Tips for Flat Lining

[TrstNadie]

I just blew all my money on a gorgeous Bayliner Trophy and cant afford riggers or anything fancy at the moment. Last week Mon-Tues I had great luck and landed 5 nice browns and lost two just flat lining (running about 100-150 feet of line from two poles behind the boat). I was using spoons, pink and black with yellow eyes was the best.

I have two yellow bird boards, kinda small...they look like bass and walleye boards actually, and run maybe 50' line behind them, and they are probably 30-40 feet off the boat on the sides. I have had NO LUCK.

Maybe it's just been the horrible weather, but what can I do in the meantime that doesn't involve riggers? Should I add a split shot like 8 feet about the spoons while flat lining? I use spoons only right now b/c they are usually heavier than my smithwicks and will go down farther while trolling. I have one dipsy diver left but gave up since my first one snagged on a rock and I lost it. I got a bit frustrated.

I am running around the Oswego Harbor and then heading east up behind fort in 10-20 ft water. Due to the east winds I am thinking I should head west today.

Any insight would be great as I am taking my girlfriend and a buddy this Saturday and want them to have fun.

[Big Dave]

Try adding a small amount of weight to the line to get it a little deeper. There are all kinds of sinkers to try. rubber core , splitshots , beaded trolling sinkers.

[ray koziatek]

yea the boards usually sre a good way probly just a off day ,,as far as you friend and his girl clean the cabin and install a small web cam youll have yer rigger money in no time..

like said above a tad weight 3to 5 ft up the line,Big jon makes a mini planer thats "pretty good" but ya gotta use care in deploying so ya dont spin it (clicker tension usually works).....also lots of talk on light line be carefull of line streach on the hits if yer loosing fish 15 lb is fine of course sharp hooks will make big diff. with line streach situations................

[larry]

Stick with the long leads even off the boards, 150 back 50 to 100 off the boat. Also, start shallower 5-7 ft. then move out as the sun comes up ( if it ever does) browns like to pack the bait against the shore then destroy it. Try some gobi patterns and if the water is stained go to the bright stuff.

[TrstNadie]

Ray you goof, it's MY girl not his!

I'm using 8lb and 10lb test right now. If the line twists I wonder if that's what would cause my board to almost skip arcross the surface. I couldn't figure that out yesterday. I will look into the line weights at walmart today and give it a whirl if this damn weather ever improves!

[TrstNadie]

My troll speed might also be an issue. I have a 150hp mercury and I think on the slowest setting its probably 5-7 mph. I may have hooked those fish when I was making turns where slack in the line let the lures sink or slow down.....might be time to invest in a smaller trolling motor!!!

[dewey123]

you cant get 2 small 22 inch trolling bags. thats what i do. I tried using 1 big drift sock and it worked but was hard to steer and impossible to leave the wheel while trolling but i picked up 2 22" drift socks from cabelas for like 20 dollars each.

[TrstNadie]

you cant get 2 small 22 inch trolling bags. thats what i do. I tried using 1 big drift sock and it worked but was hard to steer and impossible to leave the wheel while trolling but i picked up 2 22" drift socks from cabelas for like 20 dollars each.

I'm new to this type of fishing. I would assume you hang trolling bags on each side of your boat, maybe a foot under water but not so much line that it'll get around your prop? You wouldn't suspend wit fishing line I wouldn't think so could i use a thin dock line attached to the railing on each side of my boat?

[Has Been]

To slow down cheap- Drywall buckets w/ 3/4 holes in bottom , on each side of boat.Boards are good w/ 100 - 150 ' leads.Flat lines up to 250' back w/ rodholders flat to water Lighter line8-10 lb . Once everthing is out, Drive in lazy s curves so lures are over undistubed water . To get deeper to say 25'-Deepdivers work well. Spoonbill Rebels , Lindy Shadlings, long A bombers, to name a few. I have done very well at times on them.

5-7 Mph is fast as heck. Check the idle setting on it ,especly if it's a 2 stroke. Riggers & equip cheap on craigslist & on here somtimes.I have a 21' Tropy I/O hardtop & love it. A kicker would be a good investment.Good luck .This site will quicken the learning process.

[Mickey Finn]

We just returned from three days of fishing browns. We used planer boards with great success but I also ran one flat line off each side of the boat. We call these weight rods. I let them out 60 feet, then pinch on a split shot (about 3/8") and then let out 60 more feet. I have about an eight foot floro leader. These rods were pulling different spoons like stingers, Dream Weaver super slims, NK28 lite spoons. They were deadly! Only thing is you have to have someone available to squeeze the split shot off while bringing in the fish. I use the reusable ones and just pinch it with my teeth to remove it from the line. I have the guy with the rod walk back in the boat so I can reach the tip of the rod and remove the sinker. If you don't have enough guys in the boat to do this, you can place the sinker just ahead of the leader but it's not as stealthy. Also, you will want a smaller sinker because if you use that same 3/8" sinker and let it out 120 feet, it will be much deeper and you will probably snag it on bottom on your turns if you are fishing shallow. Just a side note: we ran no weight on our planer lines which were also pulling the same spoons mentioned above. The fish were almost all caught in 7 to 10 feet of water.

[danno]

Try to get that speed down to 2-3 mph. If you don't have speed on the boat yet, a small, handheld GPS works well and will give you accurate surface speed.

[TrstNadie]

What about the trolling motors at walmart priced around 198.99.....I was a little timid using those on the big O.

[Big Dave]

Those are made for bass and walleye guys that move the boat around with them . They arn't made for an all day troll. You would have to have a large supply of batteries to run them constanty. You could trim up your outboard so it isn't so cleanly going through the water.

[BAZOOKAJOE]

I'm also new to trolling. I have an 05 Lowe with a 90 hp 2-stroke Mercury. I just had a troll-a-matic trolling plate installed. My boat will now get down to 1.38 mph on the GPS on a calm day. It was $100 for the plate. Before that the slowest i could get was 4-5 mph.

Glad you asked this question about adding weight. I was wondering the same (no down-riggers yet). For running spoons in deeper water (20-50 ft): i was thinking about adding a sliding egg sinker to the main line then a bead then a micro-swivel to a 4-5 ft lead of floro to the spoon. Anybody think this will work?

[GAMBLER]

If you do not want to hassle with taking split shot on and off, buy some snap weights. I take the heavier weights off and put a split shot on a 3" piece of mono tied to the release on the snap weight. That way when it gets to the boat, it is easy to take off.

[BAZOOKAJOE]

Thanks Gamble!!

[GAMBLER]

They sell kits at places like Dicks or Gander that come with a selection of weights and the releases.

Here is the kit that I have:

http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/store ... System.htm

[adam2000]

If you do not want to hassle with taking split shot on and off, buy some snap weights. I take the heavier weights off and put a split shot on a 3" piece of mono tied to the release on the snap weight. That way when it gets to the boat, it is easy to take off.

x2

[Has Been]

After transition time which comes soon , you will need to get down to depths of 35-80 ft. Save up & get some riggers. They are the easiest,, cheapest, most effective way to get down to the fish for novice anglers. They take the guesswork out of what depth you are at. Dipsey,leadcore, copper, snapweights are all good , but the mainstay day in & day out is the downrigger for a deepwater program for me.