Boog

Very nice! Thanks for the report Michael.

The smoke isn't near as big of a problem as the tons of coal ash it dumps into the lake every single day.

I agree!

If that's the case, why do you troll for salmon? Don't get me wrong, netting fish doesn't strike me as much fun either. As for walleyes not fighting when caught trolling, I don't know where you're fishing, but you need to go some place where the walleyes are bigger. Like Green Bay maybe. If you use the right trolling rods for walleye, the fight is no different than if you had caught the same fish on a spinning rod.

I send a few old reels to Tuna Tom almost every year. They do good work!

What kind of reels are you using now? I've been using Daiwa SG47LC3B reels. They're usually a little over $100/reel though. For rods, its hard to beat the Eagle Claw Starfire Trolling Rods although they're definitely are some other cheap rods that will work just fine. Maybe take a look at Ugly Sticks as well for cheap rods that stand up to big lake trolling. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Eagle-Claw-Starfire-Trolling-Rods/704793.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3DSalmon%2Btrolling%2Brods%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=Salmon+trolling+rods&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

Same here!

That works fine during the early months but this time of the year, that braid is a major flea catcher. Nothing sucks more than not being able to reel you line in because you have 2lbs of fleas hanging on your line just in front of a knot and a big salmon just out of reach of the net.

Interesting. So your saying that what I've been using for the past 7 years doesn't cut it as leader material. Even though in all that time, I've yet to break a single fluorocarbon leader. If it didn't work, I would have quit using it a long time ago. Brittleness - that is the very reason why I quit using Berkley Vanish as a leader material. I've never had that problem with the lines I listed above (Seaguar, P-line and XPS) I'll stick with what's worked for me.

I generally run 50# braid for my main lines and no less than 20# fluoro for leaders and quite often run 30# fluoro for leaders. The 50# Hi-Vis braid is what I use for backing on all my lines. (Lead core, riggers & copper) I don't run braid dipsies, only wire. I always tie in a 6-10' section of 30# fluoro carbon line between the braid backing and the lead core or copper. This is for clamping the boards to and can easily be replaced as often as necessary. Three of the best fluoro carbon lines out there that I have run (IMHO) are Seagur, P-line and Bass Pro Shop XPS.

At 2mph, Sufix Advanced Lead Core runs 7' deep for every color out. The old stuff runs 5' deep at 2mph per color deployed. Thats a general rule not exact.

I've only run it for walleye fishing. Worked great there although it wasn't near as durable as the regular lead core. I'll probably put it on a rod or two this summer for salmon fishing.

The Willis Knot works well with some lead core lines and not so well with others. Especially the new thinner, so called "Advanced" lead core lines. Good luck tying a Willis knot with those. It's basically impossible! When possible, I also use and love the Willis knot. When its not possible, I have also used the Albright knot. Both have worked very well for me. When tying the Albright knot, which works especially well when joining lines of different diameters or materials, always wrap the thinner line over the thicker line.

Thanks guys!

Did not fish the Brew City but we did fish out of McKinley marina this past Saturday. Headed straight out of the harbor at 4:30am, dropped our six line spread in 70' of water and didn't take a hit until sunrise. First fish was a 22lb King on the port side dipsy set at 130loc. 3rd fish of the morning was a 16-1/2lb laker. Steady action for the next two hours or so then a lull for about an hour until that nice bank of cumulus clouds rolled over us. Then it was steady action again until pulling rods at 1:00pm. Trolling east for the most part as we ended up in 220' of water picking off fish most of the way. By 9:00am, spoons had taken only one rip so pulled them all in favor of flasher/flys. Dipsy's were easily our best rods set at 130' early on and 150' and 160' later in the morning. Riggers & full core also caught fish for us. Aqua flys were best but LBB also caught its share. Ended at 16-21 boxing 5 kings, 2 lakers, 2 steelies and one coho. Best trip of the year by far for my boat.