever flavor you like. I like Maxima. Divers- Shimano TDR 8’6” and 10’6” if running two per side, size 30 reel fills perfectly with 1000’ torpedo 19 strand. Make sure you tape the wire to the reel or it will spin. I love the 19 strand, overhand knot to secure to swivel (see Fish Doctor website for knot directions) no crimps needed. You can use braid if you like as well, but the fleas really stick to it. Copper- I would forget the copper for your first few times. Usually more of a hassle and a long fight with a lot of line out. If you must get copper, I would get a couple 300’s and add weight if you need to get deeper. 500 coppers really sucks to change out or bring in fish. Leadcore- leadcore can be deadly for steelhead offshore that time of year. We have been seeing some nice size to the fish the last few years too. Can be used for salmon too depending on water temp. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Harnesses are good early, bottom bouncing or dragging bottom on riggers and popping them off through any schools you see. But spoons and sticks are where it’s at for summer. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Sorry they’re whiptail blades. Here’s the site I ordered them through. Get some floaters too for bottom bouncing http://www.walleyesupply.com/whiptail-blades/ Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

I’ve had great success with these hatchet blades. In my favorite color, gold of course. I’ll see if I can remember where I got them at. If you use quick change clevises, you can have less harnesses and just switch out the blades. Much neater than having pool noodles bouncing around everywhere. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Definitely come around the middle to end of may. From Olcott to the bar, It’s a great mixed bag of lake trout, coho, Browns, and the kings start showing up. There’s usually a ton of bait around and like stated earlier, the spring LOC derby is going on, as well as some other big money tour it’s like the WHI and the Niagara Pro Am. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Can you network the fish finders to share one transducer? That would be the way I’d go. We get interference from our bow mounted transducer so I wouldn’t try two ducers. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

TX44 is way overkill and won’t track right for what you’re doing. They need the weight of a 200 to 300 copper to run correctly. A walleye board or tx22 would be perfect for you. I run both with 30 lb braid, leadered down to 12 lb flouro for 25’, then my sticks or harness. They track well in up to a 3’ chop, then it depends on speed a lot.

I’m good bud. I worked my ass off after my chemo radiation therapy ended this summer to stack some money for the pending surgery this fall. Had a successful resection with temporary ileostomy on oct 3rd. Just been trying to recover and battle through some complications since then. There was two positive lymph nodes and some vascular intrusion outside of the tumor bed. I start more chemo on nov 15th and will have one every two weeks for a total of 12 treatments. Hoping to avoid most of the side effects associated with Folfox chemotherapy. Should be able to get out on the ice in between treatments, at least that’s what I’m focusing on. Sorry again to hear about your father in law. I hate this disease.

So sorry Pap. May he Rest In Peace and may your family find comfort in knowing he is no longer suffering or enduring any pain. I’m still battling this cancer myself and would never wish any of this on my worst enemy. CANCER SUCKS. Keep your head high and be strong for your family bud.

Stick with it. We had a charter yesterday out of Wilson. The inside water is all messed up right now from the north and east winds. We spent the first hour or so inside before pointing north. We ended 14 for 18 on steelhead and coho and sent the clients home with their limit. But we never saw a king bite all day. Sometimes you have to take what the current conditions give you and adjust accordingly. A few days of west or south winds will stabilize the inside water and the slaughter of staging kings will resume Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United