Getting spooled

[capt bruce]

If you cant get the boat in reverse , at least take it out of gear , strong salmon going south boat in gear going north = ouch . I allways have at least 250 -500 yds line on my reels but when I have a big hit I allways take the boat out of gear untill we see which way the fish is going and than I try to turn the boat to chach up . I run 8 lines + most days so doing this will mess up other lines but if its a biggun we can allways untangle .Most so called long runs is the boat in gear going one way fish goig in the other direction . at least taking the boat out of gear will lesson the run getting the boat into reverse will save the fish .

[misfish]

If you cant get the boat in reverse , at least take it out of gear , strong salmon going south boat in gear going north = ouch . I allways have at least 250 -500 yds line on my reels but when I have a big hit I allways take the boat out of gear untill we see which way the fish is going and than I try to turn the boat to chach up . I run 8 lines + most days so doing this will mess up other lines but if its a biggun we can allways untangle .Most so called long runs is the boat in gear going one way fish goig in the other direction . at least taking the boat out of gear will lesson the run getting the boat into reverse will save the fish .

 

Bruce knows what he talking about.

[Gregoire]

Thanks for the advice. We are heading out tomorrow night. Knowing the way things go the re-spooled reels and new knowledge will result in nothing but shakers, if anything at all.

[Pikeslayer]

We run 80# braid on the dipsy rigs. Today my buddy got the reels respooled and he now has 900 feet of line on the reels. As far as keeping the drag tight we have been told by experienced fisherman that big fish will break the line, straighten the hook, or have the hook pulled out of their mouth if the line is too tight, and I have seen a lot of straightened hooks already this year, so we have different opinions about drag setting. I think that with the 900 feet of line we will have a much lesser chance of getting spooled now.

 

Hi Greg,

Are you using a snubber between your dipsey and leader/fly? This is a must when running with braid or wire and should reduce the amount of bent hooks.

Also you might find this YouTube video (not a fan of the sound track BTW) of interest. It does show the appropriate amount of drag you want on the initial strike. Notice how the rod is 'thumping' and peeling line in short bursts vs peeling line continuously. http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/nflboy07/?action=view&current=bigdproductions.mp4 (courtesy of 'Big D').

I'm not sure how to explain this, but when we are fighting the fish, we make them 'work' for every foot of line but never try to 'brake' the fish. Does this make sense?

 

Simon

[Gregoire]

Hi Greg,

Are you using a snubber between your dipsey and leader/fly? This is a must when running with braid or wire and should reduce the amount of bent hooks.

Also you might find this YouTube video (not a fan of the sound track BTW) of interest. It does show the appropriate amount of drag you want on the initial strike. Notice how the rod is 'thumping' and peeling line in short bursts vs peeling line continuously. http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/nflboy07/?action=view&current=bigdproductions.mp4 (courtesy of 'Big D').

I'm not sure how to explain this, but when we are fighting the fish, we make them 'work' for every foot of line but never try to 'brake' the fish. Does this make sense?

 

Simon

 

Thanks for the video link. We are running snubbers. In order to take the tension off of the drag of the reel we are attaching downrigger clips to the line and leaving the drag a a very low setting. This was allowing us to have the drag set low so that it was easier to take the rod out of the holder, and preventing the clicking, or losing line when cornering, or speeding up. However I think that the tension on the spool was set gat too light. Tomorrow night when we go out I'm going to be increasing the drag on our dipsy rigs. Obviously we haven't quite figured out the correct setting between too tight and too loose.

As far as making the fish work for every foot, I like to set the drag pretty light and thumb the spool. I know I have to increase the drag a bit if the fish is peeling so much line that it is burning my thumb. I know this may sound like an overly cautions approach, but I think it increases the likelyhood of landing a big fish if we are lucky enough to hook into one.

[misfish]

Have a question about spin doc,s, and this may explain why Paul was not happy with his Flie fliker line (I was surprised aswell). We let the newly spooled reels out with a wieght,then rereeled it in to get rid of the twist. We ran spin docs with flys and spoons. When we reeled a fish,the line was all twisted/spireled,and there were flies on the line. We were using high quailty snap swivels.

