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Musky Tips Built For Success!

Second Saddle Muskies

By: Larry Smith

Everyone knows I’m a walleye guy.  I’m in pursuit of this marble-eyed fish almost every day, guiding clients and friends on lakes throughout Wisconsin from Winnebago to the Bay of Green Bay. Now, don’t get me wrong; I love fishing for walleye. If I didn’t, it sure would be hard to do what I do everyday, being the type of personality that gets bored easily. However, there is one particular species of fish that really gets me amped up more than I already am:  Muskies.   

It seems hard to believe that a “can’t-sit-still” persona would choose the hunt for the so-called “fish of a thousand casts” to be one of his favorite types of fishing, but it is exactly the “hunting” part that seems to be the addiction; keeping me up nights before musky trips. (Not that I sleep much anyway.)  Muskies sit right below mankind in the predatory hierarchy, grow BIG, are incredible to behold and, indeed, are extremely challenging to catch, even for the most seasoned of fishermen; all reasons illustrating why I love it so much. If it were easy to hit the water on any given day and catch five giant muskies, would the people that pursue them still be addicts of the sport?  Some of you will probably say, “Heck yeah!  I want things easy!” If that were the case, the mystique of this fish would be completely gone.  Photos of trophy muskies would become blasé, and the sense of accomplishment after catching one would be completely diluted. It IS the challenge that MAKES musky fishing what it is.

Being the chosen fish of this great state, there are many, many good musky waters in Wisconsin from north to south. Waters I guide on a regular basis, such as The Petenwell Flowage, hold many big fish as well as some of the upriver lakes of the Winnebago system.  There are even rumors of some giant muskies being caught out in the vast open water areas of Lake Winnebago itself.  However, there is one system that stands out like blaze orange in the November woods when it comes to truly giant fish:  The Bay of Green Bay.

The Great Lakes strain of spotted musky, after having been reintroduced to Green Bay through stocking efforts, has thrived with many 50” fish taken every year.  Much debate has taken place about whether or not Green Bay could produce a new world record. From the fish I’ve seen out of this system over the years, it sure seems possible. Green Bay muskies, being gluttons of the Bay’s abundant forage, have the massive girth to go along with their length; making them considerably heavier than their river system counterparts who deal with current and “lean-out.”  It’s like the donut-eating couch potato vs. the marathon runner (not that donuts make you fat) when comparing lake fish to river fish. In this game, size matters, so bring on the donuts.

Many anglers choose trolling to cover huge areas of water looking for fish.  Although this is a great method, and I often troll the Bay with much success. (Evident in the giant musky caught on one of last season’s episodes of Larry Smith Outdoors.)  Casting, however, and the ultimate hand-to-hand combat experience associated with the technique is how I really prefer to hunt these beasts.

Traditional methods for musky casting employ 7-8’ heavy-action baitcasting outfits, spooled with heavy braid (50-100 lb. test), heavy wire leaders and, attached at the end, a variety of huge cranks, bucktails, spinners, topwaters, etc. (usually a foot or more in length.)  The old adage does hold true that big baits get big fish.  Many trophy muskies have been caught, and will continue to be caught on these traditional baits. However, through my career as a guide over the past 30 years, I have stumbled upon a slightly different approach to casting. 

Before I get into this modified casting approach, let me explain a little about finding potential holding areas for this technique. During mid to late summer, cabbage beds are key. The proverbial tiger of fresh water does like to have a jungle to live in. Cabbage beds provide shade from the summer sun in the Bay’s clear water, and also offer cover from which muskies can ambush potential prey.  However, due to the lack of aforementioned “summer heat” over the past few seasons, cabbage has not as been as plentiful, which pushes a lot of fisherman to troll instead of casting to find fish. Cool summers have cabbage growing in 8-10 feet of water, coming up to within 4-5 feet of the surface.  On a normal “hot” summer, cabbage will grow in as deep as 14 feet of water coming up to 6 feet from the surface or closer. More cabbage means more preferred musky habitat, along with more opportunities for a successful casting approach.

