Please help with dipsey/jet divers

[audio_mad]

Last week-end I spent on Erie and tried to troll for walleye. Not only the lake was very rough that made it tough but I also learned that there is a very efficient way of trolling at large depth - using dipsey/jet divers. I've never fished at those depths and struggled quite a bit with my usual smaller depths gear (bottom bouncers) especially in this terrible weather. I understand that dipseys and jet would do a better job. My question is if I could use 30 feet dipseys/jets with my usual gear set-up (long medium action rodes, usual walleye fishing reels and 6-8 test lines) or I need to buy absolutely everything to use dipseys: new rods, new special reels, steel lines.

Please educate a newbie....

Thanks in advance,

Mad

[Raf]

tell us a bit more about what you have.. length of rods, kind of reels.. typically you will want a dipsy rod (8'6-9'6) medium heavy and a trolling reel with a line counter is a big bonus.

 

wire is not a neccessity but, you will want to run a higher # test than 6-8lb. i use 14lb xt for dipseys + lakers. i think that would be more than sufficient for open water walleye. wire or braid will 'get you down' with less line out but, my opinion, it will not be needed for eyes.

Edited July 29, 2008 by Raf

[audio_mad]

I have all kinds of rods - should not be a problem (and I really like long ones - that's a bonus). My reels are all Shimano/Daiwa types that I use for up to 20-25 feet depth. I don't know, may be they're good for more deep trolling as well. What are those "trolling reels". How are the different form casting reels?

Thanks,

[Raf]

trolling reels typically have large line capacity, lower gear ratios and may or may not come with a line counter feature. google okuma convector 20dlx to give you an idea of a decent, inexpensive trolling reel with a LC. daiwa has their 'sealine' line of reels which are excellent.

 

when you buy your dipsy, it will come with a chart that tells you how deep it will run with x amount of line out. for this reason, a linecounter is a nice-to-have. it will give you a good idea of how deep you are running or, more importantly, repeatability (ie. you are catching fish with 100' of lnie out) quickly and easily. if you don't have a LC type reel, it's not the end of the world. measure the distance from your reel to your first guide. then, instead of just letting line out, "pull" line out by hand - each pull spanning the distance from your reel to that first guide. count these pulls. it's not an exact science but gives you a good basis (ie. distance from reel to 1st guide is 18", 60 pulls = 90' of line out - depending on the size of the dipsy you are using it will go xx feet deep with 90' line out.).

Edited July 29, 2008 by Raf

[svukovics]

i just started doing erie for walleyes as well. heres what i have run into and may be helpful. i went out and spent some money ($170 aprox) and was able to set myself up with the full gear. A dipsy rod comes in real handy, and for this reason in particular: we were fishing at 60 feet of water with dipsy's at 40... However, a lot of guys were fishing at 90' of water at 70' with better success. A #1 dipsy will do this fairly well, and if you match it with a good rod (dipsy rod around $80 rod+reel), you'll still have plenty of play in the rod. The line counter came in real handy though as we could fairly accurately calculate our depth. As well some good floro line was ideal. I used 17lb test on the rod line and picked up some 30lb test for leaders.

 

This is the setup we went with and was not too costly, but will make it a lot easier to effectively fish the waters.

 

I hope this helps, and i hope it nets plenty'o'fish.

[tipupesox]

Dipsies and jet divers will put some strain on standard fishing equipment. I would suggest purchasing some cheap downrigger rods or a rod specifically designed for a dipsey. You may also need to purchase trolling reels if the current level winds you have do not allow the line capacity needed to get your lure down to the fish. I use 20 lb mono on my dipsey rods but have heard that the best way to go is braid, less stretch making it easier to pop the release when reeling in your line. Hope this helps ...........

 

Tom

[bucktail]

Braid on your dipsey rods will increase your success alot!!!

It allows the dipsey to trip and signals bites well. I usually use a 15 lb floro leader with them for the clear water as well.

