Down riggers?

[Larson 1750]

Hey gang,

Was out in lake O yesterday. No luck using dipsies, spin doctors, flashers, spoons etc. New to Great Lakes salmon/trout fishing so everything is on a learning curve. I am considering installing down riggers on my boat but have never used them before. I am looking at the Cannon 10 STX. Any tips for a rookie so that I can make the most of them? How far back lures are from the ball, releases, ball weight etc?

Sent from my iPad using Lake Ontario United

[dukebh40]

They are great downriggers. Lead lengths off of the ball really vary day by day. As a general rule, flasher/fly leads are shorter than spoons. FF leads generally 5-20 ft. Spoons can go 15-50 ft depending on the mood of the fish that day. Tie your rod with FF directly to the swivel on the flasher. Spoons I like to run a small coastlock swivel in front of them to let them swim freely. The downriggers work as a team in your trolling spread. I run the FF about 8-10 feet shallower than the spoon. The idea behind this is the fish will be drawn in to the flasher, and may or may not hit the fly. If it doesn't, salmon tend to drift down and away from a flasher when they aren't interested. Here, the spoon, which is deeper and has a longer lead, now is in the fish's face and is a less aggressive presentation than the FF.

I would recommend blacks custom releases. They are the easiest release IMO to use and it doesn't hurt your line at all. people have many varying opinions on releases though.

You'll want to use the heaviest weight that your set up can comfortably handle. The heavier your weight, the less you will have to worry about blowback back behind the boat as you're trolling. I run 12 lb weights and am very happy with them.

Good luck getting set up! Let me know if you have any questions. Feel free to PM me

[Larson 1750]

Cool. Thx for the helpful tips Duke! I think I will install 2 of the cannons before the salmon hunt starts and play around with your suggestions. I'll keep you posted and let you know if, when and where I hook some fish. Thx again.

Sent from my iPad using Lake Ontario United

[Larson 1750]

How bout temp/speed probe? Do you use them? Are the needed?

Sent from my iPad using Lake Ontario United

[dukebh40]

I have a fishhawk x4. I honestly can't imagine fishing without it. I went two years without one and my catch total drastically went up once I got the fishhawk. Lake O has so many different currents going different directions as you go down through the water column. I definitely recommend it if you can fit it into your budget

[mhassan]

Hi Duke,

Does the Fish Hawk work good?.....what temperature range is good for Salmon and Steelhead?. Thinking of getting one too but still unsure if it will help increase the number of fish in the boat. Is the cost worth it?

Thanks

M

[dukebh40]

The fishhawk has performed flawlessly for me. Going on my third year with this unit and I haven't had a single problem with it. I definitely think it's worth the price, although it is a bit steep to swallow at first.

Salmon I usually start in the mid 40s and adjust from there. Steelhead are difficult to say. They can really be found almost anywhere in the water column depending on the given day. They're a more difficult fish IMO to target

[Kuba]

Wrong section of forum, please move.

Sent from my Lenovo P780 using Lake Ontario United mobile app