New to Trolling

[MBarbieri]

So i just got my first boat have had it out 1 time so far working on rebuilding the power tilt/trim this weekend hoping to get out again next week. The boat came with 2 quick release cannon downrigger bases but no down riggers. I am thinking of starting with leadcore and or dipsy divers before buying downriggers. I am looking for any tips or advice on setups for leadcore and/or dipsy divers that wont break the bank. primarily fishing Seneca / Cayuga for lakers and trout. right now I have 1 Jigging rod then a few spinning rods that I used for bass and general shore fishing. Thank you all so much for your time and help!

[HB2]

I have a boat almost the same as yours 

 

Spend the money a buy the riggers . You won't be sorry . 

 

My setup and I love it  . Removable board when I don't fish salmon trout . 

 

You can get used manual riggers relatively cheap on here . 

 

Lead core and wire are,both expensive and when you factor those in the price and value will be well worth it . 

 

And you will catch more on the riggers IMO . 

[MBarbieri]

Thanks will look into that! Should I be looking at line counter reels as well so I can be sure exactly how far out I am to be repeatable? 

[HB2]

If you are using riggers I would say no but most reels now come with them . Dipsys absolutely . 

 

Used rod combos on here also . 

 

There are guys on here that will tell you you have to have this and that to catch fish . I'm here to tell you you need basic stuff presented properly . Took me  a long time and lots of money before I figured that out . 

 

Get the riggers 

[letsfish2day]

Start with dipsys! Most days for me they will catch more fish than my downriggers. Lot cheaper getting started! Good luck and good fishing!


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[MBarbieri]

Thanks! I have some 30' mini dipsy divers so many options out there it is overwhelming knowing where to start.

[Captain Carl Bish]

There are many ways to catch fish trolling.  The question that I would ask you is why are you fishing.  Are you after the meat?  I hope not Lake Ontario fish have a metallic taste for a reason.  Are you fishing to prove you can put a bunch of fish in the box?  Or are you fishing for the fun of the tug on the other end of the line?

 

I am an experienced troll, but I no longer fish using that method (at least as little as possible, but I will be Wahoo trolling in the morning, see below).  Some years back I decided that pulling in a fish, a 11 inch flasher, a dipsy and wire line on a roller rod just was not fun any more.  My last 5 years fishing Lake Ontario I would run a 7' spinning rod with a penn 5500 spooled with 15# mono.  all spring.  Clients delighted in the fun that that rod provided.  I finished my career on Lake Ontario running 4 riggers, 2 dipsys and a copper. I can tell you the most fun fish to catch are rigger rods with spoons where you fight just the fish and not the tackle.

 

That said if you are meat fishing like my Lake Erie Friends go with dipsies and leadcore.  If you are HERO fishing do it all or if you want to just have fun go with riggers.  

 

Extra from the SALT:

Trolling for Wahoo: Speed of troll 10 -15 mph, 12 inch deep diving plugs or 50' of 60# mono followed by 32 oz weight followed by  25' of 100# mono followed by 6' of 150# wire with a 20 oz cowbell skirt.  If the fish hit the later you handline the last 25', in either case you maintain 10 mph while dragging in the fish.  If you are lucky you have an electric reel.  Not much fun, but they taste great and people think you are cool if you catch wahoo!  Meat & HERO fishing, the fun is the Tarpon on spin when you get back to the island.

[MBarbieri]

Mainly for just the enjoyment of fishing. Will be keeping a few here and there wont be going out on Ontario with the boat thinking might be a little small. Went to college at Oswego and that lake intimidates me haha. Thanks for the input I guess 2 manual downriggers will be top priority and will use the spinning gear I currently have. I have always fished streams in the southern tier/northern pa for trout. Always used ultralight gear with 6lbs test the fight is the best! 

[jimski2]

Set up  three rod holders for each side of the boat. Dipseys, side planers with snap weights diving stickbaits or spoons will do all you need to catch your fish. The dipsey rods need line counter reels, the rest of your lines can be spinning rod and reels. That is an economical start.

