fish_fishburn Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 Hi OFNers. I will be going to Lake Ontario Salmon fishing around the 3rd week of june and I need to get myself a couple of trolling rods. These rods will be used with dipsy's and planer boards. I need some help on what to choose. I don't want to break the bank since these rods will only be used a couple times per year, but I don't like to borrow others equipment. The reels I will be matching up with these are Okuma line counter, not sure of the model#, Stradic 4000 and a Curado 301E. I'm not even sure if these reels fit the bill but its all I have. Any advice on rods under 100.00 will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
green&orange Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) Hi OFNers. I will be going to Lake Ontario Salmon fishing around the 3rd week of june and I need to get myself a couple of trolling rods. These rods will be used with dipsy's and planer boards. I need some help on what to choose. I don't want to break the bank since these rods will only be used a couple times per year, but I don't like to borrow others equipment. The reels I will be matching up with these are Okuma line counter, not sure of the model#, Stradic 4000 and a Curado 301E. I'm not even sure if these reels fit the bill but its all I have. Any advice on rods under 100.00 will be appreciated. Thanks in advance. I like the diawa hartland rods for dipsy's. I think they are about $45 each. I have used them with wire (with a twilli tip) and braid. If you are going to fish salmon long term I would consider replacing the stratic and curado reels for salmon. While you are able to land salmon on them, they are not made to do that full time. Good luck! Edited May 31, 2011 by green&orange
BITEME Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 GORILLA RODS(Berkely) Bullet proof and outstanding fish feel Cant beat them under $55.00 IMPO Peter
fish_fishburn Posted May 31, 2011 Author Report Posted May 31, 2011 Thanks, What length and line size, action etc do you recommend?
Raf Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 you dont need a fancy rod it's spending most of its time in the rod holder anyway - 8'6" to 9'6" MH dipsy rod. i've used the cabelas house brand and they're good. the reel is where you need to focus on. The okuma (provided it's at least a 30 series) will work, the others are propably akin to bringing a knife to a gun fight.
danbouck Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 I just bought 4 okuma combos from BPS for $75. They seem like they will be alright for the 3-5 times I'll be using them a year.
Homer Is King Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 Great thread. I don't have any experience but I'm looking forward to the reply. I just picked up a trolling rod from BP. It's a Shiman TDR trolling rod - 9 ft medium. They sell for about $35 cdn. Seams like a good rod for the price. http://www.basspro.com/Shimano-TDR-Conventional-Rods/product/58573/-1115831 I have an Okuma line counter on it. I haven't had it out yet but I plan to use it to target lakers using dipsy divers but hope it will work for salmon too.
green&orange Posted May 31, 2011 Report Posted May 31, 2011 Great thread. I don't have any experience but I'm looking forward to the reply. I just picked up a trolling rod from BP. It's a Shiman TDR trolling rod - 9 ft medium. They sell for about $35 cdn. Seams like a good rod for the price. http://www.basspro.c.../58573/-1115831 I have an Okuma line counter on it. I haven't had it out yet but I plan to use it to target lakers using dipsy divers but hope it will work for salmon too. That rod should probably work especially if you use a smaller diver. A "mag" or large diver (to get you deeper) may be too much for that rod. Like RAF stated, I also like the dipsy rod to have some backbone (MH) to them so to speak. The diver puts a lot of stress on a rod. Make sure that you have good quality rod holders as well. I have a 9' and 10' rods. I like the 9' better as it is easier to use and more fun to fight fish on, although the 10' does have some advantages (use a longer leader, easier to clear other lines, etc.). A large salmon smoking drag after smashing a dispy setup is a blast.
fish_fishburn Posted May 31, 2011 Author Report Posted May 31, 2011 This sounds like a blast. I cant wait to get into some of them. Thanks for the info.
Pigeontroller Posted June 1, 2011 Report Posted June 1, 2011 The Curado 301E will NOT hold enough line for Salmon fishing, especially for fishing with Dipseys. I'm not sure the Stradic will be much better. You will need to fish the Dipseys back at least 100 feet,maybe as much as 200 feet and big Salmon could easily strip 200-300 feet of line from your reel. Shimano TDRs are decent inexpensive rods, they work well both as downrigger rods or with Dipsey Divers. Okuma Magda reels in the 30-45 size are inexpensive reels that will hold enough line and do the job.
moemoe Posted June 1, 2011 Report Posted June 1, 2011 I personally like the Shimano Talora dipsy rods, little nicer rod with a lifetime warranty, for around 89.99 if you look around, 9 ft mh, reels, for the price, the magda's are serviceable but I wouldn't recommend, convector 30's are good, best reel for the money, I feel is the diawa sealine 47, good drag, reliable line counter and you can find them on sale for under a hundred. It's an expensive hobby!
green&orange Posted June 1, 2011 Report Posted June 1, 2011 I personally like the Shimano Talora dipsy rods, little nicer rod with a lifetime warranty, for around 89.99 if you look around, 9 ft mh, reels, for the price, the magda's are serviceable but I wouldn't recommend, convector 30's are good, best reel for the money, I feel is the diawa sealine 47, good drag, reliable line counter and you can find them on sale for under a hundred. It's an expensive hobby! I second the sealine 47's.