The technique I’m about to illustrate was born out of boredom. When guiding for muskies, it is critical to give your clients first shot at potential spots. While my clients cast from the bow, I stay at the stern and control the boat with the trolling motor; positioning them for what will hopefully be a chance at a fish. Now, I’m the type of guy who always has to have something to do. The “sit and relax” approach does not bode well with me, so naturally I had to find something to do while hanging out in the back of the boat. Clients would be casting traditional baits such as bucktails, jakes, ernies, and the like, so figuring it wouldn’t be the best idea to have more meat hooks flying around, I started casting smaller profile spinners, cranks, etc.; baits more fitting for pike, bass or walleye over the spots my clients had previously fished. Guess what? I started catching fish.

If you think about it, the technique makes sense. Green Bay muskies are no secret, and fishing pressure is steadily increasing every year. Fish become accustomed to seeing the same baits day after day, year after year. Smaller baits, some as small as 5 inches in length, are normally off the radar when it comes to musky fisherman, so the fish have not become acclimated to these types of lures, which is definitely an advantage. The rod and reel is probably the same setup you would use for pike fishing; a medium-heavy baitcasting combination. However, when braids and superlines are the norm these days, I opt for a 40 lb. monofilament instead. If you think about smaller baits and their construction, they most likely are fitted with lighter hooks than you would typically use for musky fishing. The mono gives you that extra stretch that is lacking in braids which is critical when trying to land a trophy-caliber fish; especially if they hit on a figure eight, or if they make a run close to the boat. When if comes to the lures, I’m not going to mention any specific names, but I will tell you that they are your typical musky profiles only much, much smaller. 

So WHEN should you use these smaller baits? Whenever you have pressured fish that won’t respond to traditional lures, or if you’ve raised a fish that won’t commit, it’s probably a good idea to downsize. This is a technique that shines for multiple anglers. One person throws traditional baits, and the person riding second saddle throws the downsized versions. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been using these downsized baits behind my clients only to their dismay when they see me hooking up in the back of the boat.

Hooking and landing a monster musky on this lighter tackle is no small task.  You have to fight the fish carefully in order to not straighten-out hooks or break the fish off. A long battle on light tackle, although it is a great demonstration of angling skill, also means more stress on the fish which brings me to the most important aspect of musky fishing:  Proper fish handling and release.

I’m probably more nervous about the release of the fish than I am about actually getting it in the boat. Trophy muskies are arguably THE most incredible fish in all of fresh water and need to be handled with respect.

• Always use a cradle or an oversized net with mesh that will not rip fins, remove protective slime, or harm the fish in anyway. It should be big enough for the fish to have plenty of room while inside. Always keep the fish in the water while in the net.
• Have pliers, hook cutters, spreaders, etc. ready at all times. When the hookup happens, the last thing you or the fish need is to be rummaging around looking for tools.
• Wear fish handling gloves made to protect you and the fish or, at the very least, always handle the fish with wet hands.

• Have camera equipment ready for your photos or videos. Keep the fish in the water until you are ready for your shots.
• NEVER hold a trophy musky vertically. This can cause serious damage to the spine/gill plate that will most likely end in the fish’s demise. Always support the weight of the fish by holding it horizontally. If you can’t lift the behemoth by yourself, swallow your pride and get help, or perhaps reconsider holding the fish at all and just unhook and release it while it’s in the water
• Spend time reviving the fish properly at boat side. A played-out musky can take up to a half-hour to revive depending on the length of the battle and the water temperature. Make sure the fish is strong enough to swim off under its own power and remain upright in the water.

Watching your trophy swim off to be caught another day is just as inspiring as catching it. Without the proper release of these fish, the chance of Green Bay producing a world record is certainly a long shot at best. We are SO fortunate to have this amazing fishery. Let’s do everything possible to sustain it so everyone, including the fish, can say, “It’s a great day to be alive!”

Larry Smith is a full-time, multispecies guide in Wisconsin with 30 years of experience.  He is also host of Larry Smith Outdoors television; fresh, weekly outdoor programming airing on Fox Sports North, Fox Wisconsin, CW18 Milwaukee, and Time Warner Cable Sports Channel.  Check local listings for broadcast times or visit LarrySmithOutdoors.com. Like Larry Smith Outdoors on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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Summertime Crappies

Into the Deep for Summertime Crappies and Bluegills

Consistent Panfish Action

By:  Dave Duwe

Maybe some of you can relate to this childhood memory.

My dad and I always went fishing in the shallow bays for bluegills in the spring.  We had a great time. As summer grew closer, we continued to fish those shallow bays and I always wondered, “What happened to the fish?”  The big bluegills became 3 to 4 inches by the middle of summer and we just thought the big fish weren’t biting. I guess we weren’t too good at figuring things out in those days. We just didn’t know how much we didn’t know!

