greenhornet73

I scan them all while I’m out there and haven’t picked up anything yet

Awesome report Mr. Clean thank you! I’m heading out there tomorrow afternoon weather allowing.

Fat Trout it’s good to know combo trolling works. I have heard from guys that exclusively fish meat that it’s taboo to throw spoons in the mix because of speed differences. I’m guessing that you just put less bend in the bait to keep a slower “roll” at a faster speed?

My usual fall pattern is trolling out in front of the SR late September flatlining in my kayak. It’s a blast hooking up on plugs with no weight and 100’ of line out

Is it a bad idea to run meat and spoons at the same time or stick with one or the other? I have ff’s I can run with the spoons but was hearing how well meat has been doing and wondering if I should drop down a rocket in my spoon spread and stay in the low 2mph SOG range

Hey LB, I’m still not used to having 130 horses pushing me instead of a two ended paddle. Hopefully after a couple more trips on the big O and I’ll feel more confident with the rig. I’ve been blessed with calm seas each time out but also mostly blank screens. I have Saturday free so hoping to get out to wash off some new tackle. You’ll probably see me out in front of the river in another month for sure. Thanks everyone for the advice and reports!

Also, is there a tackle shop close by?

I haven’t fished out of Mexico before, only out of Henderson and Fair Haven. I only have a 19’ boat and wondering how far offshore is 200’+. Unless it’s a calm day I don’t like to go over a mile out in case the weather turns quickly.

I figured out a mounting system that is working well with my walkers. I have deck plates that I mounted to my livewell doors on each side and just through bolted them on with aluminum backing plates I bought at Lowe’s for $7 each. The downriggers are now mounted with thumbscrews to each deck plate and can be removed in seconds. I am sure you could do the same with your swivel mounts as long as there are 4 screw holes to mount 2 permanent bolts and 2 thumbscrews for the riggers. Definitely use backing plates because 10# of lead hanging over the transom really puts a lot of torque on thebgunwale.

Yeah trolling deep without a fishhawk is reminding me of back in the day when I used to ice fish without electronics. I wouldn’t even bother going out without one now. Looks like I may have to do a little overtime for the winter and invest in one for next year

Awesome job, I am still looking to get my first salmon hookup. Last weekend was my first trip and got a bagel. How did you measure down speed or did you wing it? I don’t have a fishhawk and wondering how to improve my chances until I bite the bullet and get one

BTW thank you all for your tips, it definitely helps cut down the learning curve. I’ve done a lot of previous research but a lot of it comes with personal experience with your boat and equipment so at least I now feel like I can put your info to use next time I’m out and for future trips as conditions constantly change

I guess with all the lines at different depths in 20’ increments they really shouldn’t cross at all. If one DR has lines set at 85’ and 65’ with the other set at 75’ and 55’ that should allow for plenty of movement I would think

Good point about the changing up of direction. I was only doing it occasionally but worried about crossing lines. I was running a ff down low 15’ behind the ball with a high spoon back further and 2 more spoons out 25’ - 35’ on the other DR . Unless i am turning real tight is there danger of crossing lines with this setup or do they all move together

So basically what you’re saying is if my riggers are 80-100 down, my 10# fishweights should not be blowing back at a 45degree angle but more perpendicular? The angle of the cables then should give me a better idea of my down speed then. Correct?

No my weights were not registering on the finder even when I am down to 2.4. I was feeling like we were always going faster than the gps speed on the screen. I think I will bump up the sensitivity on the finder and like you said, run a spoon boatside to see how it’s running. I have buckets on board I use for walleye trolling and maybe should be using them all the time.

Wow great job! Definitely going to add a meat rig to my next spread

Nice job, that’s awesome! My nephew has never seen a walleye so I am hoping to introduce him to an Otisco football soon. Finally got my second downrigger working so I can finally get my max 5 rod spread going.

Yep that was me haha. The boat that came in behind you had some luck out deep so that’s where we started. At least I got some practice with the downriggers and Dipsy diver so it was good experience

Another thing is the blow back with my 10# weights was ridiculous no matter what direction we ran. Even the side with only 2 spoons running and no flashers. No idea what depth my lures were at.

Don’t feel bad, in did the same out there. Went out to 180-200 and marked 2 loners over 183. Moved in and eventually marked more frequent loners 52 feet down over 110’. Lost one small one that took the deep FF on the rigger and that was it over 4 hours of fishing 5 rods. Beautiful day to be on the lake though, calm as could be

I don’t have a fishhawk yet, most likely next year. This year I’m still building my trolling outfits and tackle selection. Most of my flashers are green/ glow or Mountain Dew/ glow. I’ll have to pick up a meat rig at the shop on my way

Perfect, thanks so much. Looks like I’ll have to make a stop at Screwy Lewis’s and have Brendan hook me up with some mags. I really appreciate the info, at least it gives me a game plan to start with

Also, is 20# leader ok for spoons? I’ll probably go 35# fluoro with the FF and Dipsy.

Awesome nice job and thanks for the advice. I have a limited selection of spoons, mostly standard size Stingers and a few mags. Is it too early for mags or does it depend on the day?