Fish-Hawk.Net

So about 7 boats worth of my family is heading to our annual laker opener this saturday and I have treated myself to a pair of manual downriggers this year. I also bought the rods and reels as well. tyically we all use leadcore on the lake, but i wanted to try to be a bit more productive and precise with my fishing this year. so now that i have all the gear i am wondering where to start. what i mean is in the past we have used gang trolls and tryed to get out about 8-10 colors on the linecore. but i have always been sceptical of the depth that we were running at. what i am looking for is good starting depth for running the downriggers and if i should use the gang trolls, or just a spoon...... and any other tips about downrigging would really help.

thanks in advance.

Use your electronics to tell you what depth the fish are at then go from there...at this time of year I usually am running about 25-35 down....but keep an eye on your graph.....depending on pressure they can move deeper or shallower from day to day....

For inland downrigging I've really scaled down my tackle....10 pound test mono and limber poles....much better to read light biting fish and more fun on the fight...

I mainly use spoons....but bodybaits will also take fish....match the hatch....

Good Luck...

RJ

To add to RJ's reply.

If running the rigger 20-35 ft ,I tend to use a longer lead off the ball (40+ feet). The brighter the day or heavier the boat traffic the further back I go.

As I go deeper I start to shorten the distance behind the ball.(sometimes as close as 10ft)

SO far Saturday is looking bright and warmer then the last few days

Ditto on what both RJ and Dartee said.

One thing to add. If you are marking the fish at 30 feet, and you put your rigger down 30 with a 40ft lead off the ball, then your lure may be dragging around 40 feet or so. Just pay attention to how much lead your using, and make an estimate at what depth you think the lead will add to the overall depth.

Actually Luke...

If you put the ball down 30...you are actually down about 27-28 with backdrift of the ball....and depending on speed your spoon will drop a bit but not near 10 feet....unless its a 1/2 ounce Cleo...

Lots of things determine where your bait actually is running.....but speed plays the biggest part....

Oh....and ALWAYS fish above the fish you are marking....

Once you get onto the downrigger thing you will wonder why you waited so long. Im sure your production will go up. Happy Trolling!!!

thanks for all the advice guys. Since i started this thread I have been out twice, and let me tell ya, i love those downriggers! It has made my laker fishing alot more productive. I like how you are able to throw just about anything behind them at any distance and depth. the beauty of it is i can see both balls on the sonar which makes it dead easy to see where you are tracking. thanks again for all the advice!!!!

Happy Fishin!