Mike01 Posted June 1, 2011 Report Posted June 1, 2011 By no means am I a pro salmon fisherman, but I do my fair share of saltwater fishing. I would be more concearned with your reels rather than what rods to buy. You can easily find decent rods in the $30-$40 department, most rods at that price all perform about the same. I would suggest getting a couple of well matched combos that will hold large amounts of line, especially for dipsy's.
fish_fishburn Posted June 1, 2011 Author Report Posted June 1, 2011 Well I went and did some shopping this afternoon. I picked up a DAIWA HEARTLAND rod. Its 10.5ft heavy action line weight 12-30lb. I think I will use this for the downrigger. I also bought a SHIMANO TDR, 9.0ft medium action, line weight12-25 and a OKUMA MAGDA PRO MA 30DLX and a spool of SEAGUAR 20lb flouro leader. I got all this for 120 bucks tax in. What should I be using for my mainline? And what else do I need for gear. I have a couple of offshore planer boards as well. Should I be bringing them along? Thanks Mike.
dave524 Posted June 1, 2011 Report Posted June 1, 2011 Well I went and did some shopping this afternoon. I picked up a DAIWA HEARTLAND rod. Its 10.5ft heavy action line weight 12-30lb. I think I will use this for the downrigger. I also bought a SHIMANO TDR, 9.0ft medium action, line weight12-25 and a OKUMA MAGDA PRO MA 30DLX and a spool of SEAGUAR 20lb flouro leader. I got all this for 120 bucks tax in. What should I be using for my mainline? And what else do I need for gear. I have a couple of offshore planer boards as well. Should I be bringing them along? Thanks Mike. I'd use the 10 1/2 Heartland for a dipsey and the med action TDR for a rigger. The Okuma reel is a line counter ?? if so spool it up with 50 lb braid for the dipsey, you don't need a line counter for a rigger, I like plain old Trilene 20lb XT on rigger. Planer boards that time of the year are usually pulling 5 to 10 colours of lead core, not sure if you want to add that to your outlay. I'd start with a pair of mono riggers and a pair of braid divers, for this year anyway.
green&orange Posted June 1, 2011 Report Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) Well I went and did some shopping this afternoon. I picked up a DAIWA HEARTLAND rod. Its 10.5ft heavy action line weight 12-30lb. I think I will use this for the downrigger. I also bought a SHIMANO TDR, 9.0ft medium action, line weight12-25 and a OKUMA MAGDA PRO MA 30DLX and a spool of SEAGUAR 20lb flouro leader. I got all this for 120 bucks tax in. What should I be using for my mainline? And what else do I need for gear. I have a couple of offshore planer boards as well. Should I be bringing them along? Thanks Mike. Use the heartland rod with the Okuma reel for the dispy diver (I am assuming the Okuma reel is a line counter - sorry not familar with Okumas I use Diawa's). Spool it up with a little bit of mono then at least 30 pound Power Pro the rest of the way (it will cost some $$). That will be a good all around dispsy diver rod. The TDR rod will be a good downrigger rod. I don't know enough about where you are fishing, when, & how deep the fish will be to know if you should bring the boards. If the fish are shallow (<30') bring the boards. If they are deeper than that, we are talking lead core and copper and that is a whole new ball of wax that can add up $$ in a hurry. Edited June 1, 2011 by green&orange
fish_fishburn Posted June 2, 2011 Author Report Posted June 2, 2011 I was out in the garage last night and I checked my other Okuma reel and it has a full spool of lead core line on it. Should I keep that on the reel or swap it out? Maybe I will buy another reel and I will have three and two rods. Both Okumas have line counters on them and we will be fishing out of Port Darlington for three days at the end of June. Sorry for the dumb questions but I have never fished salmon and am just trying to get myself set up and prepared as much as possible before the trip. I also noticed that the dipseys come in different sizes. What size should I buy and how many should I bring?
fish_fishburn Posted June 4, 2011 Author Report Posted June 4, 2011 Also any suggestions on what baits to troll? Are flashers required as well. Pm me if you want to keep it secret, thanks
green&orange Posted June 4, 2011 Report Posted June 4, 2011 Also any suggestions on what baits to troll? Are flashers required as well. Pm me if you want to keep it secret, thanks Fish - First off, I am a recreational guy and not a charter capt. so there a lot of people who know the salmon fishing game a lot better than I do. Plus, I fish Lake Michigan exclusively and I don't know a thing about Lake O other than they get some real pigs there (20 pounder is a big Lake M fish). That being stated - I would run two riggers and two dipsy divers to start. I would keep it real simple for a while until you know how to fish them effectively and not get tangles. The simple four rod set up WILL catch fish. Catch a few fish, figure out how to bring a fish to the boat and net them while keeping your other rods in the water. When I first started, we would hook up with a fish and I would start pulling the other lines because I was afraid that the lines would get tangled and we would lose the fish. That was a mistake, but it just takes time on the water to know when you need to pull a line or not. Trust me, getting a big one into the net is a challenge - don't bring them to the boat too soon or it is trouble. Once you get comfortable with that -then add the lead core out there. As for lures, I would keep it simple as well. Run spoons off the riggers (talk to the people at the port to find what colors are working) and flasher flies on the dipsy's (I like greens/whites/blues). Buy good ball bearing swivels. I like the fly leaders on the shorter side as well 20-22". Other general advice - fish low light conditions (get set up in the dark in the am), get good rod holders for the dipsy's, buy a big net, keep the floor of the boat clear (chaos when you have a double header and people are tripping over gear on the floor), talk to as many people as you can, buy Dan Keating's book (Keating on kings), fish often (you will learn so much on every trip especially early on) and have fun. Salmon fishing is not like other types of freshwater fishing and it is addicting (that is all I really fish for in August/September any more - it just consumes my mind). Good luck and I hope you hook into a few.
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