Cant Catch a Fish On Dipsey

[JeffM]

So I have been running a Dipsey rod for about 4 years now and have caught one fish.   Obviously I am doing something very wrong.   I am running 50# braid on a 9ft Okuma Dipsey rod.    I will generally let out 200ft of line and use the largest size Dipsey in black or silver.   I have the Dipsey set to the highest setting to the side.   Behind the Dipsey I have the rubber snubber and then maybe 6ft of 25Lb mono attached to a spoon.    Anything I am doing obciously wrong here?   

[bandrus1]

I mean if the fish are not in that depth of water you won't catch them

[Legacy]

So my setup is an Okuma 10' White diamond diver rod and Okuma high speed convector 30 series reel. I use 30# wire but 30# braid will get the job done. The downside to braid is fleas. Fleas love braid. 50# is a bit too big for fishing deep but I have zero issues using 65# braid for my slide divers. I dont use snubbers ever. As for leaders... for spoons i use 12' of 20# flouro and for flashers/ paddles 12' of 30 or 40# flouro. Black is always the preferred diver color on the boat but there are times that chrome, glow, green might see some time. 

The biggest correction in your setup is your diver setting. I typically run mine on a 2 setting. If you're running yours on a 3 or more than they may not be getting deep enough.

[drag&snag1985]

So I have been running a Dipsey rod for about 4 years now and have caught one fish.   Obviously I am doing something very wrong.   I am running 50# braid on a 9ft Okuma Dipsey rod.    I will generally let out 200ft of line and use the largest size Dipsey in black or silver.   I have the Dipsey set to the highest setting to the side.   Behind the Dipsey I have the rubber snubber and then maybe 6ft of 25Lb mono attached to a spoon.    Anything I am doing obciously wrong here?   

Try running something besides a spoon to to see . I usaully run wire to dipsey 7 ft 50 lb fluro to paddle and fly and Make sure your reel is match with your line counter try running 2.8 -3.0 they usually want spoons fast . I have caught a lot of fish on chinook divers 7 ft leader with a spoon basically same set up as u

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[Hillbillyx-press]

Legacy is right on. I run ff or meat rigs . Start 100 ft. back. Move back 25 ft. At a time. I run 65 lb. braid. Good luck !

[JeffM]

Thanks everyone.   Sounds like I am not far off just a few tweaks.   Cant wait until its fishing time.

[Sk8man]

The 1-3 settings are on there for a reason. The higher the setting the further out and away from the boat but the shallower it runs. The changes in settings are necessary to adjust along with your target species and what you are running along with your boat speed. The more line you let out the deeper the diver goes....to a point...then it merely goes further backward on the same plane or even slightly upward from the belly in the line when running something as light as a single spoon so you may be missing where the fish are actually located. The trick is to try to get down to the place where you are marking fish OR keep adjusting your divers to find them. If you are constantly using the diver on a 3 setting without any others set deeper or changing the setting to run deeper any fish located deeper will be missed. I generally run the 3 setting for the outside diver and then only when targeted fish may be up in that range otherwise the inside divers are set to 1 or 2 and I use Deeper Divers to achieve greater depth as well as  maintain distance between them and  the outside divers. Good luck.

Edited February 26, 2019 by Sk8man

[HB2]

I fish my dipsey mostly with with flasher fly. 

There are days they get most of the hits. And days they get none . It's a king killer 

I use 65 # braid , a,black dipsey , a dream weaver snubber ( not the lure Jensen ,they are to stretchy ) 8 ft of 40# mono ,then lure . 

I also have a slide diver I like for spoons . Braid , 30 ft of 30#  mono  , bead for stop , med swivel,   6 ft of 15 # mono. 

I start on a 1.5 setting and rarely go past 2.5 ,which works on calmer sunny days 

Mid to late summer I rarely have less than 140 ft of line out and as much as 300 . I start at like 120  and let it click out very slowly while trolling it in the rod holder . 

Does you reel have a line counter ? Almost essential for this . 

 

Edited February 26, 2019 by HB2

[Captain Laxton]

After the snubber should be 20 or 30 lb fluorocarbon line so the fish can't see it.

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[FishingFool34]

According to my chart a Mag dipsy on a 3 setting with 200ft of braid out will dive to roughly 75ft. Like others have said if there are no fish there, you're not going to catch anything. I have always considered a Mag dipsy an "aggressive" presentation so I tend to run big flashy stuff off my Mags, 10"+ paddle with meat rigs or big flys. Get yourself a good dive chart for dipsys, I know I have posted the one I use on here someplace. If you can't find PM me and I can send you a picture of it. Then get your dipsy down to where the fish are.

Edited February 27, 2019 by FishingFool34

[jth21usa]

2nd the changing to fluorocarbon, also the leader seems short for a spoon. I usually run the leader a couple of feet longer than the rod. 

[Sk8man]

8 hours ago, jth21usa said:

2nd the changing to fluorocarbon, also the leader seems short for a spoon. I usually run the leader a couple of feet longer than the rod. 

If you fish solo good luck netting  good sized fish.

