Trolling Question??

[Bait_Caster]

I want to troll up on Bear Lake, I have NEVER trolled with down riggers before so I would like some pointers. I do own the Down Riggers. (But I need to buy $$, some led weights) I do not know how heavy to buy,??
Here is some of my questions:

1) Led down riggers weights, How heavy?
2) How long of a Rod ??
3) Rod Action Fast, ?? Or What?
4) What weight Rod, MH? Hvy?

My down Riggers are Manual, (Not Electric) If this makes any differents .

5) What clips do I need to hook my line to?? I need to buy them also?
I am wanting to become proficient with trolling, and have never had anyone show me the ropes.
So any info would be great.
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[OCF]

Here is my 2 cents, I am sure others will chime in:

1) Led down riggers weights, How heavy? With a manual down rigger, I would start out with a 6 lbs cannon ball style (rubber coated). Over time you might want to get some 4 lb and 8 lb weights.
2) How long of a Rod ?? I like using 7'-6" Lamiglass rods. However, there are some really good trolling rods that are cheaper. Connon & Cabelas come to mind.
3) Rod Action Fast, ?? Or What? I like a rod with a lot of flexibility - check my avatar. I like a good bend in the rod while clipped to the down rigger.
4) What weight Rod, MH? Hvy? Get one that is designed for trolling and the size fish you generally catch. I have a pair of rods I us at FG for the macs and another set I use for Strawberry for every day fishing.

5) What clips do I need to hook my line to?? I need to buy them also? I have used a variety of clips over the years - my favorite are the Scotty - I buy both the small ones and the large ones and use the most appropriate for the size of gear I am trolling through the water.
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[americanforkdude]

I have manual cannon riggers. I have always used lbweights because I have the mold and make my own. I also heard 8 lb will also stay directly under the boat. I know my downriggers recommend 6lb downrigger weights or less. My question is, will the 6 lb weightsstay directly under the boat? And if not how far do you generally think they sway?
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[OCF]

You get some blow back with whatever weight is used. Of course, the heavier the weight the more vertical your ball will hang. Speed is also a factor - the faster you go the more blow back you get. The answer to your question is - it depends on how deep you are fishing and how fast you are trolling.

I have always had electric DR, so I am not the expert on the manual DRs. I would think a guy would fatigue rather fast with an 8 or 10 lbs ball (cranking it up all of the time) - especially if the fishing is fast. I guess it depends on how macho you are.

I would recommend get the heaviest DR ball you can handle. ALways remember you are fishing shallower than what your DR counter is telling you. I generally fish with 10 lbs weights.
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[Bait_Caster]

This is all Good info: I'll take all the pointers I can get. Keep sharing.
Where is a good place to buy the clips. Led weights? etc...
We have a Sportsman's here.
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[americanforkdude]

I make my own 8lb fish downrigger weights. I will sell them to you for $15 a peice. They track well in the water.
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[Northman]

Well, you know it's getting serious when your using down riggers. Welcome to the club! Shasta tackle has a video that covers down rigging as well as anyone. It is hosted by Gary the owner, and Sportsmans carries it. I personally don't like his releases or shuttle hawk. But the how to info is good.

As far as weight- you want 1 pound of weight for every ten feet of depth you intend to fish. This keeps your cable straight so your depth reading on your rigger is accurate.

For releases- I don't like ajustables. I use offshore brands light. They are the white releases. I also use their stacking release.


Speed- You will want to have some way to track your speed when trolling. Some of us use a gps. Some of use use a magnetic speed wheel. I use both. How fast or slow you present your lures can be critical.

Generally for trout/Kokanee you will want to use as light of a set up as possible. The reason why is that you want your set up to "release" when a small fish takes the lure. You don't want to drag a 4" fish half way around the lake. It is not as big of a problem when trolling for lakers/stripers because they use deeper water than their prey and then come up shallower to feed.

Hope this helps. []
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[Northman]

When trolling/down rigging we have some good ways of "measuring"what we are doing. But it is also good to keep in mind that trolling is a art not a exact science. Sometimes you just have to use your best S.W.A.G.