Edited April 4, 2020 by jimski2

[HB2]

13 hours ago, HB2 said:

 

 

There are guys on here that will tell you you have to have this and that to catch fish . I'm here to tell you you need basic stuff presented properly . Took me  a long time and lots of money before I figured that out . 

 

Get the riggers 

 

See what I mean ? 

 

And don't forget a sharp knife to cut all the tangled lines . 

[jimski2]

My riggers catch less fish than my side planers and many weeks I  never use them. A bottom bouncer rig produces as well as my riggers.

[wishinfishin]

Dipsey divers .

Cant go wrong . I go with the wire not braid.

Most times they are my best performer

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[Smat64]

Down riggers are fun and you could eventually get into down speed and temp.


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[HB2]

Get the riggers 

[Hachimo]

I started “seriously”fishing Lake Ontario 3 years ago. On a very tight budget with no gear other then 2 old mag 10’s that came with my boat. On ebay I bought a 4-pack of new okuma magda 45’s combos for $200. First year thats all I had. I would buy 1 or 2 FF setups and 2-3 spoons every trip north. I did well but when guys were goin 10for12 And I’m 3for5 I knew I needed to add more setups. Next year I got 4 wire Diver setups and every trip bought a dipsey n spoon or two. My second year my catch more then doubled. In My opinion the dipseys out fish riggers most of the time and If I had to chose I would leave the riggers home before I left my diver rods. Now starting my 4th year I got copper setups, planer mast leadcores,and to this day my most productive setups Is the dipsey setups. Alot of my gear came used from this site and bein a weekend warrior it works great for me

[wishinfishin]

I started “seriously”fishing Lake Ontario 3 years ago. On a very tight budget with no gear other then 2 old mag 10’s that came with my boat. On ebay I bought a 4-pack of new okuma magda 45’s combos for $200. First year thats all I had. I would buy 1 or 2 FF setups and 2-3 spoons every trip north. I did well but when guys were goin 10for12 And I’m 3for5 I knew I needed to add more setups. Next year I got 4 wire Diver setups and every trip bought a dipsey n spoon or two. My second year my catch more then doubled. In My opinion the dipseys out fish riggers most of the time and If I had to chose I would leave the riggers home before I left my diver rods. Now starting my 4th year I got copper setups, planer mast leadcores,and to this day my most productive setups Is the dipsey setups. Alot of my gear came used from this site and bein a weekend warrior it works great for me

Bingo!

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[jimski2]

Wire diver setups have better hook sets and braid also has less blow back while trolling.

[Firechief48]

Keep checking the classifieds on here. You can get a lot of good stuff for great prices.

 

[HB2]

I saw some cannon manuals on here with no bases . 

 

Get the riggers , master using them and add to your spread . 

 

 

 

 

[MBarbieri]

Saw some on craigslist for 125 for the pair. Thinking about picking then up have to talk the wife into as she just got laid off due to this virus and I have already spent a bunch getting the boat ready...

Edited April 6, 2020 by MBarbieri

[HB2]

Family first 

 

The fish will all ways be there 

 

My boat is just like your .Great multi species boat  

 

You are going to love it . 

 

Take the time to set it up right and take care of it . 

[Sk8man]

A lot of good advice here. Money is often an issue especially starting out. Take your time and ease into it. The first thing to think about is the question of is my boat setup OK for what i want to do? Each one of the things mentioned are good tactics but you have to have the boat setup to use them. For example rod holders....if running dipsy divers you will need very sturdy metal rod holders very securely attached to the gunwales of the boat (which can also double for toplining and other things as well). Dipsy divers exert a lot of torque and pressure at their bases so it is crucial to have them well secured to avoid flexing and weakening on your aluminum boat. They need to be beefed up underneath for best results. Some folks use tracks with the bases of the holders inset in them again...they need to be anchored properly to distribute the torque.