Edited August 22, 2011 by Misfish

[Gregoire]

Have a question about spin doc,s, and this may explain why Paul was not happy with his Flie fliker line (I was surprised aswell). We let the newly spooled reels out with a wieght,then rereeled it in to get rid of the twist. We ran spin docs with flys and spoons. When we reeled a fish,the line was all twisted/spireled,and there were flies on the line. We were using high quailty snap swivels.

 

How are you attaching your flies and spoons to your spin doctors? And are you talking about spiny fleas on your line?

Edited August 22, 2011 by fishgreg

[Pikeslayer]

Thanks for the video link. We are running snubbers. In order to take the tension off of the drag of the reel we are attaching downrigger clips to the line and leaving the drag a a very low setting. This was allowing us to have the drag set low so that it was easier to take the rod out of the holder, and preventing the clicking, or losing line when cornering, or speeding up. However I think that the tension on the spool was set gat too light. Tomorrow night when we go out I'm going to be increasing the drag on our dipsy rigs. Obviously we haven't quite figured out the correct setting between too tight and too loose.

As far as making the fish work for every foot, I like to set the drag pretty light and thumb the spool. I know I have to increase the drag a bit if the fish is peeling so much line that it is burning my thumb. I know this may sound like an overly cautions approach, but I think it increases the likelyhood of landing a big fish if we are lucky enough to hook into one.

Greg,

Your idea of increasing the drag is going in the right direction, but don't over tighten. When your dipsey is running at your desired length, test your drag setting by pulling your line in front of the reel. Try to 'feel' for 10-20 lb resistance and set your drag accordingly. Also notice in that video, that before they pull the rod out of the holder, they are thumbing/releasing/adjusting the drag before they pull the rod and then adjust the drag after. bTW, I use Scotty Orcas (quick release) for my dipsey lines. I'm not familiar with the downrigger clips to line method, but I'm pretty confident that if you can get the right drag tension in the holders, you can eliminate that process. Remember, you want thump, zip, thump, zip zip, thump zip zip zip. Not ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing for 100's of feet (I know that sound is sexy) If you have fighter on, you might typically adjust your drag +/- a number of times throughout the fight.

Hope I'm being helpful.

Edited August 22, 2011 by pikeslayer

[Pikeslayer]

Have a question about spin doc,s, and this may explain why Paul was not happy with his Flie fliker line (I was surprised aswell). We let the newly spooled reels out with a wieght,then rereeled it in to get rid of the twist. We ran spin docs with flys and spoons. When we reeled a fish,the line was all twisted/spireled,and there were flies on the line. We were using high quailty snap swivels.

 

Brian,

When releasing dipseys + leader + spin doctors + flies, you have to let them 'creep' out. A very slow release. I don't let them out by free spooling, set the drag so the resistance of the water against the dipsey pulls the line of the reel. Typically, a 150 ft release might take 3-5 minutes depending on your boat speed of 2.5 - 2.75? If you release too fast, everything is free falling and twist is inevitable.

If running SD without dipsey, you need to have a 4-6 ft. leader between main line & SD. For what it's worth, I use only SPRO swivels on all LO set ups.

[Gregoire]

Greg,

Your idea of increasing the drag is going in the right direction, but don't over tighten. When your dipsey is running at your desired length, test your drag setting by pulling your line in front of the reel. Try to 'feel' for 10-20 lb resistance and set your drag accordingly. Also notice in that video, that before they pull the rod out of the holder, they are thumbing/releasing/adjusting the drag before they pull the rod and then adjust the drag after. bTW, I use Scotty Orcas (quick release) for my dipsey lines. I'm not familiar with the downrigger clips to line method, but I'm pretty confident that if you can get the right drag tension in the holders, you can eliminate that process. Remember, you want thump, zip, thump, zip zip, thump zip zip zip. Not ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing for 100's of feet (I know that sound is sexy) If you have fighter on, you might typically adjust your drag +/- a number of times throughout the fight.

Hope I'm being helpful.

 

Some really good advice there. I will definitely look into using the methods you recommend. Thanks

[myot]

Curious...

 

Why dont you guys use stronger

hooks?