When the dog days of summer get here, bluegill and crappie fishing seem to get tough. But it doesn’t have to be that way if you know the right tips and tricks to dial them in when they are down deep. When spawning ends and the water gets warm, most fish will head to the depths of the lake for safety, food and comfort.  If you want to find them, you need the right techniques to bring the big fish into your boat.

Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years, having been a guide on Delavan Lake and one of Wisconsin’s deepest lakes, Lake Geneva. Both of these lakes are located in Southern Wisconsin.

There are two summertime patterns for deepwater panfish that I’ve found very successful. The deep weedline bite is in 15 to 22 ft. of water. Or, as summer wears on, the suspended fish over open water that is even deeper.

For the deep weedline bite, the biggest key to finding the bluegills and crappies is a good fish locator.  My go-to graph is a Humminbird 859, linked to my Minn Kota Terrova bow-mount trolling motor. Before I start fishing, I will slowly move down the weedlines, looking for schools of active panfish.  Once I locate them, I will start to fish. The deep weedline doesn’t hold just one or two fish. Typically, there are large schools that will show up as a cloud on the graph. I prefer the weedlines off of the main lake basin. I start in 15 to 18 ft. of water and have gone as deep as 25 ft.

Of course, my bait of choice is hand-picked worms that my son digs from the garden and my wife’s flower beds.  Unfortunately, there are only so many worms one can find. So, in that case leaf worms also work great. Due to the depth of the water, I find that using a small #12 Kahle hook with a small split shot, positioned one foot above the hook, is the easiest way to get the bait down to the fish.  The presentation is vertical underneath the boat. I use 4 lb. test fished on a spinning reel and 6’6” light action rod. The length of the rod is important to get a solid hook set in the deep water.  Once the bluegill bites, I like to lower my rod tip, giving the fish time to eat the bait before a strong hook set.   Another presentation option is a small version of the drop shot rig; basically the same principle as the bass version, just downsized. For the drop shot, I keep the drop sinker about 6 inches from the hook.  Keep in mind, the deeper the water, the heavier the weight. The hook set is the same with either method. Bluegills are usually tight to the bottom, within 1 to 2 ft.

Crappies on the deep weedline, are typically positioned slightly different in the water column. Unlike the bluegills, the crappies are consistently right on the top of the break, before the weedline drops to the deeper water. The only structure is the weeds. I concentrate on the change and subtle points on the weed edge.  The crappies like the points on the weedline or the slight turns. I position my boat in 20 to 25 ft. of water casting into 12 to 13 ft. of water.  By keeping the boat slightly deeper, if the crappies are down the weedline a bit, you’ll still be able to catch them.

I prefer a small 1/32 oz. jig head, with small plastics for the crappies.  I like a 3/0 round split shot, 12 inches above the jig. This aids in longer casts and it takes less time for the jig to drop to the preferred depths. The color of the plastics can vary depending on the lake, but start with purple and chartreuse, as I have found success with those colors just about everywhere.

If you are unable to locate schooling bluegills and crappies on the deep weedline, there is a good chance they are suspending over the deepest water in the lake. When fishing for blugills in the lakes I fish, I have found 40 to 42 ft. deep is the magic depth, with the fish suspending 10 to 15 ft. down.  I like to drift through the school, using my trolling motor to control the speed of the drift.  Due to the depth, anchoring isn’t really an option. The bait and rig combinations can be the same for suspended fish as they are for the deepwater weed line fish.  Another option is to use a Lindy slick jig in 1/32 oz. It will give the bait a horizontal presentation. I will tip the slick jig with a couple of wax worms or a leaf worm.

The crappies suspend in shallower water, typically 20 to 25 ft., with their position 10 to 15 ft. down. The crappies seem to prefer to be closer to the weeds, as they like an escape route from the bigger game fish. The presentation will be the same as the weedline fish. In either location, I like to use a stop and go retrieve. I have found that the longer the pause the better chance for success. I’ve noted, in my experience, most people retrieve too fast and need to be reminded to slow it down.

Deep water fishing presents some challenges that many anglers aren’t willing to accept. However, the rewards of a bucket of tasty bluegills and/or crappies are attractive enough to venture away from the shade of the shore and the known shallow hot spots.  Down deep the results can be worthwhile.

