killerbe20

once you start fishing wire divers, you will get a feel for them. the more you fish with them, and scrap the bottom with them , you can judge whether they are in the desired target zone. another method, if you are marking fish, is to start them higher and periodically lower them deeper. once you find where your divers are getting hits you can try to correlate the amount of line out with where you believe the fish are coming from biased on your fish finder. hope that makes sense....it does in my head!

i have never felt i was short on backing using 40lb mono with 300 feet of copper on a 55 series okuma.

ditto

that made me laugh out loud!

fishing for rainbows can differ across the lake. in many places during the summer rainbow fishing can mean traveling 10-20 miles offshore. here is an interesting link on "kamloops" http://www.bcadventure.com/ronnewman/kamloops.phtml

i have heard that the broadband radar does not work well in rain(?). that seems odd to me but would be something to research. i'm sure others will have some input

i love my vectors, no complaints at all. love everything about them. not available anymore but Traxstech may be coming out with something this year. had cannon prior to vector. i personally did not care for the plastic parts and the higher overall profile. I broke numerous parts and rod holders on mine, but they did get more of a work out then you may be putting yours through. have lots of experience with walkers, again i do not care for the plastic parts. did not have any issues with many parts braking but this may be due to the lower profile. the ones i have used were not very fast but very reliable, like a tank. this is experience based off of my time spent running/working on charter boats not casual, personal use.

russ, spin doctors were awesome for me last season. three times the length of the spin doctor, front hole and fin side and 2.6-2.9 mph on my depth raider. the green got was by far the best all year. Up until last season i was in the same boat. had them but couldn't get them to work. i'm not really sure what changed....besides my boat!

last season i ran A LOT of super slims. towards the end of the summer and into fall i ran them almost exclusively for my spoons. the kings loved them! my absolute hottest bait of the year was a Cheap Sunglasses Super Slim with a piece of glow tape on it.

i would suggest contacting traxstech. from my experience, they may be able to work with you to modify an existing product or make something for you. they have always been great to talk to and more then willing to help.

on a a fun trip one time i tried 10 colors on a deep downrigger. had hits, but never caught a fish on it. I suspect the amount of slack in the line and/or the beer had something to do with it.

thats great! i actually just joined SU WI last spring. Wish I would have a long time ago. They really do great things for the lake, area and our fishery. Unfortunately, in the past there was a "wall" between charter boats and the SU club. Things have definitely changed for the better.

phil, another outlet for you to share knowledge with others and extend your networking is to join a fishing club. In Racine we have a great Salmon Unlimited chapter. The members ship ranges from charter captains, tournament guys, recreational to newbies. Meetings are every second weds of the month and open to the public. Usually there is some sort of guest speaker (not sure about tomorrow though) and they always have raffles for lures and other fishing equipment. If nothing else, its a good social activity. Illinois also has a Salmon Unlimited chapter that meets in Elk Grove village the second tuesday of every month. I am not very familiar with their club, but can assume it is similar.

absolutely! It can be easy to get burned out. I have seen many people come through and just got sick of it and the customers. it wasn't going fishing anymore, it was work. Others that tried it just for "easy money" never lasted long either. I missed out on a lot growing up because working the boat was my passion. I was ok with that because i always dreamed of running my own boat. looking back now, the only thing i would change is paying more attention to what the captain was doing. The back deck is where the magic happens but it all starts at the helm.

you are correct, the red and orange are the go to colors for coho. I actually run a mix of the six inch and nine inch. taking a tip from another captain, i was running six inch on one side and nine's on the other all with coho flys. allows for a variety of action in turns. the action is similar to what you get with any other attractor. but like the others, they have their own unique signature in the water. i would say it is more similar to a spin doctor then a dodger.

thats great! at 12 years old, thats how i got my start and love for lake michigan and 17 years later, here i am! i absolutely love charter fishing. it is a whole 'nother thrill to salmon fishing. its easy to take for granted what we do all the time. seeing and being a part of people's first experience on the lake and salmon fishing is amazing. if you have any questions feel free to contact me

phil, i am certain you will not find any attitudes like that on this site. What you have just explained is why this site has become my "home." Mike and the moderators do an excellent job of keeping this a friendly and inviting site. I have never understood why a lot of fisherman with knowledge and experience refuse to help others. I would not be in the position i am in if it were not for what i have gained from others. I personally love sharing knowledge and experience with others and seeing others success.

Action Flashers and B&B's have a bent "Z" shape to them. Action flashers are made by a charter capt in Racine. Here is a link with pictures http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/store/Action_Flasher.htm

I hear ya about writing 5 pages of what to do! I certainly agree with russ that many people do not travel far enough sometimes. early in the year is when cohos are supposed to be close to shore and many people get stuck in their usual "spring routine." but there are also times when you can limit in a few hours right in front of the harbor or by the reef too. this is where networking really is a big help. I also agree about trolling faster to cover more water. I very rarely have my depth raider slower then 2.5 mph and my gps is usually around 3 knots. I am one of the few that do not ever run 00 dodgers. I run all Action Flashers, they are very speed tolerant. They have a similar shape to a B&B. For me most of the fun and adrenaline rush comes from the "hunt" to find fish.

there are a lot of guys running wire/braid with lead weights off of boards, and have great success with it. Running these "thumper" rods is very popular north of Milwaukee for some reason. I personally do not have any positive or negative input on it.

if you are getting the Blood Run, I believe they are 1000 foot spools. The 1000 foot spools fit great with no backing on my 30 series Okumas.

if you're looking for anything or need help with anything around here, let me know! the tackle shops around here do not compare to what michigan has to offer, but there are a few decent ones.

one of the most frustrating things about coho fishing in our area is they can be there one day and gone the next! spring cohos usually travel in much larger "schools" which helps make them seem so easy to catch. once you are on them and can stay on them, they are not nearly as finicky as kings. if the fish are not around the shore or structure, the next thing to look for is bait fish or temp breaks (as little as 1-5 degrees) on the surface. that is where the satellite temp maps really come in handy. there have been times that we have had to travel 5-10 miles to find big schools of coho out of racine by the beginning of june. as they travel north, they scatter more and more.

welcome back! there are quite a few west siders on here