Pioneer

On my touriment tie I use a 4/0 gammy octo and a #2 short shank treble. 4 beads on a normal fly and will go down to 3 if they start hitting "jr". I always have a smaller fly in the mix.

They can be the same length but I like my inside divers to be on a shorter rod. I have a 8.5' wire on the inside and a 10' wire on the outside. Love wire. I also have a 7' roller for my diver rod down the shoot, charter secret here in sturgeon bay.

My hook up ratio has increased. Whatever you have needle sharp hooks are key but I love the tourniment tie.

Just orderd, can't wait.

Very simple, if you haven't tried it please do. Take a salmon fillet; skin,take off dark fat layer and pin bones. Cut in pieces from top of back to belly 3/8 inch thick and soak in 7-UP for an hour in frig. Pat dry and cover in egg wash and ground saltine crackers. Deep fry until golden brown. Enjoy. Chris

To be honest I believe a bait fish but it is the size and bulk that makes them look like the prey they want at that time. Advice: a secret is not a secret if you tell someone! Mr. Weenie, it will all work out. Love your stuff. Chris

I am in the sparse camp. My "thick" flies start with only 3 1/2 to 4 inches of mylar total and when they get down to about 1/2 the strands they get hot. I make my own and my go to flies are the ones that have 2 pieces of 1 1/4" mylar and a 3/4" piece of rubber skirt. Very sparse looking out of the box and I believe it helps my catch. Very few times have they wanted a big thick fly, for me anyway.

Curt's super U.V. stuff?

http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/tips/making_flys.htm Don't use as much material or fly heads but it's basically how I do it. Chris

Jim, I make my own fly's with THINWALL 3/16" rigid aquarium tubing so I can just barely fit a 50lb overhand knot through so I can change fly's out. To be honest the thinner they get the better they work. I never have more then 4" total of fly material and maybe 40% only have 3 1/2" of mylar. Since I started making my own I have found that it is very rewarding when you find a hot color, plus the mylar is cheap and they are fun to make on a cold day! The hooks never go up in the tube.

Kyle, swear I saw your boat down at Tom's place. Do you store in Kewuanee?

Pretty much 99% of what I run. I change it up by changing flasher color or mixing in a spoon here or there. The middle one is the secret weapon: crinkle mirage, LBB and green silicon with red flecks. Run over a green/yellow/green/yellow beaded tourniment tie behing a white sprinkle UV pro-troll can't be beat.

On the WI side some guys I know are running the new Brads cut plug with tuna in oil or herring in the middle. I will be running these riggs alot next year when the fishing slows. I got 5 colors and I am ready to goto town with these guys. Guys I know also run 10 to 12 inch paddles, no 8's on meat. Chris

A nice P.M. run to the north end. Chris

Here are my fly's, run them 99% of the time. The center fly is the LBB, crinkle mirage and dark green silicon with red fleck that has been a killer for 3 years on the bank. Its on all the time. Tourniment tie's in dark green/light green; yellow; and a big favorite the yellow/dark green mix. Simple flashers here, a couple have glitter over the glow tape and top coated with U.V. Hands down the best producer is the pro-chip with the sprikle/U.V. topping.

Jim, You bet. I will pull out some tackle and take a photo of some of my rigs. I just gave myself a new digital camera for Christmas so I will get back to you soon. Chris

If you are worried about action tighten the leader. We use a 3/0 or 4/0 octopus ahead of a #2 treble for our tourniment tie on a 25" leader @ 2.0 mph. I guess it's all what the fish want and how your boat presents it. Colors have been the same for years, LBB, aqua,mirage and crinkle green with green or yellow beads behind a white or green flasher. We netted a floater last year with a Blue flasher/LBB last year and it took 15 fish that weekend so we will look outside the box now and again. Once you find a groove ride it. I try to keep colors in the same "family" when I run my 12-14 line spread. It is easy to dial in when the fish on the bank want a certain color, then you just pile it on. I saw alot of charters get 20+ fish a trip but for me just getting our 15 average was hard, only a couple of 20's. I caught more fish this year then ever before, I think it's just learning your spread. Alot of charter boats around me run all spoons but my bags of fish seem to be bigger at the end of a trip. Lots to learn yet I guess... Chris

Coastal spreaders, underwater and strip lights here, only way to go.

Mark, When you and Tony were running them what were your experiances with the directional torpedo's. I would like to substitute my inside divers for torpedo's with the finns out. How far do they go out and in rough water or do they spin or just not want to pull out? Talked to Tony abot a week ago, he's a hunting machine. Chris

I had a huge problem with that on my 277 Baha GLE. I used a small house fan that pluged into my 120v shore power. Let it run all night to circulate the air, works perfect in Sturgeon Bay.

I would spring for speed-n-temp first by a long shot. It will double your catch by you finding out what speed and fishing angle best suits your ride and get some nice fast electric riggers this winter then see what else you need.

Josh, I guess its round lead weights of differing weights off of boards or outriggers. He just e-mailed me. I just called it running round lead weights off boards, I guess everything has a name.

Josh, I was talking to a charter captain today in Port Washington and we were talking about different spreads people run. My fly program has been great and he was getting almost everything on spoons. He said other captains have been living and dieing with flys and are just running them on weapon rods, with the remainder of the topic turning to ones willingness to experiment and change etc...... hes a great fisherman and when I questioned him on the weapon rod I assumed he meant SWR but he said that it wasn't. He hasn't gotton back to me yet and I kind of feel like the kid with his fly open who just doesn't know it! He's not pulling my chain I have known him for a while, just confused. Nice to see your having a great year, the bank has been hot when we were there june through mid july, alot of mid-teen numbers. Chris

Josh, I have a question that is off topic. On our side of the pond, what is a weapon rod? It is different then a SWR but I don't know if it is a south WI thing and we just call it something else up north or do I have one and just haven't given it a name yet. For some reason I just heard of it now.Thanks, Chris

Sounds like they are still on fire. Thursday can't come soon enough. Chris