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Why LongLiner?

More than 20 years of thought went into the development of LongLiner. Often, we fishermen consider innovative ways to increase our angling effectiveness; after all, that is what we do. LongLiner was born out of my need to effectively and simply present a lure or bait at a great distance from my boat at depth without weight near the offering. Also, landing a fish without the encumbrance of a lengthy leader below a traditional in-line weight, or the need to fish with the heavy gear associated with lead-core or metal lines was an exciting thought. Though I own two very nice downriggers, there were times when I was fishing without them or didn't want to use them, especially when fishing shallower than 50 feet.

The solution began to form as I recalled the in-line sliding weights, which affix to the line by a spring-type jam catch. They worked well at first, but would eventually fray the line and were often unusable on light gear. They did work very well on heavy lines, especially when fishing for salmon with plugs or bait. I caught a 41 pound king salmon on Puget Sound when I was 14 years old fishing one of these weights, 50 or more feet ahead of my prized pink pearl Lucky Louie plug. But they were also prone to snagging, risking your favorite plug if you were wanting to hit bottom as no drop line for the weight was possible with this set-up.

I have a passion for Kamloops rainbow trout. Often in clear lakes when you are targeting trophy sized fish, it is very difficult to catch them with traditional fly gear when trolling. Without a 100 foot leader or more attached to a fly line, or a long leader on a clear sink fly line (which stays relatively shallow) or a very long leader on lead core, you simply will not catch many fish—especially the big ones. Getting your fly away from the boat (far away) is the first rule of targeting large fish—either when casting or trolling. My solution was to flat line when the fish were shallow with fluorocarbon, which works wonderfully well on the surface or just below. So I loaded an extra spool on my fly rod with 6 pound fluorocarbon and got quite dangerous! If the fish were deeper, I'd troll my clear slow sink line. Of course the next problem was how to fish at greater depth when the fish were down below 5 feet or more, without an in-line weight or the heavy gear needed for lead core line. And I often recalled my apprehension when fighting a 20 pound Laker (Mackinaw) on 8 pound line and an ultralight spinning rod fished with a downrigger. The the big fish was digging in his heels right at the ball while I was handling the rod and trying to bring the ball up at the same time! I did land the fish, but it was quite a rodeo all alone in my small boat.

Then there was the issue of long leaders and salmon fishing. Whether using herring (cut plug or whole) or plugs, a long leader is very helpful with bait action. So many times a fish is lost at the boat when your crescent or ball weight comes to the rod tip. When that occurs your reeling is done and you must attempt control of a hot fish and bring it to net with both a long rod and a long leader. Most of us have had such experiences. So for the sake of friendships, sprained backs, and getting more fish in the net, a solution was needed.

Sometime in 2005 or 2006 I challenged myself to do something or quit thinking about it -- to "fish or cut bait." So, I decided to spend some time in an attempt to solve the problem of long leaders, presentations, weights, and landing fish. I really didn't expect the endeavor to go too far but the process became more interesting at every step. At first I made a large wooden prototype which worked surprisingly well. As more functional prototypes were made, my fishing partners helped in field testing until my finished LongLiner became available to the market in late 2009 and was granted a patent early in 2010

What will LongLiner do?

by Steve Lumsden, owner/inventor

"Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery element were made for wise men to contemplate,
and fools to pass by without consideration."
-- Izaak Walton (1593-1683), The Compleat Angler