[jth21usa]

2 hours ago, Sk8man said:

If you fish solo good luck netting  good sized fish.

Agreed

[Sk8man]

Not meant as a criticism either.....but having been there in the past

[Charlie P]

3 hours ago, Sk8man said:

Not meant as a criticism either.....but having been there in the past

Come on it's soooooooo much fun.  They always do exactly what you want at the back of the boat. 

[Gill-T]

Know your depth chart. Distance back to depth achieved starts out 2:1 then will start planing out to a 3:1 ratio with a standard  Dipsy. Setting on the dipsy, current direction, boat speed, and bait presented (flasher vs spoon) all play a roll in depth achieved. You would be hard pressed to get deeper than 80’ down with a standard diver size (approx 300’ out). The mag divers will stay 2:1 longer and get you 115’ with 300’ out. Once you know the depth chart, it is simply dialing in the amount of line out to achieve the depth the fish are for that day/time of year. If you are unsure of depth where fish might be you can “fish” your dipsy by setting them out on a light drag so they slowly creep out and then note the line counter if a fish hits. Leader length for me is based on rod length. With the diver at the tip of the rod, the leader is long enough to go around the handle of the reel and back up 1/2 to 3/4ths the length of the rod. If you get out late April into May, start your dipsy out 80-90’ as a good starting point. 

[Gator]

With the right setup, Dipsys will often outproduce downriggers by 2:1 or better. That's why our go-to setup has four wire Dipsys and only two riggers. If you're fishing them in the summer, then you should consider wire. It's easy and effective. There's lots of information on here about how to rig. Or just take a trip with somebody and learn.

[dickey]

I catch the majority of my fish on dispey’s with wire over downriggers. I use length of rod as my length from dipsey to spindoctor with atomic fly. I run 2 dipsey’s on opposite sides on a 2 setting. I use ratio of 3:1 to guess my depth. 9 times out of 10 my wire dipsey will out produce riggers. Good luck and this site is great place to learn


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[Reel Doc]

2 questions for you all.

First, I have the Luhr Jensen diver depth charts downloaded on my phone for reference.  Some of you are saying there is some variables beyond boat speed that can change that.  If so, by how much?  I use one per side if another 1-2 people with me on the boat but at 2 or 3 plate setting to keep to the side/reduced chance of tangles.  If running mags with flasher/fly to reach 60+ depths how close will the chart be to reality?

Second, I read that some folks put a run of 30-40lb mono from wire to dipsey to act as a snubber.  Good idea? Or just run mono or flouro 10-15 feet from dipsey to lure and that will give enough stretch.  I've had fewer drops since ditching the snubbers but still seem to have more dipsey drops than other setups which are mostly rigger rods and copper.

[prayingmantis]

2 questions for you all.
First, I have the Luhr Jensen diver depth charts downloaded on my phone for reference.  Some of you are saying there is some variables beyond boat speed that can change that.  If so, by how much?  I use one per side if another 1-2 people with me on the boat but at 2 or 3 plate setting to keep to the side/reduced chance of tangles.  If running mags with flasher/fly to reach 60+ depths how close will the chart be to reality?
Second, I read that some folks put a run of 30-40lb mono from wire to dipsey to act as a snubber.  Good idea? Or just run mono or flouro 10-15 feet from dipsey to lure and that will give enough stretch.  I've had fewer drops since ditching the snubbers but still seem to have more dipsey drops than other setups which are mostly rigger rods and copper.

There is a better chart than what they give you. It seems to be pretty accurate. I have hit bottom in 100' of water. It has line out for both wire and Braid. As far as the mono goes it goes from the diver to the flasher/fly. The snubber is just personal preference. Some guys like it some dont. Good luck

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[Reel Doc]

6 hours ago, prayingmantis said:

There is a better chart than what they give you. It seems to be pretty accurate. I have hit bottom in 100' of water. It has line out for both wire and Braid. As far as the mono goes it goes from the diver to the flasher/fly. The snubber is just personal preference. Some guys like it some dont. Good luck

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Thanks, this is a great chart.

One more question.....is there a preference between running with the O rings or without?

[Sk8man]

Use a Deeper Diver 124 mm instead and avoid the ring and still have the depth

[Reel Doc]

16 minutes ago, Sk8man said:

Use a Deeper Diver 124 mm instead and avoid the ring and still have the depth

 

The 124 mm is a size 5 correct?

Never used the Walker divers, these look to be a remake of them.

Are the settings similar to the Luhr Jensen with how they track to the side of the boat?

[Sk8man]

Yes it is the size 5. They are the same as the Walker Divers. They have been sold a few times (company) and last I knew Dreamweaver was selling them. They are basically the same in operation as the Luhr Jensens (without the potential irritating problem of slipping outer rings as they age and the fact that most glue will not hold on them when that is tried either. I switched to the Deeper Divers years ago and never looked back. I also think they get deeper than the largest Luhr Jensen on wire. They track very well.

[emtystringer]

SK8MAN,do you think the Deeper Divers will go as deep as the LUHR JENSEN MAGS