I sold the house, my car, gave blood and outfitted my boat!!

[amalgamator]

Ok. I decided that this long time childhood dream of going out trolling for salmon was finally going to happen. I went a bit crazy with fishing fever, as any salmon fisherman will know something about, and now have a living room floor full of 2 rods with strange tips, 2 reels with some crazy wire line, 2 more rods with more flex than a gymnist, 2 more reels waiting patiently for mono/fluro, a strange tackle box, wonderfull contraptions called spindoctors and and dipsy divers, a swarm of fly's and hordes of spoons! And as I hop on one foot from kicking a down rigger ball with my little toe, I stare at all these shinny items that make me want to bite into them, and I am faced with the inevitable, "What the heck do I do with it all???"

1. Spin Dr's go with flys, not spoons, I get that or can they? will the spoon work with the roll pattern?

2. Can you use spin dr with dipsey divers? or will the diver be screwed up by the rotation of the spin dr or vice versa?

(Iwas planning to run the wire lines out to the side with the dipsey divers with spn dr and flys or flashers with spoons and mono/fluro off the down riggers with dr/flys or dodgers and spoons or naked spoons)

3. Is the juice worth the squeeze??? I have two down riggers, cannons, no temp sensors except the HDS fishfinder for thermocline, Is a third down rigger run deep down the middle worth the cost of going and buying another? And by that I mean are lots of fish picked up on that one? A temp sensor on the downrigger? I have to admit Im kinda of an equipment whore and wouldnt mind it but it'll prob mean selling a kidney... lol any thoughts opinions would be appreciated....

4. Has anyone ever tried live bait or chunking? I think they call it mouching out on the west coast.... The reeason I ask Is my girfirend has been bugging me for a weekend out on the boat but she doesnt want to fish ALLL the time?!?!? I know!! She wants a day of laying out in the sun as well. Soooooo I was thinking of sneaking a line off the side with live bait or cut bait. Now this may very well have me out on the couch with the Dog but I figured what the heck, The dog likes to cuddle...

As always I appreciate any and all help and comments, and thank you in advance!

[BAZOOKAJOE]

No on spoons on spin drs. But you can run the spinnies with flies on wire dipseys or your downrigger rods. You would probably be wasting your time with the still fishing bait idea. But they do it on Michigan with gulp minnows after the lake flips.

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[ray koziatek]

she can lay out while trolling just keep her outa the way of the fishing area she might not like the footprints everytime a rod goes off,,,better yet bring her out when the biting flies are at their worst,and say you ant seen nuthin you should see em on normal days ,their really friendly today..

[on the lam]

loose the g/f. she will just get in the way otherwise your on ur way

[Mark Komo]

Amen to that Pete!

[crumcake1223]

she could lay on the bow wile you drive around. never tried moochin but my brothers and i have talked about it in great depth and still we wonder what if??? never had a reason to try it but if she wants to just float around it might be worth a try at least once.as for the 3rd rigger we fish out of a 18tf penn. with 2 riggers,4 dipsy's, and 2 300tf coppers off planer boards. if you have the room and want to blow the cash but have an extra just incase i say have at it but with wire and a dipsy you can get to 100ft down and way away from the boat. and theres more room right at the back of the boatfor working fish and less for them to tangle. money better spent on a depth probe.

but hey thats just my 2 cents

tight lines to you and hopefuly not too cold of a couch

[Don Supon]

Spoons behind SD absolutely DO work. Just provide a lond lead to the spoon.

I've had success using SD and matching SS lures. Cohos and Kings have both fallen to this.

[pokepole39]

keep the girl friend she can keep you warm and give you company in the winter// also spin and glows and peanuts also work very well behind spin doctors

[kingslamon22]

spoons behind flashers is a great ideah. works on all species of trout and salmon in lake ontario.

[GAMBLER]

loose the g/f. she will just get in the way otherwise your on ur way

Get an auto pilot first then Take this advice.

[Gator]

My advice:

Take a trip with a charter. Watch what the captain runs and what he pays the most attention to, then decide for yourself. I don't know where you're from, but you can look at the results page from the Sandy Creek Shootout and get the names of some great captains.

IMHO, a third rigger with temp/speed is invaluable given the currents on the lake and the way the thermocline moves with the wind. Not essential, but definitely a great tool.

Jigging is tough because of the currents. You can do it (butterfly jigs work...there's a thread on here), but it's not as productive as trolling. As with every technique, there's a learning curve. Just get out there and fish! You'll catch some and learn on the job, then decide what you want as you figure the boat out. Even if I tell you what I would do, it might not be what works best for you, or even what you eventually decide you prefer (ie copper vs wire; 2 vs 3 riggers; boards vs down the chute). Or an autopilot, like Gambler keeps trying to convince me to purchase

Good luck and have fun!

[BURNIN DAYLIGHT]

The kidneys are over rated just get a heater for the winter and you could get rid of the gf too. And think of all the money you can save for more tackle lol

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[amalgamator]

Hey thanks everybody! I appreciate all the comments! Ive just never fished with wire before so trying to work it out... Prob keepin the GF. Shes an adrenaline junkie and never really fished before..(too ho hum) But I think if I can get her hooked up with a 30lb salmon with the line screaming out of the reel she be hooked!!

I was thinking that a long line off a spinny with a spoon might give it a nice circular pattern. Good to hear Im not the only crazy one!

I never thought about the middle riggger causing congestion and problems with fighting fish although that totally makes sense! I guess it just the alure of having that lone rigger way down deep lurking in the depths, just waiting for the monster salmon to shamh it is too hard to resist.... although it prob just produce a laker by what Im hearing!! That's ok though... Im sure they are just as tasty..