John E Powell

Fishing has been good the past few days. This is the time to troll the shallows. Another week or two and it will probably be all over in shallow and you'll need to go offshore a bit for next year's fish.

Going to get a shoulder harness for my 500' 60lb rig... rod/reel/copper combo weighs in at just under 10lbs.

Take a look at the Shakespeare Ugly Stik BWD1101 7'0" medium power 2-piece downrigger rod for salmon. It's a very well constructed rod that will hold up to years of use at a reasonable price making it an excellent value. Don't confuse it with the similar BWD1131 7'0" light power 1-piece rod that is better suited to walleye trolling.

I was going through my Dad's old fishing tackle and came across a few Ritchie Flies. (I'm not sure if I have the spelling right as they were not in the original packaging). Am I recalling correctly that the man who made these was George Ritchie from somewhere in Michigan? It was probably 30+ years ago that my dad and him corresponded with each other and traded his flies for my dad's squids. Looking at them, I was thinking that the colors of flies he sold 30 years ago are remarkably similar to the "hot" flies of today. Given all the changes in the Great Lakes ecosystems over the past 30 years, history seems to have proven that Mr. Ritchie introduced many proven bait patterns that have stood the test of time. I wonder, is Mr. Ritchie still with us?

Do any of you have a picture or video of how the OR16 is rigged on a TX44? I'd like to give it a try, I have only run my 44 not to release. Maybe I'm a bit dense on this, but I feel like I'm missing something from your explanations?

Go with two smaller bags rather than one large bag. You will have better speed control as conditions and/or water currents change. You can run none, one, or two bags as conditions dictate. Rig one for each side. If you're experiencing strong currents or winds that are causing your boat to crab sideways while running one bag, make sure you have it out on the upwind side of your boat not the downwind side. (If it looks like your port diver lines are getting pulled behind your boat put the bag on the starboard side, and visa-versa). I run the Amish Outfitters bags, but Big Papa are good also. Whatever you buy make sure it's a trolling bag and not a cheaper sea anchor, they won't hold up over time.

The more important factor to consider than actual length of the rods, especially when mixing rands at different lengths is the distance to the point where the rod really begins to bend. I recommend you stick with the same action in a rod, for a diver medium-fast to fast action is best. You can get into trouble when mixing actions. If you pair a fast action 8'6" diver rod with a moderate action 10' rod, they will both be bending about the same distance up the rod when loaded and the 10' rod will not be reaching out any further than the shorter rod. Alternately, you can run the same length (and action) diver rods if you stagger the tip height of the rods. Most quality diver rod holders today have 15 degree vertical adjustments. Setting the outside diver parallel to the water and the inside diver one setting below this can negate the need for different length rods. If you find running a diver in this manner unsettling, then by all means go the different length route. Just keep you diver rods as short as possible to minimize the lever effect the rod places on the angler. Unless you have really long outdown rigger booms, many people can actually use a 7' fast action diver rod on the inside, and an 8' fast action diver rod on the outside (or 8'/9' with extra long outdown booms) and have a much more enjoyable fishing experience than using the moderate action 10'-10'6" rods on the market today. Finally, consider running the new 19 strand wire on your inside divers. It is much more forgiving to rod guides than the old style 7 strand wire.

The torpedo tip is currently the best roller tip I know of and is what I recommend to my customers. I just wish they (or any company for that matter) offered a swivel roller tip for my spiral wrapped rods. The guides mounted to the swiveling frame keep your wire centered on the roller very nicely. They do not, however, seem to reduce wire coiling any appreciable amount over a traditional roller tip with a similar roller size. Talora's are a pretty good rod to use them on. Just make sure as noted above to keep your old tip in case you have to return the rod for repair. All you need is traditional tip adhesive or standard strength 5-minute epoxy. Use the side of a flame to remove your old tip. Shave some very thin strips of tip adhesive and fit them in the Torpedo's tube, heat the tube until the adhesive melts, melt and apply some more to the rod tip, then fit together centering the range of movement making sure the tip swivels equally left and right. Reheat if necessary if it sets up before you get it adjusted properly.