Salmon University online lessons

Mootching basics

Rods
Use a sensitive rod, ie. graphite
buy the best one you can afford

Reels
Small reel is OK. some examples
Ambassaudor 6500, 6501
Penn 109
Smallest Triton

Main Line
use Spectra braided lines... low stretch, very sensitive
15lb test is good
14lb FireLine has diameter of 6lb mono
20lb PowerPro has diameter of 6lb mono
use proper knots to tie it

Leaders
Use flourocarbon mono for your leaders
It is invisible in the water
It is a stiffer line than nylon monos
Important to wet the line before tying knots... otherwise it will "burn"
Use only solid tie leaders
You can use foam pipe wrap to store your leaders
Use a 2x4 and two nails to get proper leader length
Length of the leader depends upon the length of your rod. 6ft is a good starting point.

Use ball sinkers... need less lead to get down than with crescent sinkers
hook it to a Slido

Use a good Sampo ball bearing swivel

Bait
Properly cured frozen bait is fine
Here's the cure:
1 quart water to 1 cup rock salt
5 dozen herring to 2 quarts water, to 2 cups rock salt in a one gallon picnic thermos, stays good for a while
Use them whole or plug cut
Use them whole in the winter because they drop better and fish are on the bottom in winter

Fish at drop offs
80% of your fish will hit on the drop

Use the least amount of weight you can to reach bottom

The setup is:
mainline
golf tee
slido w/ weight
ball bearing swivel
leader