Few Questions on Copper

[Griz]

I know there have been many threads on copper, but I have never run it and would like some basic info about it.

What is a popular way of running copper? Off mass planer boards, off church/walleye boards? What does the expression "down the chute, or "down the middle" mean?

They come in different feet amounts i know, 200-600 I believe I see the most. If running say a 400' copper, does all 400 have to be let out?

It seems that they are really producing lots of fish, but they are pricey, AND I am not an expert fisherman- I do well with downriggers and dipsys, but do not tear it up. Is it worth spending the money and getting a copper rig for a 2 weekend a month recreational fisherman like myself?

Anything else that could help a beginner to copper would help as well.

Thanks gentleman

[Shade]

Griz,

Down the chute means,down the center of you boat. Yes you run all 400' plus 2 sweeps across your spool if you want to run down 80'. Copper runs down about 20 - 22' deep per hundred feet. If you want to run down 60' then 200 feet of copper out. You can run copper on Planner or Church, I prefer Planner myself. You can run spoons or spin doctors and flies.

Shade

[skipper19]

30lb copper is what is the norm. 45 lb is available and I have used it but it is like winch cable and requires too much reel to spool enough on. As far as rod goes, I have a couple of medium surf rods that double for the duty of a copper rig. They are 8.5 ft long so if ya got some old rods around not being used that seem pretty stout in the middle section you could save some money and use them. Length is not to much consideration if you are going to use them off the big boards or even "down the chute" as they say, which is merely sending a bait on the rig down the middle in the prop wash between your riggers and dipsey spread. You do not have to send all 600 or 400 feet out. I basically have a 600 that is sent out to target a depth that is productive with the downriggers activity zone (ie. 100 ft out equals approx 22 ft down) so if the riggers are fireing with kings at 66 feet I let out 300 feet of the copper. It is just "old school" kind of fishing before modern man invented the downrigger. My grand pa would have said this is the way we used to fish for deep water lakers and "Cooperstown Bass" back in a day cooperstown bass were a species of whitefish that were great table fare, they came from Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, NY.......anyway, It is worth a try if you want to do something different with your program. It goes out on Planner boards to spread a deep water program, it goes on my outriggers to the side of things, it goes down the middle in the wash and gives the fish that came to the spread and didn't bite a second chance for the trailing copper to hit the mark. It is by no means accurate fishing equipment as far as depth goes depending on speed type of lures and current.

The shorter coppers are used mainly to pull on boards where you let all the copper, say 150 feet for 33 down, or 300 out to get 66 down, and place the backing in the release so that it doesn't kink the copper. Also I use dipsey divers on the coppers to get depth and keep seafleas from collecting on the lines. This also facilitates the common "combat fishing" problem when you have many boats fishing close to you, so as to avoid the long lines tangling with others you can achieve great depths close to your boat without the long leads. Typically the copper/dipsey will achieve depths 1 foot for every 2.5 let out on the copper... dipsey set at 2.5 on the dial with no ring. Ie. 165 feet out will get you down 66 feet without 300 feet dragging way back there behind the boat.

Mark

[Griz]

Thanks shade- when being run down the chute, does the rod have to be directly (or close) to the center of the boat- or say can it be off set by 3 feet without getting a mess with downriggers?

[Shade]

It does not have to be in the center. Keep the rod high above the rigger rods so you can move it when your rigger fires.

Shade

[GAMBLER]

I disagree with Skipper. 45 lb. copper is the norm for copper on Lake O. My 300' and 400' copper were my best 2 coppers last season. I run them off of Big Jon Otter boats. My releases are Scotty plainer releases. I use the small ones for short coppers with no flashers and the big ones for long coppers and coppers with flashers. Copper flat out catches fish. I do not run a copper down the chute often because I have a smaller beamed boat and fear getting a tangle and ruining the copper. Another little tip, if you use big boards, add 6' of mono between the copper and the backing. This will keep it in the releases better. Look at the A-tom-mik site. They have already rigged reels with backing, copper and leader on them. It is a lot cheaper to buy them already rigged from Tom. All you have to add is the rod.

[Yankee Troller]

I disagree with Skipper. 45 lb. copper is the norm for copper on Lake O.

I agree!

[chinook]

Agree with Gambler and Yankee about the 45. If you run the copper down the chute attach a float to provide clearance out the back. Tim Bromund has a photo of this application. Tim help here ? This works well. --Duane

[skipper19]

sorry guys about saying the "norm", I was using my own experience with the 30 lb vs. 45lb. I do have both on board but like the 30 for the less winch cable feel. I have not noticed a huge difference in the depth capability as the 30 lb still gets the approximate 22 ft for 100 out in my tests running in towards shore at an angle waiting for the tap on the bottom. It's only a preference for me with the reel capacities I am using, especially with the 600 ft copper.

Mark

[Griz]

Chinook- Is the float your mentioning something that is rigged by the fisherman, or is it purchased in the store? I am interested to see the picture of the float- that sounds like it would help keep lines away from each other.

[Tim Bromund]

Here's an older picture of the rig, it's just a 4" foam float from a Muskie live bait/quick strike rig. Rig it up with a pinch pad release to hold it onto the line. The one in the pic is a regular offshore rigger release. With that, you need to attach the snap onto the line to prevent losing the float if the release comes off. A better way (which I will take pics of this weekend and post the update, it's on the boat up in Olcott) is to replace the regular offshore release with a red OR16 snap weight release, which has a pin in the middle of the pinch pad which prevents the line from coming out of the release.

Just let out the copper to the backing, clip the "pike ball" onto the backing and run it down the chute 150 feet or so. We like to put the rod up in the rocket launcher (if you have one) to get it up high and out of the way. If you get a big fish behind the boat that gets close, you just reach up and put that reel in freespool and let it back another 100 feet or whatever you need to to get behind the fish. Then you just reel it back up into position after the fish is in.

Here's the pic

We have been using this rig for years running the shoreline for browns by letting a stickbait out 40 or so feet, clipping the ball on and running it 200+ feet behind the boat, it picks up a lot of the fish that moved off to the side as the boat went by and then moved back after you passed. This rig lets you run it as far behind the boat as you want without worrying about the stick hanging up on bottom like if you just flatline it 200 feet back.

Tim

[chinook]

Thanks Tim, knew I could count on you- Griz hope that answers all your questions. Best of luck with it---Duane