Chowdaire

I throw one in the mix when the bite is tough. They usually take a fish or two but I don’t run them too often because the usual stuff is firing. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

2 1/2” Fin-S-Fish is pretty good. A #3 or 5 jigging rap with a couple of those spikes would work well too, I'm sure.

I love Fireline for dipsies too. I like the crystal, personally. I have two setups with 30# crystal but those are to run regular and mag divers for kings on the big lake. For those little mini discs I would think more along 10-14# as long as there's no fleas. I use 10# for walleye and as stated above, actual breaking strength of Fireline is WAY above the rating.

Most of my good spoons are some combination of black, glow, green and silver.I also catch some good fish on the Firecracker pattern. Standards and mags

And steel for divers isn’t for weight. It is used in place of where you’re using braid. Less resistance than braid so divers get a bit deeper and the steel repels the fleas better than braid. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

I don’t think you want to try to run divers off your boards. Just set the diver on 3 to get it to pull out to the side of the boat. You want the weight turned in toward the boat to tilt the diver out to the side. Make sure you have that right so the diver doesn’t pull under the boat. If you’re running braid divers I’d just tie (or clip) directly to the diver and use the the fluoro as your leader off the back of the diver. This site and YouTube are your best resources for getting setup. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

I picked up my first one at FishUSA last year. Got 3 or 4 kings on it first day out. Like anything else it has good and bad days but it definitely has good days. I put a few drops of Pro Cure Herring Oil on the sponge. Doesn't take much to give it a good soaking.

It’s called micro lead and it’s thinner than standard leadcore so the sheath is too narrow to fit the other line into it to tie the Willis. Depends on the diameter of the line you’re trying to join it with, obviously. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

I only get them as by-catch but love to eat 'em when I do. Usually get 'em on structure, 15-20fow, on the North Shore or East end of the lake in March. Spoons tipped with a buckeye head near the bottom take the majority but I've also gotten a few cruising out deep 10-15' up off the bottom on a jigging rap. If you find them where they've moved up to spawn you can get a bunch in a hurry. They are great fighters. Good luck!

Thanks for the info! I already bought the drag upgrades and swapped out three 303s that I use for musky. But even after the swap out the drags don’t have the fine adjustment I hoped for. I’ll check out the Reel Repair materials. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

10# blue label for me. Bump it to 15 when the Kings show up. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Just saw that FishUSA has the reels I use 15% off today. The Okuma Cold Water 153D. Warning. The drags are what I would call sluggish. I've never had them fail or stick but they don't react well in small increments the way high end reels do.

I use 10# Fireline on a few of my planer setups for spring browns and Oneida walleyes. It's great stuff but if you're using a light leader you definitely want it on longer, lighter action rods to absorb the shock without popping the leader. If I was just fishing browns and didn't need the added depth for walleyes I'd probably use all mono mainline and fluoro leaders, which is also what I use on my rigger rods.

I actually use the link a lot. Both the motor controls on my solix unit and the navigation line auto pilot generates on the map. A lot of times I’ll just point the motor and the navigation line on the map will be off from where I want it. Having the line on the map allows me to see it and correct it before I get somewhere I don’t want to be. I also use the controls on my Humminbird when I turn off the touchscreen on my remote because it’s bouncing and hitting functions I don’t want. It’s real sensitive. You can turn the touchscreen off and just use the steering, speed and spot lock buttons on the remote. Then if I want the more advanced features I just use the Solix touchscreen and don’t have to worry about touching them accidentally on the remote. Not sure how much having those features is worth but since I already have the Birds it’s nice. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

I use Daiwa Saltist 30’s for all of my divers. Love ‘em. They fit 1000’ of 7 strand perfectly. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

I run 30# Fireline on my outside divers. It works fine with a mag inside on 1.5 on 8' wire rods and outside on 9'6" rods with fireline and mag or regular dipsy on 3. The only reason I do it is because the Fireline setups are so versatile though. I use them for early season smaller divers, late season flat lining for stagers, big water walleye, etc.The Fireline doesn't seem to get fleas as bad as other braids so I can usually use them all year, although I have had short periods when those super fleas show up and I put 'em away for a while. If I was just fishing salmon I'd go with all 4 wires.