Always Gone

It is a waste of money to buy them if you are only running 6 lines. That $300 could easily be better spent somewhere else.

Carbon 14 and flounder pounder for me also. I think it has alot to do with what port you are fishing out of.

The rapala knot, all the time. Especially for smaller crank baits. Even with jointed ones I use the rapala knot. Much more lure action, puts an extra pivot point in the line, easy to tie also.

Electrics are very nice, but definately not needed unless you are lake trout fishing in Superior. Buy a set of used manuals. Buy Cannon. I know alot of people that use cannon downriggers and they last a very long time.

The tank would not be under the floor, but under the raised platform on the back. This area is vented well with large screens and is accessible. I do not think it would be illegal to place it there. Maybe I am wrong. I just need to extend the neck on the tank up about 6 inches. It is a Honda 5 HP. I have been looking for fuel fill hoses/caps on various sites, but have not found one that screws into the plastic thread on the kicker tank. Not sure if what I am looking for even exists or what it is called. Would rather not plum into my main tank on the boat. want to keep to seperate tanks.

I have a 3 gallon plastic gas tank for my kicker and I would like to place it under the floor of my boat and extend the neck of the tank up. I would need to extend this neck up for 2 reasons: Make it easier fueling and to keep the gas fumes from becoming trapped under the floor next to my battery. Are there any adapters that are made for doing this? I have looked around a bit and have not found anything.

67 kings total. 26 of them came on a white spin doctor/Mikes Eyefly. The majority of the fish were on the #14 Green Eye Dolphin. All these fish came from Manistique (the UP version, notice the "q") out of a 16 foot boat. I usually run 3 downriggers, 2 dipsys, and one level line with a rapala or short piece of lead core. I had this flasher/fly combo on one downrigger about 20 to 30 feet behind the ball each trip. I know next year I am definately making more than just 1 out of 6 rods an eyefly set up.

White Spin Doctor with a Mike's Eyefly following it. My most productive fly of the year was #14, Green Eye Dolphin. I actually went through my records a month ago and this setup took 38% of my kings this year. The spin doctor and Mike's Eyefly were 2 constants. I tried different versions of this brand of fly and #7 also worked well, Pearl Eye Ghost, for me. I usually rigged the skirts with the single hooksets, glow beads. I already ordered some more for this upcoming season. They are very well built and sure catch fish.

I love sliders. A free line and lure without any hassle. I actually watched a steelhead nail one as soon as it hit the water there was a splash and fish on. I catch alot of fish on them. However, they tend to catch more steelhead and shakers than other lures. Nothing nicer than a 2 fish on one pole double. Our first salmon in the Manistique derby was two 10 pounders on one pole. We thought we had the winner when it got to the boat and I saw a 45 inch fish. What i was seeing was the head of one and tail of the other. My sliders are 30 lb mono, 1 1/2 foot long, good swivel on the lure end, cheap swivel on the line end. I usually run smaller lures on the sliders, but have caught fish on magnum size spoons off sliders as well. Don't use them if you put a flasher/fly off the rigger though. If you do, reel in quick when you are picking up lines otherwise there will be big tangles.

This only applies to Lake Superior (since that is the only spot I have fished for Lake Trout). 3 weeks from now - Get yourself a Gaebo and a finnlander from the Copper Country to show you where to catch them on Keweenaw Bay. If you don't know what a gaebo is (not certain on the spelling), ask the finnlander. Don't let the hook show, bait it with sucker or smelt. As far as lake trolling goes - I only use spoons, light spoons, gold for overcast, silver for sun. Lake trout seem to like the ugly colors also. Stuff that a normal salmon fisherman would cringe at. Puke yellow color, or green with dull finishes. Usually one person stands next to the downrigger and the captain calls out the depth. The guy on the rigger keeps the lure 3 feet off the bottom. The other riggers on the boat are set in the safe zone (not a chance of hitting bottom). I have fished downriggers on Superior in areas where the front of the boat was in 10 feet of water and the back of the boat was in 75 feet of water. Throw out a pump pole with a big silver spoon, single hook, and and piece of old rag attached to it for bait. A plastic grocery bag works well too. If you want to catch big Lake Trout in Superior you have to be willing to travel big distances in your boat to one of the top 3 spots.

Thanks for the tips. I will check it out.

I have a Penn 49 Super Mariner that I want to keep using since I like the reel and it was given to me by a good friend. I know nothing about repairing reels, and all of mine are now starting to have problems. The Penn reels I have all work fine when they are in my hands because there is either 0% drag or 100% drag, nothing inbetween. However when they are in another persons hands lines start breaking. How can I fix this reel so it has a useable drag again? I know this is an old reel, anybody have an age? It works great for wire/copper setup lake trout fishing in superior. Fast retrieve and holds lots of line. I am looking for locations to send the reel, parts to buy, instructions to fix it, anything you know. Thanks.

Two 25 pound lakers from Isle Royale and Big Reef, a fat and a lean. One was actually 25 pounds 1 oz, for bragging rights. The guy on the bottom is 40 pounds lighter. The camera takes better pictures when he is holding fish.

I have a couple of these and use them for my downrigger rods. I bought them for my dipsy setups, but have some problems with the drags. They tend to leak alot. If I turn up the drag to stop the leaking, it is too tight for my comfort level.

I am not a big fan of the hub style shacks. The zippers break easily. Always set it up with the door closed. They are difficult to set up by yourself in the wind. The anchors do not hold well, be prepared to shovel alot of snow around the edges. Be careful taking them down. Often I have opened the shack to find it twisted around itself. No idea how this happens, but it takes a while to figure out what went wrong. The windows on most I have seen are too high to look out of while seated. The good things about them are: inexpensive, alot of room inside, easy to carry.

I started uploading a few pics to my profile and was wondering if everyone is limited to 5, or is there a way to place more pics on there?

First post, new to the site. Been members of other sites the past few years, but never knew about this one. Looks pretty informative. The winter is already getting long, and I need some more reading material. I do most of my fishing out of Manistique, but always try to make some trips around the UP each season. Other areas I fish include Munising, Big Bay Denoc, Isle Royale, Houghton, Menominee, and various inland lakes around town. My season starts out river fishing for steelies in late Feb/March. Spring brown trolling in Manistique and Munising Bay cohos during April. If I am lucky, I get in a trip to Menominee to catch some monster walleyes. Once the walleye opener starts here, I will target the post spawners in the Manistique River and do some pike fishing on inland lakes. Usually make a trip to Isle Royale for a week the end of May. June is pretty slow here except for bass. The king action usually starts the 2nd or 3rd week of June here. I am chasing those every chance I get until they get out of my reach. If the weather doesn't allow me to get out chasing kings, I head up river after walleye, or down river after pike, drum, and catfish. I used to river fish the kings when they come in, but now I switch gears to killing ducks. If anybody has any questions about the area, feel free to ask.