Fleas and equipment

[Broadhorizons]

I'm new to trolling and many posts on here deal with fleas. I'm planning to fish Skaneateles and off the Salmon River when the fish come in. Are the fleas a problem if you are closer to shore or offshore? Are they that much of a problem in the Finger Lakes? What months are they typically heavy? I've got 2 Daiwa Accudepth 27LC and 2 Accudepth Plus 27LC and 2 47LC w/ Fireline for dipsy's. Are the 27's good enough for the salmon closer to shore? I know I'll have to respool for salmon but don't know if I need to consider the fleas when I do this. Right now I'm spooled w/ 12# BG and 10# flouro leader for Oneida 'eyes and Adirondack lakers/salmon.

Thanks for the help, this site is full of good knowledge. Andy

[IRISH56]

BH - Fleas are typically heaviest during the summer months when lake temps reach their peaks, July & August are usually the worst. Can't say from personal experience anything about Skaneatles but other FL such as Cayuga and Owasco they are a problem. On Ontario you may have flea issues as well depending on how late in the season you go. In my experience depth does not normally make too much of a difference. Anything thinner than standard 30# mono will get fleas, the Fireline will be very troublesome due to the thin diameter.

The 27LC's will probably leave you wishing for more line if they are spooled with heavy mono for staging salmon, the 47LC's will provide plenty of capacity.

Hope this helps. DAN

[GAMBLER]

If you want to put 30 lb. on the 27's, put some power pro as backing then finish it off with 200' of 30 lb. That way you will not get spooled.

[jekyll]

I've used 30# fireline for 4 years on dipsies and sometimes on riggers. Yeah, fireline gets fleas but it cleans much easier than mono of comparable diameter. I wonder how 50# fireline would work, anybody use this?

[Broadhorizons]

Does the wire collect fleas like mono or other lines? If I switch the dipsy rods to wire would it spook the walleyes? I know my rigger cables sing pretty good but does wire do it too? Why don't fleas collect on the larger diameter lines? Thanks, Andy

[IRISH56]

The fleas will collect on wire however it they can be removed very easily compared to mono due to the abrasiveness of the wire. Can't tell ya if walleyes will be spooked.

Apparently the larger the diameter of the line the less the little buggers can hold on.

DAN