Determining Target Depth???

[VanderLaan]

Assuming that you know the water temp at 55 feet is 40-45 degrees and you are not marking any fish, how would you go about setting your divers and downriggers? I have two DRs and two wire divers and I usually try and bracket that depth with two above 55 feet and two below/right at 55 feet. And then use my lead core and copper rods higher in the water column to target out of temp/bonus fish. Is there a better way to set your spread to find fish? Should my DRs and divers be deeper? I feel like I am stumbling around in the dark guessing at a starting depth. Hoping you'all can give me some insight to sharpen my game.

Edited July 29 by VanderLaan
Typos

[HB2]

I park my probe rigger at 50 deg , usually a flasher . Temp is all over the place some days  . On my other rigger I stack 2 rods 20 ft apart  , both spoons .  And run that 10 ft deeper than the probe. So I have 20 ft of what I consider prime target zone . 

 

Then I let my dipsys or slide divers so one is on the lower end and one on the higher end. I don't use junk lines . 

 

Seems to work for me . But if I'm marking deeper fish I lower the stacker down 25 ft lower to check it out . There are a lot of fish out of temp .  

 

Past month I got kings in 60 deg and 44  deg water . I think temp is overrated . But it's a starting point . And as Aug progresses , temp becomes less important 

Edited July 30 by HB2

[GAMBLER]

Use your fish finder and fish the marks.  Use your speed and temp probe for repeatability.  If you are pulling fish you see on your fish finder and it’s 58 degree water, use the probe to get it back there.  Don’t be afraid to fish as cold as 42 degrees.  Saturday a lot of our kings came down in 42-46 degree water.  

[VanderLaan]

Thank you. Appreciate the advice.

[chowder]

As a charter captain I am often asked; 1. What’s the right temp. 2. What’s the right speed. 3. What’s the right color 4. What’s better- meat, or spoons 5. When should I run copper. The answer to any and all these questions is fundamentally ‘Do what the fish want’. The box is my gauge of what to do so I make small changes until I get some feedback from the box and act accordingly.

[Yankee Troller]

Start with putting your baits at the thermocline IF you're not marking fish. Once you start marking fish then move those baits into that range. When I'm putting out my 3 junk lines in the morning I'll see what the probe data suggest and put one above, at, and below the thermocline to start.