Multiple coppers ?

[Jeremy Goodison]

Quick question, when running more than one copper on a side which rod goes where? 400 copper outside, 300 closer to boat? Normally I would run deepest with shorter lead close to boat then high setup long lead on the outside. However with copper deep means longer. Or what about running a long copper up the middle from the roof top rocket launcher?

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[Missdemeanor]

300 on outside, 400 inside... Theory is the 300 will slide over the 400 when a fish hits.... It does work ....

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[Missdemeanor]

Usually only run one copper on each side and a big copperdown chute

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[steelfire]

Missdemeanor,

   I have tried to run my 500 copper down the chute many times. But for some reason I keep tangling with my dipsies. I run a dipsy on each side. Usually a number 2 setting. Any ideas how to avoid a tangle??

[Paul Czarnecki]

Missdemeanor,

I have tried to run my 500 copper down the chute many times. But for some reason I keep tangling with my dipsies. I run a dipsy on each side. Usually a number 2 setting. Any ideas how to avoid a tangle??

If you're consistently tangling a chute copper with your divers its poor driving. If your boat is going straight while the copper is being deployed it should never see your divers. However, put some S turns in there and the copper will find a diver occasionally.

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[Jeremy Goodison]

Speaking of tangles, yesterday I sent out my dipsy's. Watching the rods two min later rigger fires, grab rod , next rigger fires. All of sudden dipsy does a little bump and then the light bulb in my head gets real bright. I put the wrong dipsy on the wrong sides lol. They both met in the middle and grabbed all the rigger rods. If any one on my boat would have done that I would of razzed them to death lol. Needless to say I brought in a wad of line lures and swivels and just started cutting........... Tangles suck

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[Missdemeanor]

Paul is right.... Setting out a chute copper is a pretty delicate procedure. I make sure the rig is going arrow straight . I always run my chute copper as the last rod out. Also, when picking up, you need to be going straight. Picking the chute copper on the turn, will keep your wire cutters active for the next half hour... Good luck, tight( and untangled) lines......

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Edited May 31, 2015 by Missdemeanor

[steelfire]

If you're consistently tangling a chute copper with your divers its poor driving. If your boat is going straight while the copper is being deployed it should never see your divers. However, put some S turns in there and the copper will find a diver occasionally.

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Well I don't try to make wild turns. Just the usual slow turns. After last fall I have decided to only run copper off my boards. 

[Missdemeanor]

Usually only one copper per side is enough...   I really like to keep thing simple.... Especially when the crew aboard is less than seasoned.  On sporty days when I won't put out boards, the chute copper has really shined for me....especially with a Mag spoon on it...  

[dvdegeorge]

On calm days I have run 2 coppers off one board. As Matt stated 300 on the outside 400 on the inside

If I'm running lead core I'll run a 10 color outside and 400 copper inside other side gets a 6 or 7 color outside and 300 copper inside

My normal crew is 3 people so calm day spread is 4 riggers, 2 dipsys , 2 coppers and a lead core

This requires a good driver and 2 people working rods that know what they are doing.

Rough days where boards aren't used 4 riggers,2 dipsys and a chute copper

Edited June 2, 2015 by dvdegeorge

[Yankee Troller]

Missdemeanor,

   I have tried to run my 500 copper down the chute many times. But for some reason I keep tangling with my dipsies. I run a dipsy on each side. Usually a number 2 setting. Any ideas how to avoid a tangle??

 

Let it out slowly. Many times we will let it out on a slow drag and it'll fire on the way out. I see too many people, and this goes for seasoned anglers as well, dump coppers to quickly. You're asking for trouble. Also, once you get it out let it settle before you hook it to a board. If you dump them quick and then try to slide it out on a board you're going to catch your diver.

 

We run 3 junk lines ALL the time. When the fishing gets tough we'll run 5. If you want to run multiple coppers on a side figure out what length works best for your program, or for the water you're fishing. Then make 2 of them. If you run 2 200' or 2 300' off each side then it's like Brown Trout fishing. When the outside one goes off you slide the inside one down.

