Downrigging Advice for Lakers

[IRISH56]

I won't qualify myself as an "expert" but here on Cayuga L. they are mostly what we target. Off downriggers I like to run clean spoons with free sliders. Usually darker colors (purple, black, blues) at the ball and lighter colors (greens, silver, chartreuse) off the sliders. As far as lead is concerned I'll normally start pretty close to the ball (20' or so) and work out until I find a pattern.

I'll usually be running dodger/fly combos off dipsy divers as well but they'll work on the riggers also. Usually smoke, green or white dodgers w/green, white or blue flies. Leads on dodger/fly rigs are pretty standard, less than 15'. Best combo's by far for me are Smoke Opti or LJ Green Glow dodger/green crinkle fly or LJ White w/pearlscale dodger/white fly.

Speed is normally fairly slow, right around +/- 2.0 mph at the ball. Depth is sometimes tricky although lakers tend to be more structure and bottom oriented, if you can find the bait schools that's where you want to target. Once the thermocline sets up they are normally just below.

Hope this helps. DAN

[GAMBLER]

For lakers, troll cowbells and peanuts along the bottom at 1.1 -1.7 mph (at the ball). Have the ball so it bumps the bottom every once and a while. My favorite colors are blue glow, green glow, and blue and silver.

[traveling man]

My laker set up is dodgers and flies on everything in the water. Same colors and speed as Dan.

[emtystringer]

although i dont target lake trout any more, the method that work well for me, was run two riggers at a speed of 1.5 to1.9,cowbell and peanuts.put 1 rigger 5 ft to 10 ft off the bttom and have another guy work the other rigger close to the bottom occasionally touching to maybe stir the bottom up.i kepy mt leeds very short no more than10 ft from the ball.the lake bottom seems to run steady in depth east to west so troll in a direction that runs steady and not in one where the depth goes deep to shallow or visversa. oh i left first thing out try to mark them usually in water 100 to 150 ft.

[Fishtails]

Ditto to the above. Cowbells and peanuts have been very good to me in 120 - 150 fow bumping the bottom. I run a ball snubbers for lakers now, lost two complete set ups including everything but the downrigger itself when I latched onto something near the shipping channel. It happened so fast. Good thing the wire snapped before the downriggers went in the drink with everything else :shock:

I also have had good luck with cowbells and a green spin & glow. Some days only that would fire, other days only the peanut. Rarely both. I don't fish for them much anymore, but the very first time I ever fished them on lake O I caught 10 in 2 hours fishing by myself, and not one was a slot fish.

Three were over 30" and the rest were under 25. I may have caught more but I drug around one that was about 8" for god knows how long? I thought, Geez this is easy! Never hit them that good again.

Rod

[IRISH56]

Go to the Cabelas web page and look over their "Trolling Lure and Rigs" pages, Lake Trolls a.k.a. cowbells, trolling flies etc.. This should give you an idea of what is meant by all of the above. I am not advocating Cabelas but it puts all that stuff one one page for ya!

Do a little surfing for some more information on trolling flies - if you're targeting lakers they are a good bet & there are plenty of other places to get them.

DAN