What is a swag you ask? Well a swag is you best scientfice wild a$$ guess.
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[liketrolling]

not much to add OCF said it all
I like the big Scotty Downrigger Release Clip
with Manual down riggers I would use the Shasta tackle shuttle hawk
(Google, how to use,, you tube)
if you catch more than 50 fish that is a lot of work with Manual down riggers
I use the shuttle hawk for stacking rods and add the small scotty clip.
my cannon elec.downrigger cable gives off a small electric charge that fish are attracted to. so to use this (I have 3 down riggers)
I use a line set back from the ball of 40' 30' and 20'
this works good for me.
you need a good fishfinder so you can see the balls. and put them just a bove the fish. mine I can see the shuttle hawk.
If you wand to go to strawberry some time let me know, I can take you.
watch you tube and you will become good.
and the rods you use are a big dill.
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[Bait_Caster]

"WOW" Such awesome information... SWEET.. This now brings up more Questions?? But First... I have Great sonar. I use GPS for speed control, I have a lot of the High Tec. motchooo goodies already this is why I'm digging all this information your feeding me..
But ? I like Northman's term for S.W.A.G. I'm all over that. []

1) What is White Release? Where do I Buy $$ this item?
2) Stacking Release? What is this ???
Liketrolling: What is a Shuttle Hawk? And who sells this item?
Also FYI. The Berry is my #1 Favorite go to Place... And I will definitely take you up on, a trip to the Berry for some 1 on 1
Schooling!! YES!! []

ANY More technical Tips out there??
I am really eating this up.. I am digging this schooling,
And want more..
Thanks O.C.F for your tech and input too..
Also I plan on getting 1 of those CD's on trolling from Sportsman's
What else we got Guy's... More Tips, & Tricks ??
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[RILEYFISH]

Terry,
I have sent you a pm.
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[Northman]

The white release is just the color of it. They are made by the offshore company. They use colors for the diffrent levels of tension it takes to pull the fishing line out of the release. The white release is the lightest.

The primary release it clipped right to the ball.
A stacker release is cliped onto the down rigger cable so that you can run a second line above the ball.

I use three manual cannon down riggers on my boat. I don't think that it's that big of a deal to drop and raise them. I haven't used other brands but the Cannons are geared well and it's a quick process to drop and raise them. I do however, set my purse down to operate them.

If you need to get rods I would stop into Anglers Den. I bought a ugly stick light rod that is made for down rigging that I like better than my Lamaglass rods. They are only $40 so you can spend a little more on the reel. They keep them in stock and sell a lot if them to Kokanee fisherman.
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[Fowl-Hook]

I've used a lot of different releases that I thought worked rather well. However!!
Chamberlain releases are my favorite for two reasons they adjust for the lure tension to release and adjust for the rod tension on the release. I have learned to like that. Secondly I can clip my line into the release with one hand allowing me to hold my rod instead of sitting it down and then picking it up.
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[mtncat1]

if you are just beginning to fish with down riggers remember to keep it simple. manual riggers work great they are just a little more work. 6lbs weight will work great for all lakes in ut and are my go to weights. don't worry about stacking until you get more experience. so forget about the shuttle hawks and stacker releases. the absolute best release clop is the small offshore brand usually sold by seps at sportsman's, under ten bucks a piece. Rods any decent salmon rods work great for most species. I like 7 foot rmt rods with level wind reels with clickers .set up your down riggers by letting out about 30' of line then clip up and lower to your preferred depth., don't over think it especially at first have fun.[fishin]
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[BearLakeFishGuy]

I have to put my 3 cents worth in to this discussion.

1) I prefer heavy, PANCAKE style downrigger weights. My weights are just under 12 lbs. The heavier weights and pancake style weights track closer to your boat and you can "watch" the weights on your sonar even when trolling deep. With lighter weights they swing back farther due to your speed and the water resistance on the weight and line, especially at depths of 50' and deeper. With my 12 pounder pancakes I can still see them on my sonar at 100' and 2.5mph and they are close to straight down. I make my own downrigger weights in the pancake style and would be willing to sell you one if you are interested in trying it out. They are more expensive than the regular cannon ball styles, but they are much better at tracking straight down and not 45 degrees behind the boat.
2) I highly recommend a longer rod for the downrigger. I use 8'6" Cabelas Depthmaster Downrigger Trolling rods. The model I like is: DM-DR-86M This rod has the flexibility needed for Kokanee yet can muscle up lakers to over 20lbs.
3) You want a "downrigger" style rod. It is what I think of a slow action. Shakespeare Ugly Stik Big Water Downrigger Rod, Lamiglas, and Diawa all make nice downrigger rods, but for your money, the Cabelas rod mentioned above is my favorite and I have used all of them. Also, definitely use a baitcaster reel with a line counter. The line counter is almost a must for Kokanee but is also very helpful for trolling at Bear Lake. Again, I use a Cabelas reel and have been very happy with the. The model I used is a DM-30B, but a DM-20B would also be fine. In fact, the trolling combos with the exact rod I mentioned above and the reel I mentioned above is on sale for $59 right now (regularly $79). You can't go wrong for a rod/reel combo for $59! The code is: DMDR-86M-30B. I just might need to pick up another one at these prices.
4) I use a straight Medium weight rod, but you can go to a MH too. However, I like to fish for Kokanee with the same rods as I do for Cutthroat Trout and Lake Trout on Bear Lake, so I use the medium.
5) This question is like asking what depth finder is best or what gun is best for deer. Personally, I like the Offshore Downrigger Releases. They have the biggest grip pads which allow you to set the release easily and without tools to how strong you want it to be. They make different weight releases and I use the Medium for all of my fishing. Avoid the releases that are complicated or with very little pads since when it is cold outside you want something simple that does not ice up when you're trying to set it with numb fingers. With that said, I don't like the Big Jon or Black's releases. The Cannon, Scotty or Offshore are much better in my humble opinion.

