Slamming salmon: mid-summer chinook action on Lake Ontario

With the Toronto skyline in the distance, two reels sit at the ready. On the left is a Shimano Tekota connected to a Dipsy diver, which brought the bait down to roughly 60 feet. On the right is the Islander TR3 connected to a downrigger. One of the big differences between a level-wind and a single-action trolling reel is the amount of line you can retrieve with each turn of the handle. With the former, it’s usually 5, 6 or 7 to 1 ratio. With a single-action reel, it’s a 1:1 ratio, as the name implies. As well, single-actions have the drag and paddle handles on the side, which can translate into some serious knuckle busting if you’re not paying attention when a fish takes off on a run.