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