[Jeremy Goodison]

I've been lucky enough to fish with Jeremy Sage (I believe friends with Rich) over the last couple years. Every time he runs double dipsy on a side with no issues. After the six hour teaching on what to do, I confidently get on my boat the following weekend and manage to tangle all my dipsy when I try it lol. Definitely takes practice and I think a bigger boat with less wind drift helps alot on windy or rough days. I do appreciate all the responses. I'm a big advocate of asking questions and taking a charter every year with a captain who teaches what to do not just hand you a rod and say reel it in.

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[skipper19]

I'm a little different...besides that, the way I do copper is probably... since I have premeditated using the copper in the beginning of the trip, I like to deploy my coppers first at a speed of about 5 mph. They lay out better and faster and the boat has better directional stability. My probe will tell me what copper to use. Then the boat slows to 2.5 and the divers go out snails pace. Outside on 3 first then inside on 1.5 all snail paced to about 125 to 150 feet and settled there. The rest of the riggers go down last cause they are the least of the trouble and less concentration to detail. The divers are then slowly adjusted to desired length. Having the boat going too slow will cause many issues that create FUBAR. Coppers sink too quickly, divers will spin out of plane and circle downwards in giant whirling corkscrews grabbing other lines. Good boat driving skills includes not just steering but maintaining speeds to keep divers in plane. Those are the worst for causing mayhem and grab things while spiraling down. Copper just sinks and if they are on out riggers or boards then they hit divers that are spinning down. Try not to stall on speed at all costs! Even some wild short duration steering will not cause as much trouble as long as you are moving at a good pace 2.7 to 3 mph.

Mark

[Sk8man]

This discussion has me thinking that maybe there are reasons why I have always stuck with relatively short coppers (200 and 250) and where I need extra depth I use snap weights. I"ve used my Fish Hawk TD to see where my lines are running so I have some idea of that and I think the decreased length of the copper has some advantages in terms of the tangle situation with the dipseys etc.as I've never had one yet with them (probably shouldn't have said that either )

[wishinfishin]

Sk8man, you should not of said that ,LOL.

As maybe youve seen in my posts ,Im a newbie , but I was thinking of doing what you said about shorter coppers and adding weights.

Could you help by explaining how you set that up meaning how much weight and how much additional backer you let out to get to a certain depth?

Snap weights, yes,Ive also read guys using rubberbands with a half hitch to attach weights, any thoughts??

 

Chuck

[Sk8man]

Hi Chuck,

 

Much of my fishing is on the Finger Lakes and I usually use the coppers out in deep water rather than in shallower where the rapid and severe structure changes can wreak havoc with my setups. Often I will run the 200 copper off a Church Walleye board or a TX 44 board and the 250 down the chute along with 2 downriggers with sliders. I target rainbows, landlocks and browns primarily (other than derbies) so I am seldom running below 80 or 90 ft over whatever. I use the Fish Hawk TD to determine the actual depth of the particular spoon I am running with the particular rig I am using so in that sense I can't answer the question simply. It all depends on your speed, underwater  currents, the particular lure, the line diameter or the backing and copper wt. used etc.  If not using the TD I'd be "guesstimating" and shooting in the dark. Because I vary my speed considerably especially after the rainbows and landlocks the lure is changing positions in the water column significantly. Basically I run things until I connect with a fish and then try to repeat the process (e.g. boat speed, angle of the lines, etc. and the process is pretty "subjective". I don't have any depth charts or things of that nature for it rather it is a dynamic process. I will say that sometimes I fix the weight and other times I let the weight slide along the bow in the line (backing) for differing action so again I use imprecise methods (to my madness) :lol:If using the sliding weight the item in the pic below is what I use. It is basically something used in salt water fishing for bottom fishing that I transferred to this situation.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Sk8man

[wishinfishin]

Thanks Les, I enjoy your posts

[Sea-IV]

This is a good diagram that I was given years back and I try to follow it when I can. So far so good with no tangles.