eastcoasttransplant

I fish both braid and wire. I guess I worded it wrong. It's not that we didn't see the shakers but rather the shakers would hit and not trip the diver release. So....in choppy conditions we ended up having to fight the waves, the untripped diver and then the shaker as well. I thought Torpedo Divers might help if I ran into a situation like that again.

Ok well our boat looks a little different now, with the addition of windshield extension, side curtains and a bimini top, but here's one of the first pics we took after picking her up. 2010 Tracker ProGuide Vee 175WT with 115HP 4 stroke Mercury Outboard.

I'll be fishing the Torpedo Divers this year but not for stealth or added depth. I was having an issues on choppy days with dipsys releasing and if I tightened them up all the way, shakers were in for a long troll. The Torpedo Divers won't trip and will still get me into the strike zone. Can't wait to try them out.

Yeah I think we're all cool here. There are different programs and theories around the lake and it's those differences that seem to spawn new ideas and new ways of thinking about things. This is one of the best sites with helpful and understanding guys. It's OK to disagree about things as long as it doesn't get to bashing. That's what makes this site great. Best wishes all.

Maybe Dave but the fish don't know it. Guys used to laugh when I'd paddle out in my kayak back in the coastal bays of NJ but then they would scowl when I was bringing in large striped bass and bluefish. Run a good spread and the fish don't care if your in a Tiara Yacht or on a surfboard. Maybe I actually be able to take a pic of my boat this saturday and put it up here. cool post guys.

Check with one or two Shebogan and Algoma charter captains as I have been told that the cannonball weights are used off boards much more up that way into Green Bay. Most are usually very helpful in answering a question regarding spreads. Good luck.

Well there are plenty of places right out in front of Milwaukee Harbor that hold fish. The NOAA chart approximates structure and contours and it's up to us to hone in on the specifics. I know a lot of guys fishing up that way that will normally fish shallower than 100ft and do pretty well. When the bite slows or you're having problems dialing in, trying running a wider trolling spread with a few LC's off boards, two dipsys and maybe two riggers. I also ran clean spoons a good deal of the time with 15lb flourocarbon leaders last year because we had issues getting the flashers and flies to fire. I ran faster than most guys, 2.4 to 2.8mph at the ball (Depth Raider) which allowed me to cover water and search for active biters. This pattern worked well during the calm, sunny days we found ourselves out there searching for fish. Stick at fishing in front of Milwaukee and you will get things figured out. Feel free to pm me with any questions you have and best wishes for a great season.

That's it Josh...you and me in the ring this weekend. LOL I agree, I think it's more about placement of spread than delivery device. Also, lets not forget that it's personal experience that comes into play here as well. I would not say anyone here is WRONG or RIGHT. We're not really fighting over whether to use wire line rods or not but rather what some of us on the water have experience while deploying different spreads. In the end, we are all allowed to have different opinions and different views regarding the tactics we employ and the way we fish. Heck, I've even seen different spreads used on one side of the lake that you can't seem to buy a hit on on the other side of the lake. A fishes attitude changes with the conditions and we must adapt accordingly. Will wire always be the answer......probably not, but it does have a place on our great lakes boats. Good luck to all this year.

There are cases when delivery devices are important but I really believe this may be more about placement of devices than type of device being used. I'm not a charter captain, and have had limited time on the big lake, but guys who are out there every day have told me that there are times they will thin out their spreads in order to "keep" the bite going. It's probably more of an issue of tight spread and aggressive presentation versus a wider spread and more stealthy presentation other than delivery device. That being said, it had also been noted that wire will tend to "jig" the lure with each wave moreso than braid. It's more of what do the fish want that day than anything else.

Thanks. I took the NOAA chart from Milwaukee to Waukegan, marked some "interesting" structure, transferred data to Navionics NavPlanner 2 software, and finally transferred that into my Lowrance HDS-5M chart plotter. We'll see if it's a historic waste of time or actually lead to more bites during difficult times. It is interesting to see the general contours and the way they run along that stretch. Can't wait to get back out there.

I'll still stick by the fact that there are times when too much gear in a given area will shut fish off or be less productive due to changing conditions. Wire rods are great and catch lots of fish...depending on how you run them in a spread on a given day. Load up all the gear in one tight area and you can turn the fish off if they are in a non-aggressive mood. I've spoken to very good charter captains who will attest to the fact that sometime less gear in a given area will lead to more strikes. Maybe that's the key term....in a given area. In a typical spread, your wire divers will be closer to your riggers than your braid divers, leadcores or copper. That can be varied, but that's your typical horizontal spread. I believe that's why it's been said that running riggers and wire divers in a tight spread can kill a bite. Does it really kill the bite or doe the attitude of the fish changing throughout the day and with varying conditions change the way you should approaching fishing for them? View it either way but one must access the conditions and then adjust from there.

