Lake trout rigs

[BALLS DEEP]

What are your guys favorite rigs while fishing bottom for lakers? 

[GAMBLER]

Hammerhead Cowbells or Gambler Rigs Death Traps and Gambler Rigs are the best weapons in the arsenal hands down!  Here are my favorite colors for each:

Hammerhead Cowbells size 5/0

Froggy

Trout Alien

Crystalina 

Blue Glow

Lake Trout Killer

 

Death Trap Magnums

Crushed Ice UV

Yellow Dew UV

Antifreeze

 

Gambler Rigs in regular and magnum sizes.  

Bull Frog

Silver Glow

Alien

UV Chartreuse Dot

Glow UV 2 Face

[BALLS DEEP]

Gambler I'd like to chat with you. Do you have a phone number so I could teach out and chat for a minute?

[GAMBLER]

9 minutes ago, BALLS DEEP said:

Gambler I'd like to chat with you. Do you have a phone number so I could teach out and chat for a minute?

PM sent

[Ray4852]

My setup is very basic but its perfected so well it will out fish any other method out there. I like cowbells. The old Dave Davis with 7 blade. I liked the old miller rig too.  I fished it off a hand line. years ago I bought a set of 3 blade cowbells from a Lake Ontario shop. these blades worked so well. I used them off my down rigger rod. they were made out of aluminum . I tried to make them myself. my blades weren't the same so I stopped using them.  here goes. you need a good wire rod and reel. I use the charter special reel with a shamannio roller rod. this rod works good but the rollers on it are Junk. I have to replace my rollers a lot. but thats no problem. it only takes about 2 minutes to pop out a bad roller and put in a new roller. I use wire line. single strand and braid wire. I connect a good ball bearing  swivel at the end of my wire line. I don't use 3 way swivels. I make my own swivel. The sinker lead  18 inches with 12 to 16 ounce . I connect a small dodger or a spin doctor to it. my lure off the dodger about 3 ft.  peanut, spoon, dead bait, flatfish and flys. every lure is coated with pro cure herring oil including the dodger. I set the rig down. I can go down to 200ft with 16 ounce sinker. my sinker is touching bottom all the time. my bait is probably running 12 inches off bottom.   

[rdebadts]

I'll second the gambler rigs- both cowbells and death traps


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Hachimo]

Two weeks ago was my first trip I set out to STRICTLY fish lake trout bein theres no colored water in mexico for browns. My first 6 hrs I put 14 on the deck. And every trip after, similar results when targeting them. Brian “Gambler” gave me a run down and it works. He knows what he’s talkin about. The LOC Boards don’t lie and he always has multiple fish on them.  He’s not just tryin to push gear.  They work and work great!  

6 hours ago, BALLS DEEP said:

Gambler I'd like to chat with you. Do you have a phone number so I could teach out and chat for a minute?

 

Edited April 21, 2021 by Hachimo

[Carry]

  Stopped by Gambler's house for some laker gear this afternoon.  Good guy and definitely knows what he's doin' (some nice bucks on the wall as well)!  Heading out again Saturday but can't decide Oak or Sandy?  Would prefer Sandy, but the low levels and thoughts of being pulled out by a crane have me a bit concerned.😒

  Two recent trips out of the Oak yielded zero when fishing the gin clear inside waters.  Moved out to 120' and brought in some some lakers on some 20 year old cowbells and peanuts.  Looking forward to running the new stuff!

  Family coming in from out of town to fish with me Saturday afternoon, and can't decide if the NW blow will make the inside waters worthwhile.  Time will be limited, and I may just head straight out with the new Gambler rigs.

[BALLS DEEP]

Thanks for the info guys

[GAMBLER]

Thank you guys for the kind words and the support!  When you buy from one of my competitors, you are buying from guys that just make tackle.  I fish with my product and only produce and carry stuff that produces.  If anyone ever has any questions on lake trout tips and technique, feel free to ask.  I'm always willing to help out.  The only thing I will not give up are my weigh points off of Sandy and Ibay!  