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Fish Lily Pads For Bass

Fishing Emerging Lily Pads for Bass

By:  Glenn Walker

For many anglers once the calendar hits May, one thing is on their mind when they are in search of catching bass and that is vegetation, specifically the new lily pads that grow in many lakes and rivers.

There are several reasons that lily pads play such a key role in bass habitat, the first is that they provide bass with cover, both from the sunlight shining into the water, and also it provides them with an ambush point to feed, which leads into my second point. 

The amount of activity that takes place around lily pads is great, small insects will land on to these floating green circles and in turn bring in bluegills, sunfish, etc., all of which are mighty tasty to a big ‘ole bass!   The next time you pull up to a stretch of lily pads, be sure to listen for bluegills popping away underneath the pads.

I also feel that lily pads hold quality bass more often than not, because of the water quality and bottom composition where they are growing.  A good portion of the time lily pads grow in nice clean, bottom areas that have some current flow, this keeps the water oxygenated and the food supply keeps getting replenished.

Lily pad fields can develop in many places on your favorite lake or river.  Pads can also develop in numerous backwater lakes and sloughs on rivers.  On lakes, pads will start to pop up in shallow bays and shallow flats, the depth of water that lily pads grow in ranges, but I like to look for areas that have deeper water nearby.

Some lily pad fields may be very large in size and could take a huge chunk of your day to dissect the area.  That is why you need to evaluate that area and determine what irregularities are present the bass may be further relating to.  Certain things I look for are:

• Other forms of cover, such as wood mixed in with the pads
• Pockets of open water located within the pads
• When a section of the pads form a point or indentation
• If there is a depth change in the water under the pads

I use a two-prong approach to look and identify these key characteristics.  First, I like to idle by the areas I want to fish and use the Side Imaging on Humminbird Helix 10 unit to look for any unique characteristics that show up on my screen.  I then move my cursor and save those spots in my GPS.

Once I have a list of spots I want to fish in the lily pads, I’ll move along the pad line by staying on my Minn Kota Fortrex trolling motor and moving at a speed that is slow and quiet enough to fish, but yet still cover water effectively.  Then once I find that mother lode of bass grouped up in a small section of lily pads, I’ll deploy my dual Minn Kota Talon’s so I can focus on fishing and not move into or away from the targeted cover.

One important item that I use on my Fortrex is a T-H Marine G-Force ELIMINATOR Trolling Motor Prop Nut. By replacing your standard trolling motor prop nut with this, you’ll decrease the amount of vibration and prop noise, both of which can wreak havoc in the shallows.  The built-in cooling ports will also reduce the operating temperature, in turn providing longer battery and trolling motor life.

My lure selection is based off of fishing the two different areas of the pads, the area that is in the midst of the pad field and then the edge of pads.

When I am fishing the area in the pads, my favorite lure for this is a Snag Proof Ish’s Phat Frog or Bobby’s Perfect Frog.  With either of these frogs, I can target the bass in the heavy cover and then work it across the pads and let it sit still when it comes to an open water pocket.  I also like to walk-the-dog with my frog across open water as bass will come out of the lily pads and hit the frog in that open water.

Since I like to work my frog with a lot of action and making casts in heavy cover, I use a 7’2” Wright & McGill Micro Honeycomb Series Rod as it has plenty of backbone, but still a soft tip so I can have a lot of action in my frog.  I pair this rod with a Wright & McGill Victory Pro Carbon baitcast reel in the high speed retrieve so I can quickly reel in line as a bass makes a run towards the boat and spool it with 65 lb. Seaguar Smackdown braided line.

Lures that I throw both on the edge and in the pads are a swimming jig and flipping a Texas-rigged soft plastic creature bait.  The swim jig is nice because it can be fished on top up the pads and then dropped off the edge; I prefer a ¼ oz. jig in a bluegill pattern for this.  A wide variety of tail colors can be used and, in my opinion, one needs to experiment with tail colors until the bass tell you what they want.  Some of my favorites are white, pearl blue, salt and pepper and chartreuse.

When I am flipping a Texas-rigged soft plastic creature bait, I am putting this bait right along the edge or placing it in the open water pockets between the pads.  I’ll use a soft plastic bait that doesn’t have many appendages, as this will keep the bait from getting hung up on the vegetation, baits such as the Zoom Bait Super Hog, Z-Craw and Super Speed Craw are some of my favorites.  When it comes to color selection, I like a black/blue or green pumpkin base and then, depending on the water clarity, use a green pumpkin with a colored flake in it.

