TyeeTanic

I would stagger the lines a good 40 feet in the thermocline - one below, one in and one slightly above - if you are setting your lines at one depth, change this. I've caught most of my fish in awkward temps and unmarked on the fish finder, so you never really know where they really are until you start getting hits.

I use 30 lb to 40 lb leader (depending if I'm on a dipsey or straight to lure) flouro leader material, and 10' long of it.

.... and what depths do you normally troll your dipsy's in??

If you have downriggers the answer is in the above posts. If you don't have downriggers then you need to get yourself a FishHawk TD. $140 and trust me worth all this and more. It is simple, robust and accurate. Mark

Well I'm not going to make any promises, but for sure you need to increase the length of your lead between the dipsey and flasher. I use anything from 6 to 10 feet, with preference towards the longer length. So get yourself some 30# floro and try that. The other question is, are you 100% sure you are putting the flasher on the right way around? The forward end is only slightly narrower than the back end, and it is easy to get them mixed up, especially when in a hurry to get the lines in the water. That is why I prepare my tackle the previous day - I choose a dipsey, attractor (SD, flasher, dream weaver), and fly/lure/meat rig - I pay careful attention to the colour coordination, and make sure all the connections are good. I normally prepare 3 different color patterns (greens, blues, orange/red/pinks) and that allows me to see what the fish are attracted to the next morning, so I can then start switching everything over to what's working. Once I have the setups all ready, then I connect them all up, and I set the dipsys to work on left or right side. I wrap the leaders around the attractor and put everything into a bag. Next morning all I have to do is get to my fishing waypoints (need to know where the fish are!) take my tackle out of the bags, but them on the right rod (left side or right side of boat according to dipsy setting) and drop them into the water - fishing in about 2 minutes. Now - one more trick - you also need to understand what depths to put the dipseys in - I normally drop three dipsys in right away and get them to 30 ft, 40 ft and 50 ft. I then drop my temperature probe (Fishhawk TD, as I don't have down riggers on the boat) and figure out where the 45F to 55F temperature range is and then adjust the levels of my lines to stagger them into this range. I troll this and normally get hits and zero into what depth is working. If this doesn't work for you - then pack the bags, sell the boat and try and new hobbie.

Swivel could be the issue, but please use around 5 to 10 feet of 20 to 30 lb leader (florocarbon)!!!

Swivel could be the issue, but please use around 5 to 10 feet of 20 to 30 lb leader (florocarbon)!!!

what is the length of your lead between your dipsey and flasher? I get the majority of my hits on the dipsies towards the end of the season when the fish are lower in the colum, so there must be something here we can fix. Mark

Ya, I don't have riggers on my boat. If I run spoons I will put them on a #0 diver, or a 5 oz bass weight (normally troll in the top 30 feet with my spoons). I can see the action affecting me with the 5 oz bass weight setup, but I don't know, I've had a lot of steelies, cohos and chinook hit the spoons on the 40 lb lead. I find the 20 lb lead to be too light especially around knots, where it can easily get kinked and break off. So, this is why I need to make sure there's good reason to go to 20 lb before I start trying this.

Guys is this really factual? Or are you gonna make me change over to 20# leaders based on a fisherman's tail? Has anyone traid 40# and 20# side by side, same conditions, same day?

Guys, I use 40# floro as a lead and 10' of it to the spoon, and have got many fish at the start of the season on this. I don't understand why we're saying more than 20# will kill the spoon action. I've got Coho, chinook and steelhead on 40# floro lead. Mark

Post bump - as LOC tournie is soon over.

Wire. You can't use braid when the fleas come out. [ Post made via BlackBerry ]

I run mine with threads towards the flasher but I think thread towards the hook is also a good approach ad the tinsel spreads out more. I haven't bothered to change mind around as I have pre-tied them and it is working for me with the head towards the flasher. [ Post made via BlackBerry ]

I use 10 feet of 30 or 40# lead for spoons and son don't need a snubber. [ Post made via BlackBerry ]

post the link to the original thread if you can find it. What is the purpose here? An albright knot makes for a pretty smooth connection for power pro backing to lead.

