In a river situation where I can expect a few chum over 15lbs, I don't go less than an 8wt.

My few times in the hoodsport area I found the chum a little smaller and the fight in th salt a little easier to handle. But I would still be hisitant to go less than a 7wt.

I don't think relying on a trolling motor would be a good idea. I forget what all the launches are like, but the one we used was 20mins away and we were cruising at 45mph.

Trolling flys might work but I prefer to cast and strip with varying speeds. Sometimes the slowly sinking fly draws the take.

Last year there was only one guy who was puposely snagging. He'd zip his tiny little dingy between the anchored boats and get between the guys wading and the boats - cast right into a crowd of fish and immediately set the tebble hook on his buzz bomb into the side of a fish. He snagged fish on nearly every cast...