I prefer to use a 3/8 to ¾ oz. Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp tungsten weight, so I can make nice long pitches. Also, a tungsten weight is smaller than a lead weight.  To get a solid hook up on these bass when I’m flipping around pads, I like to use 20 lb. Seaguar Flippin’ fluorocarbon as it has incredible knot strength and is in best-in-class when it comes to impact strength.  I’ll rig my soft plastic on a 4/0 Lazer TroKar TK130 flipping hook, as it will stick that bass every time and the TroKar barb keeps my bait securely in place.

A great and exciting way to fish the edge of the pads is with a topwater lure, like a buzzbait.  You can cast this lure parallel to the cover, or into the open water pockets and then retrieve it to the boat and with a buzzbait it is easy to keep out of the vegetation by speeding up your retrieve, many times this will invoke a reactionary strike from the bass.

I like to use the new War Eagle Buzz Toad; this buzzbait comes with a Zoom Bait Horney Toad rigged on a dual plastic keeper system.  Between the water displacement and noise of the buzzbait blade and the kicking action of the Horney Toad’s feet, it will call bass in from distances for a meal.

The amount of success you’ll have fishing lily pads, will depend on several things, how quickly you can locate the key areas, and two, getting the bass out of that thick cover.  So, always be reading and watching the water for clues as to what the bass are doing and how they are positioning themselves in the cover. Secondly, use the right gear. It will make your day on the water much more enjoyable!

Glenn has been fishing tournaments for over ten years, spreading his passion and knowledge of the sport via articles and videos.  He keeps busy fishing events across the Midwest and on the Mississippi River.  Glenn’s sponsors include:  Bass Boat Technologies, Ducky Products, Humminbird, Jeff Belzer Chevy, Mercury Marine, Minn Kota, Plano, Rayjus, Seaguar, Simms, Snag Proof, T-H Marine, The Rod Glove, TroKar, War Eagle Custom Lures, Wright & McGill and Zoom Baits.  For more information check out glennwalkerfishing.com or on Facebook at http://ift.tt/2tNn7m5.

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Go Deep For Hot Summertime King Action!

By Capt. Lee Haasch

July mornings on Lake Michigan’s coast usually start a bit cooler, not this particular day. With a balmy 78 degrees at 3:45 am, it was going to be another warm one. Temperatures were predicted to hit 90 plus, with very little wind and lots of sunshine.  While this might be normal for central Wisconsin, Algoma is the place most folks go to escape the heat.  Another hot one…  The surface temps already have crept to the upper 60’s and warming deeper is the trend. 

I turned to my son, Trevor, and let him know we would run this charter trip a bit further today, drop lines in about 150 feet and go out from there.  The day before, the kings seemed a bit deeper and the steelhead were 250 and out.  As we slowed, Trevor was already getting his Slide Diver rigged with a white Opti flasher and Aqua Howie fly, ready to hit the water.  With the fish deeper in the warmer water, using the magnum weights and big rings on the Slide Divers allows us get them down below 100 feet and keep them “in the zone” for the active kings.  Using the Slide Divers also lets me use longer leads to stretch the baits back a little farther from the boat and get more strikes.  That day Trevor set the flasher/fly combo about 50 feet back, before setting the Slide Diver, and then let it down 100 feet to start.  It was still dark and the marks were still a little higher, but we’ll drop the rigs deeper as it starts getting light.

The 15 and 17 pound weights on my downriggers would get us down deeper later on but as Trevor set his corner at 65’, the rod hosting his Slide Diver rig bent sternly back and the drag of his reel started screaming!

“FISH, FISH, FISH” he shouted, “IT’S A BIG ONE TOO, WHO’S UP?” he shouted!

Just then, the Ugly Stik on my center rigger popped and bent down to the water with the drag screaming… “ANOTHER ONE!  I KNEW THAT BLOODY NOSE SLIDE DIVER WOULD GO, IT WAS HOT YESTERDAY TOO!”  Trevor screamed.

I kept setting the poles on my side and moved a few out of Trevor’s way as he scooped the first king. Then I moved to his side to set the rig back down. I chuckled to the customers,

“Can’t catch ‘em if the bait’s not in the water.”