Ya, I love my TD - this is the real deal - it gives me a great picture of the temp profile and what range of depth I should set my lines for a start. Then I see what the fish start bighting on and zero in on the perfect conditions. The TD does measure depth indirectly via water pressure - and this is fairly acurate. I haven't done a full calibration on the TD using a down rigger, but I do send it right down to the bottom and the depth there matches what I pick up on my fish finder. I also always set my lines between 45F and 55F, and I always get hits at the depths my TD tells me this temp range is in, so it works for me. If I stop getting hits I drop the TD in and sure enough I can explain why, the temps are way too hot, or my line depths need to be adjusted. Now - hear me out here, I don't think temp is the only magic parameter here, as I've caught fish outside of temp on several occasion. I do think it helps you zero in on fish faster, but you have to pay attention to other variables as well, especially down speed.

Forgot to mention I use 40# Seaguar Floro Leader - this allows me to fish without a snubber. Works much better. Some of my pretide bait, like the bait holders I put my herring strips in, come with lighter leader probably 20#, this is the only time I use a snubber now.

I removed my snubbers 2 weeks ago and my success ratio has increased A LOT! Mark

Underwater currents can drastically affect down speed - I know going east in front of Bronte there's a lot more pull on my lines than going west. There seems to be a current moving towards the West. I don't have a down speed probe and generally troll between 2.5 and 3.1 mph on the gps, but I find if I travel East in front of Bronte I have a lot more hits than if I travel west. I keep my eye on the curve of my dipsy rods - that tells me more or less how much drag I'm generating on the dipsy. I try and speed up to keep the curve right - and it usually works to get hits. So the real answer is .... you need to find areas and direction of travel where you get hits. You need to know what speed to travel in those areas on the GPS and memorize it. This is the only way around not having down speed.

The predominant amount of members on this site are from the USA. Spoonpullers.com is a Canadian based website - you might get a better response then. June, July are good months in depths of 120 - 160 feet - generally speaking. August - the fish start to stage around rivers like the Ganaraska, Humber, Credit and Bronte. You will find them in shallow water then 80 - 120 feet. September - the are really in tight and waiting for some rain to cool down the rivers with fresh water - you will find them in about 40 ft of water and less. Water temperature and trolling speed are two important variables - you should know wher 45F to 55F water zone is and fish in that depth. You should troll at around 2.5 - 3.0 mph (lure speed, not boat speed - as underwater currents can add or take away lure speed). What you need is a good set of fishing rods - not sure if you are running riggers, if not you will need dipsy's. Early in the season spoons work well. Mid to late seasons I find flies work well with agitators like flashers or spin doctors. Later in the season I also find MC Rockets and meat on large flashers work well. Some basics - you will need an 8 foot or longer heavy action rod. You will need a reel that can hold around 1000 feet of line. Steel line is good as you can get deeper in the water with it - but then you will need a special rod for this. Braid is good, but fleas in the lake around July make it impossible to use - so we normally switch to mono line or flea flicker. You will need large trolling reels for mono line. We generally put on 30# test line. Use long 10' florocarbon leaders 30# or 40# test. There's a specific way to fish here. Best thing is to spend some time reading through the MANY topics discussed on this site - and go to a knowledgeable tackle store to get you set up with the right stuff. Don't waste your money going cheap - you will end up buying the right stuff anyhow - so zero in on what is good and get it, or save for it. Cheers!

Your leader is way too short and ensure it is florocarbon min 30# - I use 22" with a lot of success (my hit ratio on flies has to be around 60 - 70%. Are you using a florocarbon leader up to the flasher - if not you should, at least 10 feet long.

I was wondering why the posts slowed down. When is the tournie over?

Okay am bored right now - wishin' I was fishin' Two polls combined in one - make sure you vote on each poll, which are seperated by dashes. You will have 3 votes in total! First one is what line is landing you most fish - if it isn't exactly your set up, just vote for the closest one! USE ONE (1) VOTE! Second one is what tackle is landing you the most fish. VOTE FOR TWO (2) OF YOUR FAVORITES HERE. Fish = anything over 15 lbs. Mark

The mono lead works - but when the fleas come out they will stick to the joint (using a micro swivel) between the wire and mono and then you will have +20 feet of line out to net a fish (good luck). I use 7 strand wire which is pretty flexible and forgiving. I can break my rods down without causing kinks. I just don't tigthen the lines up all the way - kind of keep them loose over the guides. I then put the rod into a nylon rod storage sleeve which keeps the line from tangling on something. It is the easiest for me.