In 1946 a friend of my dads Earl Crane from Hornell caught a 21lb Rainbow in Keuka fishing alone at night with a seth green handline rig. that was the new york state record until it was broke by a fish from lake ontario in I believe 1982.
30lb test but it has to be blood run sea flee. it is treated with a substance that makes it slick. not perfect but the best I have found yet. have to use wire cable on the downriggers.
trouthunter, I use 30lb test. I put about 150yrds on my reel and then tie at least a 20ft Seaguar fluorocarbon 10lb test leader connected to the sea flea with a double uni knot. For Lake Ontario I use the same setup but use a 17lb test leader. i also use a double uni knot to connect the sea flea to the line that is on my reel. I dont put the sea flee on until the first week in June. Good Luck
we used long handled nets that had fine mesh bags when we fished nights on the finger lake years ago. you still might find some around the finger lakes bait shops. fishy business on keuka lake or roys on seneca lake might still carry them.
NK28's,michigan stingers,dreamweavers,silver streak spoons in greens,orange,and yellow. every day is different with the color. standard and magnum spoons are usually the best. This is what works for me.