Small pic I know, but if you take a look, here's what you can see: -a few twists south of Milwaukee in 65ft of water -small bend north of Milwaukee in 105ft of water -a few bends in both 145ft and 165ft almost directly out from Milwaukee Harbor -large twisting bends out straight and north of Milwaukee in 265ft of water -large twisting bends in 305ft of water straight and north of Milwaukee Obviously the contours run basically parallel to the shoreline but where you have changes in the contours you have places that deflect underwater currents and hold baitfish and salmon. Now obviously it's not to say fish will not sit along the straighter contour lines but here are definitely a few interesting areas to look at.

Bingo. Overall 3 times the dodger or flasher length is a good starting point.

Your entire spread acts as a team of lures....a school of fake fish or bait so to speak. Sometimes running wire and riggers WILL shut fish down. Is it harmonics? Is it the angle of the lines running into the water? Is it the closer presentations to the boat? Who knows....but there are DEFINITELY times when taking the wire rods out of the spread or shutting down one rigger will produce more fish than by leaving them in. I have 2 wire diver rods and 2 braid rods. i let the conditions and the fish tell me what they want.

Without getting into the core vs copper debate....I would simply pick up Church Walleye Boards to run your LC. If you get copper down the line they will still work fine

Send me a PM. I don't fish Milwaukee a lot but i did do some research on structure within the area that could affect salmon fishing. As for your situation, I would NOT start out running to 275ft as you are running past plenty of fish before you get that deep. Let's get this figured out.

I gotta get a good pic of my boat and put it up here as well. JimCR....I'm running the model below the Targa the ProGuide V 17WT with 115hp, no kicker. I love the boat. Fairly deep, 101" beam....just waiting to get to where i can get up and finish some work on her from last season and then I'll be good to go.

Okuma Convector 30's are good reels at a mid-ranged price, around $65. KJ is right as well...go with braid not mono. You'll limit yourself immensely by using 40lb mono. Stick with 30 or 50lb braid and you'll do fine.

Ok old question but I have to ask something. I plan on running cowbells and Spin-n-Glo's this year, looking for a big laker. I've made my own cowbells, which are 27 inches long, and planned on running the large Spin-n-Glo's behind them Originally my thought was to attach the cowbells directly to the 3 way swivel and then run the Spin-n-Glo 24 inches behind that. Is that too close? Should I run a longer leader between the cowbells and peanuts? Should I NOT attach the cowbells directly to the three way swivel and run a 3 to 4 foot leader from the swivel to the cowbells? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank all.

Oh BTW....my wife has helped me develop bright coho candy flies and often picks winning spoons too, even if they are on the gaudy side for me. If we want to get them involved, we have to let them pick stuff too, and how many times have we picked lures that bomb too. I think this year I'm really going to start pushing using the lures my wife picks. Heck, she ALWAYS catching the largest kings anyway so maybe she's onto something.

I agree that the fly will DEFINITELY catch fish....particularly high steelhead. Now while I'm not a straight pink fan, I bought two watermelon flashers for fishing in the upper water column. My suggestion is this.....run the flasher and fly as a combo in the upper 40 feet during late spring and early summer and I think you'll be surprised.

Here was Blood Run's response when I wrote them: Our recommendation is to put 50-75 feet of mono backer on the reel first, then tie an albright knot to the wire, and spool the rest of the wire on until the reel is completely full. Make sure you apply tension with your fingers or to the wire spool itself, and reel at a medium pace, when spooling the wire onto the reel. It is best to not stop reeling during the spooling process as you can lose tension on the wire and cause it to backspool and kink. Once you start, keep going at the same pace until you are finished.. Fuguring out backer ALWAYS sucks because i ALWAYS seem to have to adjust my backing from the original length I cut...regardless of how i try to figure out the length properly. Thanks again all.

Ok guys.....I had to go back for this one but based on THIS post I bought 3 spools of Blood Run wire to run on my Okuma Convector 30D reels. I see most say no backer is required but how exactly ar you attaching the wire to the reel? I believe someone told me to wriap the wire around the spool once and then use electrical tape to secure the wire to the reel. does this sounds right? If so might the tape cause uneven spooling or gum op the lower portion of your wire? Any assistance you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated. I'm switching this year from the Monel to the standed wire and my father-inlaw just made out with my two Monel wire setups. Thanks again all.

I'm a roller guide rod guy all the way. Too many issues in the past with non-roller rods.

I order them straight from Yakima Bait. Over $25 and the shipping is free. You get all the colors and sizes you need.