small boat setup

[BAZOOKAJOE]

I'm fishing for kings out of a 17 ft aluminum, with 2 people. Last year i was running 2 riggers and 2 dipseys. Now since i can run 3 lines per person...trying to decide if i should add 2 coppers run off otter boats or 2 extra dipseys. I like the dipseys and feel they are the hottest set-up. More fun to fight fish on, easier to deploy and more effective than copper. But wondering if i run 4, am i asking for a lot of headache with tangled lines?

[tcon]

Joe,

I know in the fingerlakes two off of each side run great but you might run into trouble on Lake O because of all the currents.

Tom

[ericjeeper]

Add a set of offshore or walleye planer boards.

[rolmops]

With planer boards you can run leadcore off the sides which often translates into brown trout which when suspended are higher up in the column than lakers, while copper is usually at the same depth as your down riggers

[BAZOOKAJOE]

I just bought a big jon mast and otter boats. So i would run copper off those. I guess my question is more about running the two dipseys on each side. Would it help if i ran a mag dipsey on a 3 setting and a 01 on a 2 setting on each side? What about different lenghts and actions on the dipsey rods? Right now i have (2) 10 ft eagle claws that are ML. If i ran the smaller dipseys on those...and did a 7 or 8 ft MH or H rod...would that help to keep them spread out and getting tangled?

[Gray Fox]

I run four dispys quite a bit, I pull the mags on the inside normally on a 1.5 setting and then run a regular dipsy over it on a 3 setting. Dont have many issues with tangles unless there is an accidental sharp turn.

[hawkeye625]

I use to run 4 and 5 dipsys off my 19.5 until I got riggers. We'd run one on a 0 down the chute and two out each side on a 1.5 and 3.5 all size 1 and all on power pro. We would get a tangle here and there but not too many, usually when a big fish got hooked and nobody was steering. We always kept the outside lines higher in the water column, all rods were 8.5ft long.

You could also try running your higher outside divers on mono to give you more seperation from the boat if you're only targeting 30 or 35 fow. Let your braid or wire divers and riggers cover the deep stuff.

I think you'd want to run your mag dipsy on a lower set than your 01, I believe they dive deeper.

If you try the extra divers and have trouble with tangles you could always stack your riggers with the other 2 lines.

[J.D.]

Stack the riggers, 2 rods on each, 10-15 ft. apart......put 4 baits right in the strike zone...

[BAZOOKAJOE]

Thanks for all the ideas!

[TyeeTanic]

I run 3 or 4 dipsey's most of the times. Don't want to put riggers on my boat.

Anyhow, generally it is fine while trolling. But you have to be very aware of your setup.

The deep divers (1 or mag) on setting 3 on outside, and then shallow dispeys (0 or 1, on short line)

in the middle, with setting 1. I normally keep one middle a bit closer to the boat, but deeper (so say a #1 dipsey

around 40-50 feet deep) and then the other middle rod farther out and shallower (say a #0 dipsey at around 30 feet

deep). This means the two middle lines never actually cross each other - which is the main risk while trolling.

Remember, the Lake O currents are high, as mentioned further up in this post. So you end up with times where

all the dipseys are bunched together due to current and it takes a while to correct. If you stagger the middle two dipseys

right, it is not an issue.

Lastly, and this is important, everything is fine until a fish hits. The worst is when an outside dipsey takes a hit. The dipsey pops open and then the line travels straight towards the middle lines. If you don't reel these lines in, it can sometimes cause a complete mess. So you need extra hands on deck to help.

Using 3 rods on a boat like that should be a lot simpler.

[Cheers]

You could play around with some mini divers stacked on the riggers on the top or the bottom or off the boards. Its good practice and not to hard on the wallet if you mess things up! Just another idea for a boat that size

[adam2000]

I did it last yr with walker 107 on the inside on 2 and slide divers on the out side on a 3.5 . but the inside were.out like 300+ and out side 210-260

[ Post made via Android ]

[chowder]

Stay flexible! In addition to your riggers there will be times when you will want to run a mix of short/long core & copper off boards cuz the divers aren't firing and vice versa or some days you may want to run a board line on one side and 2 divers on the other. Experiment and the fish will tell you what to do.-Andy