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OK, "wise" guys, help me out on this one. As many of you know, just got a boat and I'm trying to learn the art of trolling. I have two downriggers. What kind of set-up do I really need? Several people have told me I'll be fine just using my regular spinning set up with a little heavier line. Others have told me I MUST have a heavier weight rod and superline.
I basically want to be able to do 3 things: 1)troll for kokes at the gorge, 2) troll/jig for macks at the gorge 3) have an all-purpose set up for trolling/jigging various species at other Utah lakes (wipers at willard, troutskies at da berry, etc.)
Could a medium weight rod with superline do me fine for both big macks and general trolling duties? Then perhaps a lighter set-up for kokes? Thanks in advance for your great wisdom!!!!!!!!!
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Well, first off, I agree with those that said you don't need anything special for trolling with a down rigger - your set-up(what ever it is, should work). That said, remember to match your rig or set-up to the species you are after. A down rigger changes none of that. When your rigger releases upon a strike from a fish, your set-up takes it from there - that's why you match your set-up to the fish species rather than the down rigger. But realistically, if you play them right ,just about any set-up can work for any fish(within reason).
In short, you should be just fine with whatever you have now(unless you currently fish with 1 lb test line). Of course, a person can't have too much fishing stuff, so it's OK to go ahead and get more if you want.
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Well stated Bloodhound (2lb test might be a challenge as well) can I use your last sentence to justify my requests for additional fishing tackle? I'll even quote you so I am not plagiarizing you in any way.
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[#ff0000]"[/#ff0000][size 1][#ff0000]Of course, a person can't have too much fishing stuff, so it's OK to go ahead and get more if you want." (Bloodhound, 2005)[/#ff0000] [/size]
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What happened to the good old days. I remember my first trolling experience was with the lead core line wrapped around a board, Did this for many years and caught many fish. Now that was fishing.
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Well lets see, "what is really necessary for a trolling rig?",, Hmm?! Well you'll need some sort a floating device such as a float tube, toon, or boat and of course a fishing rod might come in handy. Oh wait you have those so if you have your ball weights and release/s I guess your set. [ ]
The true is,, there are no set in stone answers. Like anything else its all up to your personal choice as to use. Some would tell you dragging steel is the only way to catch Mac while others will tell you downriggers. Yet others will tell you jiggin' is the only way to role. I use both spinning and casting outfits with my rigger. Heck I've even been known to surfice drag flies behind the boat at sundown,, but dont tell anyone because if you repete that I'll deny it...[laugh]
The trick to the game is to find what works best for you in both having fun and producing fish.
As long as you feel comfortable using your spinning outfit use it. I would however suggest if you plan to run a spinning rig for Mac you upgrade the line weight..
BTW.. I dont always consider catchin' fish the fun part of trollin'.
Good luck and if ya run across an old green 12' aluminum dinker with a fat man kickin' back in it, say hi.
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[size 1]"BTW.. I dont always consider catchin' fish the fun part of trollin'."[/size]
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[size 1]So Don, please share your wisdom with us, if catchin' fish isn't the fun part of trollin' what is?[/size]
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WELL I HAVE DIFFERNT POLES FOR DIFFERNT APLICATIONS. TROLL FOR KOKES AND TROUT MED WEIGHT ROD ONE PEACE WITH SPINNING REALS. FOR LAKERS GO ONE PEACE 9 FT MEADUIM HVY ROD WITH LEVAL WIND REALS WITH STEAL LINE. RENT SOME VIDEOS ON TROLLING FOR MACS AND KOKES. SOME WALLEYE TROLLING VIDS ARE KILLER FROM INFISHERMAN.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Line Counter Reels. You'll never regret it.[/size][/black][/font]
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Amen Brother!!! i'll second that.
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I will third that. I already have two line counter reels, and I won two more on eBay earlier this week. My new ones are smaller ones that I plan on using for vertical jigging. I figure they will be extremely helpful on reaching the exact depth that I want to fish to catch the suspended trout and kokanee at Strawberry this year.
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You can get by with just about anything if you need to, but whats the fun in that? Here are a few things that I have noted:
[ul] [li]Braided superlines are a pain to use with downriggers and inline planer boards. They tend to be slick and prematurely release from the clips, I usually end up having to make a loop around one end of the clip to make these lines hold. Mono, copoly, and flouro lines work well in the clips.[/li] [li]When downrigging I prefer a heavy tension clip where all but the biggest fish will not trip the rigger (I always use stacker clips with the line end of the clip cable lengthened to make even the smallest bites apparent, then I 'manually' release the down rigger by pulling the line out from my end, thus avoiding having to reset the DR for every bump and hit, especially when you are in the middle of a school, often these 'bumps' that would trip a normal clip will hit several more times until they get hooked). This works best with a long, light action rod. The problem here is that a no-stretch line may tear the hooks out before I can release the rigger, snubbers help a little with this, especially on kokanee.[/li] [li]Braided super lines seem to have too little give when trolling fast. Lighter action rods and loose drags help somewhat, but I prefer a mono,poly, or flouro line for this.[/li] [li]NOTHING beats a no-stretch super line for deep water jigging! [/li] [li]Level wind reels (baitcasters) have smoother and more even tension on the drag, tend to have less line twist, and are much easier to set the hook on when a fish takes your jig on the drop, which happens frequently (thumb the spool and set the hook). I definitely prefer these reels for fighting big macks.[/li] [li]I use spincasting rigs with power pro for casting, baitcasting rigs with power pro for jigging, level winds with mono (soon to be silver thread) for trolling and dragging inline planer boards, and line counters with long, light action rods for downrigging.[/li][/ul]
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thumbs up on the line counter reels,i would never go back to a reel with out it for trolling.
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I agree with the line counters for sure!!! Also something to keep in minde take a GPS with you if you don't have any other way to mark speed it will help keep you in the speed zone they want. Kokanee can be a killer on speed preference I have had a big difernce between .9mph and 1.4 mph up at Porcupine some days they like it faster others slower. But once you find the magic number and you stay there it will make a huge diference in the amount of fish that hit the boat deck!!
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