thanks jim, every thing ive read lately says im not going fast enough for the flies, going to give it my best, might even leave the lures at home for the first few attempts so that i dont cave in.

eric, early season you don't need leadcore, the fish are up top. Light lines and tackle are what makes this time of year the best. I use 6 or 8# mono to a 4# leader. The leader is 25 to 30 feet long. Slow troll db smelt, top guns, mooselook wobblers or sutton spoons(1.8 to 2.3 mph from a gps unnit). Streamer flies work great also (grey ghost, winni smelt, or whatever Alan has tied at AJs in Meredith always work well. The flies should be trolled a little faster (2.3 to 2.9 mph). I never use dodgers or flashers, takes away too much action in the fight.
I sometimes will put a split shot (stailess steel) just to keep it under the surface. These techniques are successful for a good six weeks after ice out particularly just as the sun rises. Have been doing it this way for over twnty five years, and I very rarely get skunked. You have to work it different every time with colors etc. depending on daily conditions like the sky and the sun - trial and error.
Sometimes you really have to work to find the right combo, but hey if it was easy everyone would be doing it!!!

eric i forgot to mention that live smelt also work quite well. again i would troll live bait in the slower range 1.8 to 2.0 mph. i don't do alot of live bait trolling, but that's just myself, i think biggest salmon and lake trout in 06's derby were both caught on live smelt. goood luck and have fun!

Interesting. I had been thinking of using long mono 1st leaders and final 5-6 ft(pole length) leaders of 6# off leadcore...maybe 1/2 color lead in the water just to get the lure / fly down a few feet.. 4# is sooo light...But I might try it.

I wonder if my lack of success with flies is I was trolling too slow. I typically troll 1.6 - 2.2, hardly much faster but should experiment more at slightly faster speeds, especially ith flies.

Might also consider using a color or two of lead sandwiched between 8 or 10 lb mono. This lets you present far behind the boat and still get a lure or fly down 5 or 10 ft. My biggest rainbow of last year was on an orange tandem fly and this set-up in May. I cannot take credit for this, Travis suggested this for spring trolling when I first met him on a charter in Aug 2005. Hope this helps to get you into a few fish.....

Tim