Edited April 22, 2021 by GAMBLER

[Sk8man]

23 hours ago, GAMBLER said:

Hammerhead Cowbells or Gambler Rigs Death Traps and Gambler Rigs are the best weapons in the arsenal hands down!  Here are my favorite colors for each:

Hammerhead Cowbells size 5/0

I've fished for lakers for well over 50 years on the Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario and I've owned and used about every type of cowbell setup (Millers, Luhr Jensen Dave Davis, Les Davis and 3-7 blade) run from hand, rods, victrola, A and S automatic etc. and used peanuts and Spin N Glows behind them since the 1970's. The Hammerhead cowbells with less drag in the water with Gambler rigs behind them are hands down the most effective weapon against lake trout and although the attractive color patterns may be a factor ANY of them work on lakers. I don't even bother running my heavier "old school" cowbell setups now. You can trust Brian for the best info on use of laker setups and he takes a lot of pride in his products.

 

For folks unfamiliar with "old school" cowbells here are examples:

Edited April 22, 2021 by Sk8man

[Ray4852]

I bent the blades a little on those old cowbell rigs. it helped a little. I wish I could get my hands on those 3 blades rigs I bough years ago from a Lake Ontario shop. those worked pretty good off my down rigger rod. 

[Sk8man]

I hear  you on the bending of blades Ray. I still do use the smaller sets on riggers or the #4 hammerheads. I also have made my own smaller ones from large willow leaf and Colorado blades and downrigger wire

Edited April 22, 2021 by Sk8man

[chinook35]

What are your guys favorite rigs while fishing bottom for lakers? 

Don’t fish for the oil cans


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Sk8man]

Every species has its proponents and detractors

[GAMBLER]

20 minutes ago, chinook35 said:

Don’t fish for the oil cans


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

One mans trash is another mans treasure!  The lake trout hate will dwindle even more if the DEC continues to cut king stockings.  

[Seabass73]

What is preferred lead off the downrigger ball when trolling cow bells.  I've gotten Lakers in the past but only when fishing for spring browns on long leads.  

[GAMBLER]

What is preferred lead off the downrigger ball when trolling cow bells.  I've gotten Lakers in the past but only when fishing for spring browns on long leads.  

5-25’.


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Hachimo]

1 hour ago, Seabass73 said:

What is preferred lead off the downrigger ball when trolling cow bells.  I've gotten Lakers in the past but only when fishing for spring browns on long leads.  

I  stager leads on my 3 riggers. One 10ft 20ft 30ft. Couple times when bite slows down I’ll pull my center rigger and only run two and sometimes bite picks back up. 

[Ray4852]

Les,

 

I rebuild those old Dave Davis cowbells.  I get my wire from net craft. I wish I could find good quality blades only. netcraft sells blades, I built some cowbells from these blades but these blades pull to hard. they work off a handline. I like to keep everything simple off my down rigger rod. A small dodger and bait lure works for me. 

[Sk8man]

Sometimes "old school" can be the best school Ray Netcraft has served me well too over many years

[Crestliner1850]

I've been fishing lakers with Gambler rigs for over 5 years. It's been a complet game changer for me since. Also with Gambler's help and infos the learning curve was alot easier.

[ErieBuck]

Have you guys noticed that running 2 cowbells or death trap rigs off the riggers is too much?

Seems like we do better with just one off the rigger which takes a lot of hits and also attracts the fish into the spread. we run pro troll paddles/spin n glows off dipseys and the other rigger


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Hachimo]

9 hours ago, ErieBuck said:

Have you guys noticed that running 2 cowbells or death trap rigs off the riggers is too much?

Seems like we do better with just one off the rigger which takes a lot of hits and also attracts the fish into the spread. we run pro troll paddles/spin n glows off dipseys and the other rigger


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I have noticed this.  Sometimes I run my 3 riggers and its slow. So I pull my center rigger and the outsides starts hitting.  Hard to say if they hit becouse I pulled a rigger or I just passed over hungry fish.  But i always stagger my leads.  10ft 20ft 30ft.  Does that help.  Who knows but if you don’t try differnt things you won’t learn new techniques that may work. 

[GAMBLER]

There are days when too many sets of attractors shut them down. When this happens, run a “clean” Gambler Rig on one rigger a little further back and cowbells/ death trap on the other rigger. They usually come in in packs and you will pick them up on both rigs.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app