Re: down rigger question.
This is a good book to get started. Buy the book before you buy a downrigger because it will compare the various brands.
http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Pro-Troll-Downrigger-Fishing-Techniques/dp/B0009HBAOE
I bought a Canon Easi Troll for $80 off Craigslist and it came with the downrigger weight included. I picked up an extra spool of wire and an extra weight.
It has a high ratio crank speed. Like one turn of the crank turns the spool 3 times. So even if the weight is down 100 feet it does not take that many cranks to get it back up. Electrics are nice, but not cheap if you are only going to use them infrequently.
I carry two weights (one as a spare about $20) cause if you get hung up on the bottom your trollings done for that day!
They are pretty much the same. I personally like the Canon brand because it has many available accessories and is owned by Johnson Outdoors and they are great for replacement parts.
Just google downrigger fishing tips and there are many links to articles written to show you how to hook the bait or lure up and give your tips.
Lake Trout are hard fish to catch.
I also use a flasher which is a big piece of shiny metal that is attached 10 feet back off the down rigger weight. It's spins and wiggles and makes noise to attract light at those deep depths and makes it look like there is a school of bait fish around your lure.
The line from your rod attaches by a special clasp that pinches the downrigger wire which holds your line about 10 feet above the weight. When a fish bites the line releases from the downrigger wire and the fight starts between just you, your rod and the fish.
If you want to catch fish though go into a local bait or fishing store near the lake you are going to and ask them which lures and colors are the lakers biting on.
Troll about 1 mile an hour for Lakers and 2 mph for Salmon.
The downrigger will get your lure down to 150 feet if necessary, but what is most important is knowing where the thermocline of the lake is and the temperture that the particular species your after. In the spring the lakers are near the surface where the tributaries come into the lake as they are chasing the smelt. As the water warms up they go deeper. In mid summer they can be down from 45 to 150 feet depending on the water temperature. So if as an example a lake trout only lives in water between 45 and 55 degrees you need to use your downrigger to place your lure in that band of water within 45-55 degrees, the thermocline for that temperature. Once you find it in most areas of the lake the thermocline will be the same depth for days or weeks at a time all over the lake.
You can drop a thermometer on a string down to find the thermocline at 45-55 degrees.
Some fishfinders also tell water temperature.
I bought one of these used off ebay for about $90, new ones cost around $200:
http://store.fishhawkelectronics.com/Product/961/Handheld-water-temp-meter-with-200'-cable/
Has a scale on the side showing what water temps each species of fish hang around.
I'd try and save on the troller because they are pretty simple. It's just a wheel spooled with metal wire with a crank. I'd invest what you saved on the used troller and get a used fish hawk water temperature locator.
Even though you don't use it that many times a year at least the few times you go you will catch fish. Nothing is more frustrating to see the fish on your fish finder just following along right behind your lure, but they won't bite because they don't like your offering or color.
So to summarize:
#1 first you find out what they are biting on
#2 get a few of the colors for the lake you are going to fish.
#3 find out what depth 45-55 degrees is
#4 hook the lure to the downrigger (read articles on google how to attach the lures)
#5 troll 1 mph
# fry um up in pan
They make lead core line that can get a lure down pretty deep but once you start moving the lure starts moving up. Downriggers are more accurate and more fun to use.
Here is a link where I discussed pretty much the same thing as to how to catch Lake Trout:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=310729
