I can almost taste it! Looks like a great recipe. It's been many years since I've had smoked sturgeon.

I just tried fishing the Mad for the first time on my way back from Oregon. Didn't see or catch anything. Seemed like there are limited access points to the river. Stone lagoon looks like a kool place to fish. I always run past it on my way home from the Klamath or Smith.Maybe one of these times I should give it a go. Is it mostly rainbows in there?

Maybe it's that loud swivel. Haha! Never heard a swivel under water before. As far as spooking them. Party boats hook em running literally under the boat from some of the positions they work from. Different speeds can work for different presentations, and sometimes you have to fiddle with your particular bait to get the optimal performance. ie different baits/lures work at different speeds. The slower you go the more action you need on your bait/lure. So with that there is no perfect speed for all rigs. Also when you factor in amount of tide and direction of travel with against or across the tide also affects your "ground speed" which is all your gps can read. It really boils down to the right amount of "resistance" your create that affects your presentation. Obviously in a non moving body of water (lakes) you can troll any direction and have consistent resistance on your rig. Only thing is wind influence on your actual speed. Pay attention to your line angle entering the water. That is a better indicator of what's going on down there. So with that, it's a trial and error experiment till you get confident in a presentation. Don't be afraid to experiment. Most folks start experimenting when what they are doing isn't working, but if you REALLY want to learn new things. Have the balls to stop doing what's working when it's working and try something different. Most are afraid of missing out on a bite and only try the "other" thing when their old reliable isn't working. Not really a fair trial if you only change when "what usually works" isn't. Maybe they are just off the bite, or your off the fish or bait. I have to say I have learned more over the years doing just that, or truly writing off a day to try something new no matter what else is going on. I've made many discoveries over the years like that... That can be very rewarding, and for me the most fun...so go have fun...

What kind of boat did you buy Steve? I know you were looking for a bigger one than your plastic boat.

I second what Alex said. good advise. When I started fishing with a down rigger (hobie and pb) I would always reel up the down rigger while trying to fight the salmon. Can't tell you how many fish I dropped due to line slacking while cranking the rigger up. Then I started leaving it down and landing the fish with it down. Haven't lost one in the rigger yet, but I'm sure it will happen eventually. The odds for me have been in favor of leaving it down. When I'm fighting a fish I always keep the boat moving in a circular motion on the opposite side of the rigger. Like Alex said, wear him out away from the boat and make sure he's good and wooped before you try and net him. I see so many anglers trying to net green fish that leads to disaster... Keep the drag light at the end of the fight, use your thumb for pressure so you can let off if it makes a mad dash. Have some patients and you will land more fish.

My other choice is the big river hooks. Gammy's copy of the sickle hook.

Apexes are made out of plastic for a reason. They are real light, so they really wobble erraticly. Anything metal is not going to run the same. Also if they are even slightly off balance they won't react the same. Think spinning instead of wobbling.

When I do use a large net I always have a couple heavy duty rubber bands on the shaft to tuck all the excess netting into. It looks a lot like a lacrosse net. Guide the fishes head right to the base of the net hoop. That way when the netting pulls out he's right in the middle. When swooping him, remember to drop the rod as you lift. That helps him dive right into the net. Lifting both at the same time (a natural thing to do) can lead to him bolting, and possibly over shooting your net. Multi hooks can now leave him hanging on the outside of the rim. A sure way to heartbreak...