Suggestion: if you haven't done much trolling start out simple; once the rod holders are set up topline in the shallows. On the Fingers you can even use the spinning rods trolling relatively shallow water in the Spring and fall as I did when I started out many years ago. For Lake Trout on Seneca and Cayuga a couple of dipsy diver wire rigs would be a real good idea. The wire instead of braid because of the water fleas in the summer months. A couple Okuma Magda 30's or 45's with 1000 ft of 7 strand stainless wire would be a good idea and not very expensive in comparison to other stuff you may gradually move up to in the future if you decide to fish Lake O, and the 45's can be used there anyway although the Kings can test them. Dipsy rods are highly variable in preference among fishermen but I have even used medium weight 8 1/2 ft downrigger rods with them and they work OK for the Fingers. If you decide on heavier (and perhaps shorter)rods they can also double for running cowbells with Gambler Rigs (killers for Lake Trout on the Fingers and Lake O) just attaching a three-way swivel to the existing swivel snap used for the divers and suspend a heavy sinker at the bottom. Depending n the season and related depths fished several dipsy sizes can be used to fish from shallower (smaller sizes) to deeper depths (larger sizes). Keep in mind the conventional rod tips weren't designed for stainless wire so you'll need something to modify the tip and  the easiest solution is a twilli tip  which preserves to wire without cutting through the tip. 

 

Another basic thing to consider with trolling is how well can you control your speed (e.g. with just your main motor)? You will need to be able to get your speed down in some cases to 1.3-1.8 for lakers especially early and late in the year when they are sluggish. You'll need something to measure your speed with as well and there are quite a few options and often some of the effective but perhaps outdated by more expensive or sophisticated equipment will often appear for sale here but the basic impeller driven older ones still work and are less money.

 

You'll notice I have purposely left the downriggers for last. This is for multiple reasons; one this is your first boat they require proper setup on it so you need to get used to the boat first. Two - they require some experience seeing how they operate before investing in them regardless of whether manual or electric. There is a lot more to using them effectively than just lowering and raising them You can always add them as you go along. You need to learn how to troll to begin with to be successful and this involves getting a feel for your boat (e.g.handling) and the strengths and weaknesses of your system and they all have both. I was probably one of the first if not the first person to use downriggers on the Fingers (manual Riverias) in 1975 (the other people out on the Finger Lakes had never even seen or heard of them back then). It takes time to learn to use them effectively and experienced fishermen often forget about this fact.because they are used to them and take a lot for granted and you can add them as you go along. They are very useful to have in the arsenal but have their time and place in it.

I hope these comments are useful to you in thinking about an approch to your quest. Best of luck. Les

Edited April 7, 2020 by Sk8man

[HB2]

Let the lure out 20 ft +_ , hook it to the release , put the rod in the holder, let it down to where the bait or fish are, set the drag  ,drive the boat . Can't get much more simple than that.  

 

Need a speed gauge ? A cheap  version of that is the same lure you are running on a spare rod , hang it over the side and look at it . 

 

 

[TFB]

I started out at Wilson and Olcott driving a 16 footer. 

I had one 'Invader' downrigger with three rods. I had a VHF radio and a used paper graph. Don't forget your compass! I ran a 10lb. ball . I used cheaters and a long line out back. 

Many times I fished out sight of land. This was on a tiny budget and my young son was always on board. The other captains in your vicinity can be counted on if you have a bad 'situation' such as my 6 gallon metal gas can springing a leak. I once forgot my cannon ball. The guys out there saved the day with a replacement gas can to transfer that gasoline. Suddenly a new cannon ball shows up so my trip wouldn't be ruined. 

Most of all, try to go out with an experienced guy a few times to learn some tricks and tips.

I'm forever grateful for my friend with a Lund and my Father with his boat taking me out on trips to fish. 

I learned a lot....... So,  good fishing to you.