A 3 rod setup with a dipsey out each side and a leadcore is a nice easy to manage setup.

I run a leadcore setup back down the middle which seems to work really well when the water is rough, think the leadcore evens the lurching out.

[Headhunter]

You Sir, are now covered! All of the above info is dead on... well done OFC'ers!

HH

[audio_mad]

Thanks to everyone!!! I get the idea now, although I still don't get a couple of points: dipseys of Luhr-Jensen go max 50' according to their website - how do you get to 75-80' then? Also I checked in LeBaron today, those dipseys don't come with charts - where do you find the charts?

What kind og dipsey rods would you guys recommend to start with?

Lots of stupid questions, I guess... I am just so eager to start using them - trying to learn every little detail now.

Thanks a million again,

Mad

[NAC]

What kind og dipsey rods would you guys recommend to start with?

 

I'm partial to Shimano Telora's for using divers. Reasonably priced as well.

[FinS]

the okuma dipsy rods are a good deal the same with the okuma magda line counter reel check on ebay for the reel they are fairly cheap

 

 

for the rod bass pro carries some

 

start off with what you can afford then go from there just to see if u like the whole dipsy thing

good luck

[JohnC]

The chart for dipsy's is enclosed in their packaging. Another good alternative to dipsy's are the Walker deeper divers, personally I think they are better than dipsy's. A dipsy pole is pretty important,they really load up your gear when your trolling, so a good solid pole makes it a lot better. Also you will want to make sure you have rod holders on the boat, they would be a strain to hold on to for any length of time. As for 70-80 feet, your probably not going to fish that deep in Erie,30-50 is more like it. Most of Erie is not even 70-80 feet deep. However, to go deeper you might want to take a look at Torpedo divers. They will get you deeper,faster,than deeper divers(dipsy's), with less strain on your gear, but you cant make them move out to the sides. You can fish them off planer boards though. Where are you fishing out of?

[Raf]

Running wire or braid will get you down deeper than their chart. Their depth chart is based on 20lb mono if I remember correctly.

 

I use Cabela's Depthmaster series rods. Well priced. They go on sale often too - either as a combo or stand-alone.

[Craig]

Can you use Downrigger rods for dipsey's?

[Bitsmith2k]

Can you use Downrigger rods for dipsey's?

 

thats what i use, and they work just fine

[dannyboy]

Here is a Dipsy chart, you can find more information here

[Uncle Buck]

what depth were you fishing? Sounds like you weren't deep enough also...

 

Fish are around 65 feet +/- depth... if you've never fished erie, that's a long run away from shore...

 

dipsys, jet divers and leadcore are popular on erie, riggers also, but you'll want a stealth approach and so the first 3 will work better....

 

the walker twist rods are a nice quality and cheap rod... dual purpose also, you can use it as a rigger rod and a dipsy...

[addy79]

CTC has Rapala Line counters for $20...

 

i havent tried em yet but will buy one when i attempt to use the Dipsys i bought at the sportsman show in the spring.

[Billy Bob]

As for 70-80 feet, your probably not going to fish that deep in Erie,30-50 is more like it. Most of Erie is not even 70-80 feet deep. However, to go deeper you might want to take a look at Torpedo divers. They will get you deeper,faster,than deeper divers(dipsy's), with less strain on your gear, but you cant make them move out to the sides. You can fish them off planer boards though. Where are you fishing out of?

 

We fish either out of the Catt or Dunkirk Harbor (NY side) and we don't even slow the boat down in August until we hit 80-85 foot. There is a LOT of water deeper that the walleyes will school into starting in August and continue until sometime in September when the first fall type storm rolls in. The deepest I have ever caught a walleye in was 120 feet right on the bottom but that was with a downrigger. I often fish 90-100 feet of water for walleyes in Lake Erie.

 

I use the large dipsy's and can easily get them down to 65 without using wire line. I like 30# Power Pro with 20# Fluorocarbon leaders. Large worm harnesses have been doing the best the last few years over lures.

