Cowbell Lake Trout Setups!

[huntercs]

Was wondering if anyone could help me with my cowbell setup, particularly wondering if you need sinkers or weights for cowbells when trolling or will the weight of the cowbell be enough to bring it down? Thanks in advance!

[GAMBLER]

4 minutes ago, huntercs said:

Was wondering if anyone could help me with my cowbell setup, particularly wondering if you need sinkers or weights for cowbells when trolling or will the weight of the cowbell be enough to bring it down? Thanks in advance!

Cowbells work best off downriggers.  They can be pulled behind divers and on thumper rigs with success.  They really hinder the dive capabilities of a diver though.  

[huntercs]

Thanks Gambler. Unfortunately I will not be able to use a downrigger as I will be trolling in deep backcountry behind my canoe. Would you recommend any type of sinker or weight setup in front of my cowbell to help bring it down a bit?

[GAMBLER]

57 minutes ago, huntercs said:

Thanks Gambler. Unfortunately I will not be able to use a downrigger as I will be trolling in deep backcountry behind my canoe. Would you recommend any type of sinker or weight setup in front of my cowbell to help bring it down a bit?

12 or 16 ounce thumper weights will work.  Make sure you use a keel in front of it to keep it from twisting up.  

[huntercs]

1 hour ago, GAMBLER said:

Cowbells work best off downriggers.  They can be pulled behind divers and on thumper rigs with success.  They really hinder the dive capabilities of a diver though.  

Thanks Gambler. How far ahead of the cowbell would you recommend me placing these weights?

 

[GAMBLER]

8 minutes ago, huntercs said:

Thanks Gambler. How far ahead of the cowbell would you recommend me placing these weights?

 

36" has worked for me. 

[huntercs]

Gambler, probably only going to be able to bring 2 Cowbells with me... what size and colour do you recommend for Lakers?

[Sk8man]

The most effective setup for cowbells (if not using a downrigger) is the use of a weight (I use 32-40 oz.)which you can get from Troutman87 on here very reasonably and suspended about 18 inches from a three way swivel as a "dropper weight". You want this to make contact with the bottom as you troll slowly about 1.4 mph.  The cowbells will be straight back from the other ring of the swivel (with a heavy duty Duolock snap on it) with the third hooked to a heavy duty swivel on the main line. You run the rig as close to the bottom as you can feeling it keep touching bottom as you go along. Generally you start in shallower than you end up letting out mainline as you go keeping the contact with the bottom. If using bead chains on your rig line an additional leader with a spoon can be used where the leader is long enough to follow behind the cowbells (e.g. 20 ft long) and located about 3-4 ft above the cowbells. This is where the term "cheater" line came from back in the old days.

Edited March 1, 2022 by Sk8man