How far back from downriggers

[Yeahbuddy]

How far back from the downriggers do you run the flasher/fly combo or flasher/spoon combos?

What is a good rule of thumb?

[TileMan Dan]

8-10 feet usually

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[Rich D]

We let the fish tell us what they want. Some days 4-10', others 12-20, and some days they want it stretched way back, 25-40'. I usually start with staggered leads and adjust to what is producing. Good Luck.

Capt Rich

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[JakeyBaby]

For me depends how deep of water you are in and/or how far down your ball is. So if my ball is only dwn 35ft I might run the s/d back 35ft, but if im dwn 100ft much closer to the ball. And you have to remember its all about what the fish want not what you want! The closer your flasher is to the ball the more action it will have also.

[Sk8man]

Another consideration is "What other stuff are you running with/near it and how close in depth"?  Keep in mind that Spinnys and flashers are not just going straight back and staying in a straight line. If you run them way back they can be all over the place and especially on turns. This may be especially important when running things like coppers down the chute

 

Usually running them within 12 ft or so of the weight works and helps keep you from tangles when running multiple downriggers and dipseys with spinneys or flashers. If down real deep i shorted them up from that so that the setup appears to "belong" together with the weight as a "group".

Edited September 10, 2014 by Sk8man

[tinfin]

All great answers, I think SK8man nailed it! 

[on the lam]

Capt. Rich gave the right answer IMO.  I dont fish not to get tangles, its to catch fish. The fish will tell you what they want. stagger the leads when you start. if your coppers are going early then stretch the lead, if the divers are hot, shorten them.  Its the action imparted on the FF based on the distance from the point of resistance, Diver is short....  copper is long or not much at all.  If your 600 copper is hot, send the rigger down to 120' and stretch the lead. try to duplicate the action. Let the fish tell you as Capt. Rich said.

There are ways to get the long leads up n down without tangling the divers.

[Sk8man]

I don't think any of us fish to get no tangles .....but it is an expensive problem when it happens (especially if repeated cuttings are necessary to wire and copper) and it is true that you should let the fish dictate....up to a point... but to me having loose spinny's or flashers back 40 ft swinging back and forth on downriggers is asking for trouble when you have multiple deployments of wire and copper along with it. It may not be as large a concern for very large boats but many of us are not fishing from them.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Sk8man

[Yeahbuddy]

Thanks for the replies

[on the lam]

I don't think any of us fish to get no tangles .....but it is an expensive problem when it happens (especially if repeated cuttings are necessary to wire and copper) and it is true that you should let the fish dictate....up to a point... but to me having loose spinny's or flashers back 40 ft swinging back and forth on downriggers is asking for trouble when you have multiple deployments of wire and copper along with it. It may not be as large a concern for very large boats but many of us are not fishing from them.

I agree about the small boat issue...  but if I were dealing with that issue i would pull the divers and give them what they want, if long rigger leads are the ticket?  I have a 13 6 beam and most of late august i ran 4 or 5 rods, no more than 6.  An example of lead lengths was from last week. an angler who I know well fished the whole week and ran primarily meat. If the rigger leads weren't at least 25' on the 11" paddles you couldn't get em to go. anything shorter was a bust compared to long leads. That presentation continued all week. He took almost 100 mature kings.

Most guys, me included run the big meat rigs short, but thats not what they wanted.

[Sk8man]

I agree in the example you used....a good one too.   On my own setups meat rigs with 11 inch paddles don't swing as far horizontally at the speeds I go with them as with (lighter) flies or with  8 inch paddles and flies (at usually somewhat higher speeds).  I think it is mainly an issue to be decided on a particular boat running their own setups as much as anything and there really  isn't any right or wrong to it in my view. Always good to hear different perspectives too....gets you thinking...

[Has Been]

I fish for no tangles because Tangles mean less time for fish to bite lines that are doing the right things. Sometimes you don't know for a while if you have a tangle &  that time means a bad setup &  no hits . I do this differently  on my small boat & my big boat. I rarely get tangles anymore.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Has Been

[Xxx]

My buddy Lonnie and his friend had a hot set up last week, they were up for a week and did 68 matures out of Henderson, 15 ft behind the ball they wouldn't even tell me, but I'll get it sooner or later. He has a boat kind of looks like a catamaran with 2 outboards on it.