 

One thing that hasn't been mention here and is VERY important is you MUST have a quality rod holder for your dipsy diver rod. You will not last 10 minutes holding a rod that is dragging a dipsy diver around. The pull is tremendous.

[PALEFACE]

So many ways to catch eyes on Erie it's almost ridiculous. How you approach it really depends on what part of the lake you're fishing.

Fishing the shallow West end, guys pull up limits quickly on bottom bouncers with worm harnesses at a slow troll. For the most part, they're fishing close to bottom in water that's less than 35 feet deep. A lot of fish are caught suspended off bottom on cranks too though...

In the mid lake section from say Pt Pelee to Long point, guys do well fishing 5 or more miles off shore. Lots of bonus rainbows too. Fish can be caught from 10 - 50 feet down in this area. Here, they troll a bit faster with spoons and medium size cranks. Run cranks on mono or leadcore behind planer boards or on mono off the riggers. Snap weights are another nice trick to get some extra depth on a crank. For spoons... Dipseys, riggers, lead core, cookies

Further East, from say Long point right to fort Erie, guys typically fish deep like in the middle section. Slow trolling dipseys with oversize worm harnesses and large cranks off the riggers. There are shallow opportunities here too, but for the most part, fish are in 30+ feet of water.

If you are new to fishing worm harnesses, there are a few details that are very important that you need to consider.

1. make sure that your worm is hooked dead straight. When it's in the water, it will stretch out. If you haven't spaced the hooks out right, the worm will sag and spin and won't be as appealing to the fish. It will eventually break and you'll be dragging two pieces of worm...

2. Harnesses are a slow troll presentation. For the most part, under 2mph. You can fish faster, but start off slow.

3. Harnesses and cranks work well together at these lower speeds. Spoons need more speed to get the right action. If you are running a four rod spread, two harnesses on dipseys and two cranks on in line planer boards cover a nice swath.

4. Play with lead length, blade size and colour. Sometimes, you need small blades. Other times, two oversize blades will get more bites. Sometimes, a 3 foot lead off a dipsey will work, but other times, it needs to be at least 8. Obviously, different colours will work better in different conditions.... experiment

5. make sure the leaders on your harnesses are in good shape and those hooks must be extra sharp.

Best of luck!

[audio_mad]

My Goodness,

You really filled me up with info here. I got now the main idea with dipseys and different set ups. I guess it's going to take time to master those things but I will definitely try and hope for best...

Thanks again,

Mad

[Uncle Buck]

all this from cabelas shipped to my door for $300 CDN after taxes/duty/brokerage etc... this was also when our dollar wasn't at par...

 

 

As for Rodholders...

 

go with Saltys for using with dipsys...

 

[jwl]

got these ones in 80 fow just 2 days ago..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

big dipsies 150-175 feet back-these where hitting the fish in the 50-70 foot range over 80fow

 

small dipsies on inline boards staggered 200-300 feet off the back-these where hitting the fish in the 30-40 foot range over 80 fow

 

 

line counters help alot with trying to figure out which pattern is working better, when you get a fish just look at the reel first before you pop it out or try to remember how you have your spread set out there. We even got one of our fish the other day before we even had all the rods set out. Don't fish where all the huge clouds of bait are...I know it looks tempting but I bet ya you will catch them just before and just past all the bait

 

it takes a while to learn how to use all the set-ups ect...another thing you might want to take note of...run longgggggggggg leads off the dipsies and jets..people make the mistake of just putting the worm harness right on the divers, we where probably running 8-12 foot leads on average....colour doesn't really seem to be a factor right now..but travelling does..it's quite the trek to 80 fow

[Craig]

Are snubbers recommended for the Dipsy's? Do you guys use them?

 

There is a great article/chart on the Luhr Jensen site under Tech Tips. FYI.

[Billy Bob]

Snubbers are NOT needed for walleye fishing while using Dipsy Divers.