Lucky dog that you are to have a friend who is a bonafide master angler. My friends are stuck with a master tangler. I hear part of his expertise is snipping out tangles of braid 

fireline is definitely the way to go if you use superlines. i use that on my baitcaster and it is VERY easy to get the tangles out. the stuff has no memory and after the nastiest of snarls, there is not even the slightest clue afterward. this year i actually jigged using my baitcaster more than my jig rod and i had no trouble with the no stretch line. my only complaint about the line is that the strength rating is shock strength and not slow pull strength. ive had the line snap on seemingly harmless backlashes and watched nice lures go flying and sink. on the reverse note, ive pulled up fallen trees and straightened many hooks using the stuff. be sure to have a piece of dowel or stick to wrap around your line to pull it free. ive had the stuff cut into my paddles *cringes* so be prepared.

however! i will add that to use fireline as your main/only line, you have to make sure your rod is up for the challenge. your rod has to be of higher quality, so that means porcelain/titanium/steel guides on your eyelets, most importantly the tip one. fireline will absolutely destroy a plastic/vinyl material eyelet. then you have to make sure you have the proper rod type to handle the lack of stretch. my experience shows that you need a fast action tip, with a medium to slow action mid-blank.  this means that the tip is very sensitive and the middle part of the rod bends fairly deeply and returns to straight a bit less quickly than the tip. this style of blank allows the rod to absorb any quick changes in tension as well as keep the hook firmly planted in the fish.

I want to thank you all for your suggestions, very helpful indeed.  My fishing experience, such as it is, has been mostly confined to late spring and early summer so I appreciate the reminder that the late summer patterns will be very different than what I’m used to.  I have pulled out all my deep diving jerks and cranks, those that are rated 12 to 20 feet, and plan to pack 15 or so of those along with a few shallow divers and a handful of top water baits for early morning and later evening.  I also took your advice, Jax, and picked up a Taildancer and an X Rap Shad so I should be good for cranks.  I also appreciated your reminder, Jax, to fish from shallow to deep rather than the other way round, makes a lot of sense.  

Now a few questions regarding jigs and worming.  I have no experience with jig heads so ... I picked up some ¼ ounce jig heads.  They are the BPS store brand with the big painted eye.   Will these do the trick or is there another brand, size or style that would be better?  I got a pack of Chompers 4” Skirted Grubs in Green Pumpkin and a pack of Yamamoto 5” D/T H-Grubs which are basically the same thing, skirted double tailed grubs.  Snow Dog, are these what you were suggesting or would I be better off with something else?  Now, with worms rigged wacky style, would I be best to crimp ¼ ounce shot above the hook to get the bait down or just wacky rig with a jighead (the hook style on the jigheads don’t seem that well suited to wacky rigging)?  Also Mr. B, would I be pairing the swim baits with the jig heads or with worm hooks with ¼ ounce shot crimped to the line?  Again, is there a difference in quality or results between brands of jig heads and is ¼ ounce the right size for the swimbaits?

Thanks much for your input.

the only lakes on your route that i have any fishing experience in is batch and jesse. maria is just a quick pass through for us. batch is a semi clear/light stained water so bright naturals (silvers) and bright colors work best for cranks. make sure to troll the northwest shoreline right after you get into the lake if you want lakers. i heard lately red was a pretty hot color for lakers but ive never tried it myself. the narrows right before the beaver dam used to be an excellent smallie area because of the many large rocks, but when we went through there was some really nasty slimy stuff up in there so there werent any fish. jesse is a lake we have really hit hard over the years. im sad to inform you that you arent going to catch any bass there (i havent in 5 years of fishing there). its a walleye factory with a few northerns tossed in. jesse is really stained water, so youll want to avoid the translucent natural tones and go for really bright colors. white and chartreuse/milktruese(opaque chartreuse) have been the hot ticket on jesse. because of the dark tint, the water will be warmer so the fishing will be pretty active. also the tint really cuts down on the light penetration into the water, so you can catch walleyes on jesse all day long. look for reefs and submerged rocks. the water was super high on jesse so you cant see the usual reefs.

Kerry wrote on Aug 4^th, 2010 at 11:10pm:


Yup, that is what I was suggesting.  The 1/4 oz heads should work fine on the Chompers.  I'm not familiar with the Yamamoto Grubs but at 5", they may be a bit bulky for the 1/4 oz. heads.  You might need to go to a 3/8 oz. head but I'm not certain about that.

Sounds like you are going to have a good trip!