The next 45 minutes kept the back deck pretty busy and I tried to keep adding a pole or two to our spread in-between bites whenever I could.  Trevor kept busy grabbing the pounding poles, handing them off to the fishermen and directing traffic to keep the multiple fish attacks from crossing lines.  In between, if a rig went without a bite, we dropped it a little deeper every 10 minutes or so.  It wasn’t long and the setup on my side, now down to 150 feet of line, started pounding.  “GRAB THAT DIVER,” shouted Trevor to a fisherman.  Adding,“That’s the green e-chip aqua/glow Howie fly that worked yesterday, just needed to be a bit deeper.”   

He was right, as we kept lowering the baits, the kings kept biting.  It slowed soon enough, but for now action was HOT.  As the warm summer kept easing the surface temperatures of Lake Michigan up, the fish seemed to stay out and down a bit deeper.  Something I kind of expected with the mild winter and very early spring weather.  This was a little early for this tactic, but you can still capture fish if you understand where the active fish will be hiding out.  Just then, Trevor jumped up, “HIGH BIRD, SEE THE STEELIE JUMPING?” He shouted.  We didn’t keep ALL the baits low.

To keep more baits in the “fish zones,” I rigged up my Ugly Stik / Alphamar combos with Trilene 100% Professional Braid in 65# test.  I used 10 ounce and 12 ounce weights and ran them 120 to 250 feet back behind large Yellow Bird planer boards to get them down 80 to 150 feet and keep my flasher/fly and spoons down deep where the kings are hanging out.   My Slide Divers have the magnum weights and magnum rings to get those well below the 100-foot mark and spooled my Traxstech downriggers with 300 feet of cable and running 15 pound and 17 pound weights.  If the fish go deeper yet, they will easily handle up to 26 pound weights.  I also spooled my downrigger combos with 50# Trilene braid and 60 feet of Trilene Professional fluorocarbon line.  I can run my riggers very deep without seeing my line bow way back and also the braid telegraphs every bite back to the rod amazingly well, when running deep riggers.

Steelhead will often stay near the surface where they can target bugs on the surface and still attack higher swimming alewife.  While my larger, inside Yellow Bird planer boards are pulling 10 ounce weights with varying long lengths of line to reach the deeper kings, I like to keep at least one smaller planer on the outside of my spread, pulling a brightly colored spoon, usually with orange or red on silver, to entice that occasional steelhead strike.  Some days during mid-summer, several higher baits per side are very effective in capturing those roaming steelhead.

As we all enjoy a warm summer this season, don’t forget to look deep for the kings as the surface temperature heats up.  Running flasher/fly combos and glow spoons near thermoclines setting up down deep can entice hungry king action.  I also try to keep a few spoons near the surface to tease some tail-dancing steelhead.  There’s nothing like a mixed bag in the cooler!

For current fishing reports or information on charter fishing in the Algoma area, check out my report page at www.FishAlgoma.com.  You can even sign up for periodic newsletters and fishing reports.  From Captain Lee and the crew aboard the Grand Illusion 2, we are looking forward to seeing all of you on the water this summer.  Good Luck and Good Fishing!

Lee Haasch is an Algoma charter captain with over 40 years of Great Lakes fishing experience. He’s been writing and giving seminars for more than 25 years. Contact: FishAlgoma.com or call 888-966-3474.

TIP OF THE MONTH.  Lake Michigan waters have gotten cleaner and clearer over the last several years.  Zebra mussels, less nutrients washed into the lake, whatever the reason, the result has been gin clear water.  This has the fishermen adapting to the conditions.  The clear water enables the fish to see the boat and other objects that may cause them to hesitate to take your baits.  The best way to entice the bite is to keep your baits farther away from the boat with weights or divers.  A couple of ways I do this are using Yellow Bird planer boards to keep rigs wide from the boat and capture those fish that shy wide of the boat.  Next, I use Slide Divers to allow me to stretch my leads behind the Slide Diver 50 to 75 feet back.  When a fish hits, it slides down to about 3 feet in front of the fish to allow easy netting.  Lastly, to keep my downriggers working for me, I spool my Alphamar’s with 50# Trilene braid and then attach a 75-foot leader of 25# Trilene fluorocarbon leader using an improved albright knot.  The knot will reel right up and I can run very deep downriggers and stretch my lead back 75 feet behind the ball, reduce bow back and the braid will telegraph every little bite to the rod tip.

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