Sai

I replaced my Okuma CW453 washers with Tuna's dragmaster carbon fibre washers and they feel so much more responsive, smooth, and even. Can't understand why they couldn't just include better drag washers in the first place.

I am surprised no one responded to this but here I am responding a year later to congratulate you on this funny moment in your life! Hope you get a notification and revisit this story. Cheers.

Thanks to everyone that replied! In hindsight, I realized my setup is a little overkill for what I was looking for. It's too late now though since I've already purchased it. I will still definitely make use of it. Might be a bit more difficult to manage with though...

I've only used siwash while casting spoons for salmon on shore, and I swear by them. I practically change all my spoons to them. Ever since I changed to them, the amount of fish I lost was virtually zero (minus line breakoffs and really bad net jobs). I can't imagine it would be too different being used for trolling spoons and other lures. I use size 1/0 only and it has been so much easier to remove the hook from fish's mouth and the net. Does less damage to the fish while still being so secure.

Update: I ended up just going with the 8'6" Okuma Classic Pro GLT, MH Moderate rod with an Okuma Coldwater C453D reel. I'll be spooling on 300 yards of 40lb braid for a mainline. I don't think that will be enough to fill the spool, so I am considering adding some backing mono (big game 50 or 65lb just because the diameter is larger?) but need some time to calculate this properly

Hello All, I am new to this forum and new to trolling for salmon out on the great Lake Ontario . Before getting into the meat of my question, I thought it would be good to give a background on what we're doing so far, so maybe you can suggest something that will be suitable for our situation. I have been pier fishing salmon for several years, but this year I decided to try trolling with my fishing buddy. My fishing buddy rents a pleasure boat, so no rod holders nor rails to mount trolling equipment. We simply tie the rods to the boat using ropes and pray we don't lose them; sometimes we hold them in our hands and pray. Three rods in total, 2 dipsys off to the side: one with a spin doctor + fly on 40lbs braided mainline to 30lbs fluoro leader, the other dipsy with a simple fly + spoon on 30lbs braided mainline and 30lbs fluoro leader, and last one right down the middle stern using a heavy trolling weight + spoon on 30lbs braided mainline and 30lbs mono setup. We've caught all sorts of salmonids on these rods and reels, but they were all medium-heavy spinning rods between 8-9ft length, so no line counters. It has been somewhat difficult to gauge depth and I believe it directly affects our productivity in the waters. That's why I wanted to change out one of the rods we use for our dipsy, and go for something more tuned-in for trolling w/ divers. But the added twist to it is that I wish to use it for kayak fishing sometimes too, when the rented boat is not available. I'm using an inflatable kayak roughly 12.5ft long and it has a rod holder mount to it. I don't plan to troll deep when using the kayak, maybe a max depth of 10-20ft, and will probably throw in spoons/j-13 instead of dipsys, but I'd still like to use the same rod+reel for it, even if it's a little overkill for the job. Based on these needs, I believe I am looking for: Rod: An 8-9ft "dipsy" rod (I put them in quotes because I don't know if they are specifically different to normal or downrigger rods), medium-heavy power, but I'm not sure if moderate or fast action would be better? I typically use fast action but I think moderate would help absorb more shock and give enough time for salmon to bite down on treble hooks while trolling? Please let me know your thoughts on this. Reel: A reel with line counter and relatively smooth drag system. I'll be going for 30-40lbs braid for my mainline, and maybe a 40-50lb mono backing if needed. I'm used to 5-6:1 gear ratios but from what I've read so far, 4-5:1 gear ratio would be more ideal because I get more torque which makes it easier to reel while fighting heavier fish? Of course, a reliable line counter is a must. If possible, I'd love to be able to cast with these kind of reels from a kayak, so free-spool would be great. Not ideal, I know, but I'm hoping there is something out there like this. I'm trying to spend less than $200 CAD (or $144 USD) for each, but I'm willing to go more expensive if there's better value or fits my needs better. A lot of demands and a small budget, I know . Looking forward to some good recommendations either way.