13owhunter

First trip of the season for me. Set lines at 830 in shallow a few miles west of Webster. Water was green but crystal clear. Most boats were fishing a bit deeper when we started. Couldnt make anything happen in close so we slid out to 30fow. Took a descent brown on a chartreuse and chrome flicker minnow with a chrome lip. An hour later took a nice atlantic on similar stick bait. At about noon I had about a 15# silver fish slam an orange deep diving rapala. Fish ripped out 100 feet of line in no time and jumped several times completely out of the water. Unfortunately my board didnt release and the fish took it under and it ended up coming unbuttoned. I ran 2 spoon rods off boards on 1-4 colors of leadcore and they didnt do anything. Slow fishing but great to be out. Beats the office every time!

Launching out of Irondequoit bay would be a good idea. Good food right there and nice launch in early season, trolling shallow in front of Webster park is usually great this time of year and the bay for plan B if it gets rough. Its also a few miles from the Genny so an easy boat ride if there's not good water color to the East.

While I'm not sure I want to switch over completely to singles on spoons, this would be a great solution if you start running into skippies. They seem to get stuck with all three hooks even on a mag spoon 90% of the time and its a shame not to release them as nicely as possible. I did switch to double singles on flys and I don't think i have had any come unbuttoned. Interested to see what others experience is with singles on spoons....

I have found a noticeable difference especially when down deep and there is some current. I switched to braid and the combo of herbies and braid is a big difference from wire and cannon balls.

The saltist 30 is almost the same exact size as a tekota 600. I have both and prefer the new saltists.

I think its worth noting that terminating weighted steel is a lot more difficult than copper. I never liked crimps and they dont go through the guides very well. Personally, I splice weighted steel but it is very difficult especially if you dont have very good eyes. The trick is to pull leaders off the spool 7 times (for luck). Mine end up at about 38' when done (I'm pretty tall). Your length may vary but it is the 7 pulls that infuses a bit of luck that is the secret =0)

I dont see much advantage in using just a snap in most trolling applications. If I was really worried about impacting the action of the lure or wanted additional stealth I would, personally, tie direct. I use small good quality ball bearing snap swivels in the 50# range on the business end of just about everything I pull. Really cant say i ever had an issue with line twist even when I can see a lure helicoptering on the way back in.

Getting a new license with the icon was actually pretty cheap @ $14.

I second Gator's advice. The one in the link is way too powerful for putting in a tote. Youd need to turn it on for less than 30 seconds. I have a smaller 120v one in a portable closet and that is too powerful as well. I stopped using the one in my portable closet because I didnt want to expose any of my gear that I wasnt wearing that day. I have a rechargeable one (link below) that I like. Quality is questionable but its a lot cheaper than the name brand ones and you can bring it with you. Pretty sure I got it on sale at amazon for around $50. I throw it in a tote with my outer layers and turn on for a couple of minutes. https://www.amazon.com/Airthereal-PA1K-GO-000mg-Portable-Generator/dp/B08V8N5XNQ/ref=sr_1_3_pp?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VskF8wxxD-9w4kbbTdhnYZUCJlXUOLGEW42umU5TRak4yBnqB9lfHWBUYu7HtqvMd5lSs4aHoiVssMe16IlnuEw4rdvce4f5sdSg3Jt5_amudhc-X1lMQcvNlyB-d07DqJCGkXq5XCMk8pvJ8zNZh3C-mclby-Z45LN-S4YObcQ1LsnsTShOolobJyISSaZxE0CZVG5SEVIQszPKeTrezsvSdFyeCLI3VjAd5zyHJq4.zDKN_9gZHEbbCIxvcenm7cQq8LiPdX0dBpsraioEt2s&dib_tag=se&keywords=ozone+generator&qid=1724760722&sr=8-3

I found a kink in my wire after one year of hardly any use and went right to braid. Pretty sure the kink would have lowered the breaking strength considerably. No idea how it got there. Wire is simply not forgiving and difficult to terminate. Very confident in 200# braid tied to a 400# swivel with a palomar knot and a snubber to ball. I do use big john riggers and they take a few feet to come to a stop which seems like the way all riggers should act.

I didnt notice much of a difference when i switched. Maybe a little less line out due to less blowback. I think the spools on most riggers are big enough a few MM difference in diameter isnt likely to be a problem. FWIW, I went with 200# and would go to 150 if i had to do it again.

Agree with the above statement however I did some research and have to correct myself. There are a couple of different chemistries used in current standard 18650 type cells depending on the application. The newer chemistries like LiFePo4 (and 2 or 3 other common ones) are not prone to fires like the older lion type batteries.

There are a different types of "Lithium" batteries with different chemical properties. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are not prone to catching fire like lithium ion batteries. Almost all the instances of "lithium" batteries catching fire, exploding etc are NOT LiFePo4. Don't take my word for it, do a quick google search for LiFePo4 vs Lithium Ion. A good LiFePo4 battery should be safer than an AGM battery simply because most of them have an onboard computers (BMS) and temperature sensors which will protect it in the event of overheating, bad charger etc. This technology is here to stay.

LiFePO4 batteries are much less prone to fires than other types of lithium batteries. At this point you can get good ones on amazon for about $200 a piece (Weize) which, in my opinion, makes AGM batteries obsolete. Less than half the weight, lasts 10x longer and holds full voltage all the way to 0%. Only downside I see is you cant charge them below freezing. Really not an issue for me as my setup is easily disconnected and brought inside. These batteries are just a bunch of 3.6v cells with a computer controlling charging. Same cells that are used in everything these days, power tools, flashlights EVs etc.

Here is a link to a really good article. I followed the advice and had much better luck with these. I forgot to mention it also matters which way you wrap the line around the nipple. These releases are frustrating until you figure it out. Once you do they work great. If yours arent tripping try setting the tension screw VERY light. https://fishingaddictiongear.com/blogs/fishin-talk/off-shore-tackle-or39-sams-pro-release

Are you using the "Sams Pro" style release? If so the orientation matters as does whether it is mounted directly to the board or attached with a large o ring. It also helps to set the release VERY light even pulling heavy lines. If not, let us know what style release you are using.

I dont think most folks do anything about this. I have heard of people getting a toothbrush and washing with soap but that seems absurd to me. I think your time would be better off spent checking gear on the boat or at home. Personally, if i cared about this I would add scent to my lures. I have in the past and didnt notice any difference in catch rate but it did make a sticky mess.