Lakers off a diver?

[HoundsNTrout]

New or don't really do much Laker fishing.  So we are gonna target them this week with the riggers.  
Question.  With two riggers down, not sure yet if we will run two cowbwells with spinners or one might have just a spoon.   
Can I run two dipsys maybe out on setting 2, try to bounce bottom then pull a little line in?  or very close to bottom and run a spoon or even a flasher/fly combo?  ANyone ever have any success with that?  Just trying to get a couple more rods out there near close to bottom.   Or will the divers be sort of up and down too much not steady?  I would think that might trigger a strike, IDK.  

[TyeeTanic]

I don't like bouncing divers in the mud ... they get gunked up, and you end up with a messy lure.  When that happens, we always pull the line and check the lure.

Down riggers are different, as you can bounce the ball off the bottom ... but your line will be clipped 10 ft above the ball, so you know

the lure is clearing the bottom.

[fisherman21]

You can definitely do good with with divers and flasher/flys for Lakers. Just try and keep them within 10 feet of the bottom. Slow troll 1.8 to 2.3

[AnglingAddict]

Right now the water temps are nearly homogenous - you can absolutely fish a diver for lakers and you don't need to be tight to the bottom either....fish the marks - a lot of times this time of year lakers could be anywhere although a lot of guys will target them with cowbells near bottom and that certainly is productive. Flasher with a fly can be a great option for lakers as mentioned above.  Double white glow e-chip or spin doc and an A-Tom-Mik ultra white glow fly with chartruese beads is a good place to start.

[GAMBLER]

If you are laker fishing with 2 cowbells on riggers, you shouldn't need to run divers.  They do work but they can get in the way.  

[HoundsNTrout]

16 hours ago, AnglingAddict said:

Right now the water temps are nearly homogenous - you can absolutely fish a diver for lakers and you don't need to be tight to the bottom either....fish the marks - a lot of times this time of year lakers could be anywhere although a lot of guys will target them with cowbells near bottom and that certainly is productive. Flasher with a fly can be a great option for lakers as mentioned above.  Double white glow e-chip or spin doc and an A-Tom-Mik ultra white glow fly with chartruese beads is a good place to start.

Thanks for the info.  

[HoundsNTrout]

14 hours ago, GAMBLER said:

If you are laker fishing with 2 cowbells on riggers, you shouldn't need to run divers.  They do work but they can get in the way.  

When you say get in the way, what setting would you run them on IF you were?  I was thinking a 3 to get them further away as long as we are in relatively shallow water this time of year.  100-120fow.  Our riggers are off to the corners and at an angle.  I mean we could put them straight back.   Still contemplating even bothering with the FF but with water so cold right now..   

[Pappy]

Based on everything I have ever read on here about Lakers I would do.....

what ever Gambler says!

[GAMBLER]

8 hours ago, Hounds said:

When you say get in the way, what setting would you run them on IF you were?  I was thinking a 3 to get them further away as long as we are in relatively shallow water this time of year.  100-120fow.  Our riggers are off to the corners and at an angle.  I mean we could put them straight back.   Still contemplating even bothering with the FF but with water so cold right now..   

Running them on a three is the best option.  If you are trolling slower, they will go deeper and they will not go out to the side as far.  

[skinny420]

Yeah watch gamblers YouTube videos and you will see what he means about getting in the way. He can barely keep his riggers working with constant fish catching and sending cowbells down.

[chowder]

Lakers don’t always want ‘bells’ , let the fish decide- run bells , mag spoons and flasherfly combos, spread out over riggers, divers and junk lines

[TBrovata]

Any purple spoon you have will catch Lakers. Bloody Death is always a hot spoon for us!

[HoundsNTrout]

Another quick observation on my divers.  On setting 2 they were only going out maybe 10 ft. max from the boat.  Is that normal?  Seems they should have been a bit further from the boat.  Wire rods, 1.8 Knots, 120 ft of line out.   ANd yes it was set on the correct side/setting.   Oh, I had two Deeper divers size 5. 124mm. Only two divers and two riggers we were using.  
Seemed a bit like they were getting a little too close to our riggers which we like at a slight angle off the corner of boat.  Maybe next time run riggers straight out the back, IDK.  
But, I'd never get two divers off the same side of boat at this rate. WOuldn't happen.  Should be able to set two divers off same side and the riggers off the back.  I didn't want to use the size 4 divers, But if I used the #4s would I run them inside and the #5 outside?  OR even a size 3 inside?   Would that help get it further out? ( from boat that is )  And of course would have inside or closest diver maybe upright or good angle  or do I want BOTH almost flat to the water? 

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by Hounds

[adesalvo]

I typically only run 2 rods when running bells as if they are working it’s hard to keep them in the water.   

[GAMBLER]

On 5/16/2022 at 2:21 PM, chowder said:

Lakers don’t always want ‘bells’ , let the fish decide- run bells , mag spoons and flasherfly combos, spread out over riggers, divers and junk lines

If Lakers don't want bells, you are running the wrong color that day, trolling too fast or slow or you are trolling the wrong direction.  I have never seen a day I couldn’t crush Lakers on cowbells.  

[chowder]

On 5/18/2022 at 1:32 PM, GAMBLER said:

If Lakers don't want bells, you are running the wrong color that day, trolling too fast or slow or you are trolling the wrong direction.  I have never seen a day I couldn’t crush Lakers on cowbells.  

Should have been with me this spring on my charters then. No need to be so sure you are right no matter what even if you have an investment in a certain presentation. I don't have a personal investment in any kind of presentation so when a specific presentation isn't working within my customer's time frame I start changing things around to catch fish. If by changing to a spoon presentation I get a Laker when I wasn't getting them with 2 different colored cowbell rigs at different speeds, I'm not going to say to myself; ' You know , I should find out if I was trolling the wrong way with those cowbells or try more colors because they are supposed to work no matter what'. Nope, I'm gonna do what I do with all the different gear and lure presentations I use, which is to run a mix of the stuff that typically works in the water I'm seeing the fish the I want in at that time of year and take it from there.

[GAMBLER]

I may have a small investment in selling cowbells but they are not my product.  I’m speaking from 38 years of experience trolling Lake Ontario and way more hours of trolling lake trout than I’d like to admit!  I just did a seminar in Erie PA on fishing lake trout.  Cowbells are not my product but death traps are.  I was honest and told them cowbells were the better option over Death Traps for lake trout as long as they could get their boats slow enough.  I am honest with customers and push them toward what works.