You'll have to come up and fish with me one day and I'd be happy to show you how I do it.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

You've got some great advice coming at ya. Bet folks are missing their boats (unless they are fishing Bear Lake!)

I'm no expert, but I've dabbled, and being a book-learner kinda guy, I found one very basic book that covers a lot.

[url "http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Troll-Fishing-Products-Downrigger-Techniques/dp/B0009HBAOE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422307600&sr=1-1&keywords=downriggers"]Pro Troll[/url] or [url "http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Downrigger-Fishing-Techniques-Book/737227.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Ddownrigger%2Bfishing%26x%3D18%26y%3D5%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=downrigger+fishing&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products"]Cabelas[/url] version (same, but cheaper)

Nobody has really mentioned line-counters. Was shown stacking this summer, and I'm sold. Have one clip off the ball, drop your first line out maybe 30 ft, clip in, then we'd drop about 10', toss the outer line and let out some 60ft, and clip in, then drop the ball on both.
I like the stacker clips that are like a big paperclip on the wire, then a line back to the line-clip.

I tried a few different variety of rods, and I've got a downrigger rod, flexy tip, rigid backbone, but it's much heavier than the Kokanee rods I got this summer. They have SUCH a bend to them, great for them lil' Porky piglets.

Oh, and one last tip . . . watch your bottom!

[Northman]

What are you talking about? I thought snagging the bottom was all just part of the experience.[laugh]
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[Bait_Caster]

I have been away from the computer for a while, away working.
But tonight I'm back, and started reading your reply's.
You guy's are awesome with a world of info...
I will re-read them all. Take notes, and pick up the CD's the BOOK's
mentioned, and will definitely jump in your boats for some Hand to Hand combat... I am digging the information. Again I Thank you "ALL" for your input.. I am wanting to learn all about Stacking, and fall back etc.. B.L.F.G. talks of some Heavy Bad Boy's in the 12# range, I'll talk to you soon about these, OK? My Goal is to Troll these water with knowledge: Strawberry, Lake Powell, F. Gorge, Bear Lake.
I feel each water has a different technique needed. But that's what we call FISHING.[]
Again if any of you have a different take or something to help out, Chime in.. I am really going over these reply's with a fine tooth comb.
This is awesome, Thanks for sharing.
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[SatchSquatch]

I started reading all the replies but stopped quite a ways in. It looks like a lot of people are steering you away from manual. I bought two riggers last summer to get into some deep trolling and figured I could add my two cents...if it's duplicate, please forgive me.

I got cannon easy troll manual riggers. Sure they're manual, but they're actually geared to pull up the line at a faster pace than you spin the handle with minimal effort. You can't really even feel any weight in the retrieve. For the cost I'm completely fine with manual. I did fish with a rigger once that wasn't geared (the handle is directly connected to the spool) and that sucked! I wouldn't buy one of those but I wouldn't hesitate to get the ones I got again though. I run my sonar with them and the line counters are actually pretty accurate. I have a 25 hp motor and 8lb weights and they keep it straight enough down that my sonar picks them up.

I use Scotty clips, primarily because a friend that's way into riggin told me they're the best and I like them.

Hope that helps.

[Bait_Caster]

Thanks a bunch SatchSquatch, for your input, So I will now check into the Cannon easy Troll Riggers. all this info is great and well read by me.
Thanks again to "ALL" This info beats the School of Hard Knocks!!
My Learning Curve will be much Faster.
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