 

2x strong is about as heavy a hook as you can go without changing the action of the lure

 

Salmon are all about angles when fighting them an experenced salmon angler can keep most salmon under control by changeing angles on them either with the boat or when in close quarters with the rod

 

I have landed 1000's of kings in my life and close to 400 this year alone "over 40 days logged this year" and never had a fish spool me thats even with a 500' section of copper and 450' of 50lbs braid backing its all about pressure knowing your breaking point and angles

 

Dan

[BillM]

 

 

And don't tell me you can't turn a chinny... I've targeted them from shore also... I've landed chinnys over 30 with 10 lb mono on a 10 foot noodle rod... And before you say they don't have anywhere to run when they are in the rivers... I've landed 30 lb fish off of a pier... They had lots of room to run... And they did... And I turned em... Then reeled in the 400-500 yards of line that was previously on my reel...

 

You didn't turn that fish, you held on until it was done

[Fish Farmer]

i have never had a salmon straighten or break off any line yet (knock on wood)! I use 20 lbs test and have never had an issue with those occurances. We leave our drag set and turn down if we need too and never turn it up and we havent had any failure as mentioned. We will pull up all lines hit neutral if need be and even chase if we have to.

X2

Maybe I'm confused, you say you set the drag light and your rigger clip broke off into the water. Something is wrong there. Another thought you may have foul hooked the Salmon which happens time to time. Tail hook ups can happen. 20LB test mono is lots for Salmon but you start adding the other crap like divers and flashers they all work against you and the fish. You have a lot of connections and knots which sometime foul into each other if the fish turns and spins. Allot of brake offs happen some time running sliders. Running divers you should be running braid or wire (no stretch) to release the diver. Most times the diver won't release with mono if your setting is set to tight. If you have a big King on slow down, make a turn but don't forget, he can come back at you just as fast.

Just a thought

I caught about 15 bows the other day and 2 were caught in the gut and I was just using the riggers with SMALL spoons. Foul can happen. I troll 3.5 to 4.0.

[Gregoire]

2x strong is about as heavy a hook as you can go without changing the action of the lure

 

Salmon are all about angles when fighting them an experenced salmon angler can keep most salmon under control by changeing angles on them either with the boat or when in close quarters with the rod

 

I have landed 1000's of kings in my life and close to 400 this year alone "over 40 days logged this year" and never had a fish spool me thats even with a 500' section of copper and 450' of 50lbs braid backing its all about pressure knowing your breaking point and angles

 

Dan

 

It definitely was a tough lesson to learn. We've been a bit to casual up to this point in terms of setting the drag and using the boa to help us fight the fish. Definitely will by trying some new things on the water. I know that we did a few things wrong with the fish, but I'm not sure if we would have tightened the drag up earlier he wouldn't have straightened the hook or simply ripped it out. It is two days later and I'm still in awe of the pure power of the fish. Even if we would have done everything fight we would have been lucky to bring him in, if he was the monster that I like to think he was.

Here are the changes I am planning on making:

900 feet of line

Increase the tension on the drag while in he rod holders

Adjust the drag before taking the rod out of the holder if it is a screamer

Put the boat into neutral

Start a slow turn to 90 degrees towards the fish if it feels big

 

Is there anything else you guys would suggests. We are heading out tonight.

 

Just wondering Dan, if you keep your drag pretty tight, and also what pound test you use on your dypsy setup for your leaders, and what types of knots you use on the hooks, as we have had some problems there as well. Oh yeah, if you keep your drag tight do you find that you get hooks straightened, or torn out?

[Harrison]

It definitely was a tough lesson to learn. We've been a bit to casual up to this point in terms of setting the drag and using the boa to help us fight the fish. Definitely will by trying some new things on the water. I know that we did a few things wrong with the fish, but I'm not sure if we would have tightened the drag up earlier he wouldn't have straightened the hook or simply ripped it out. It is two days later and I'm still in awe of the pure power of the fish. Even if we would have done everything fight we would have been lucky to bring him in, if he was the monster that I like to think he was.

Here are the changes I am planning on making:

900 feet of line

Increase the tension on the drag while in he rod holders

Adjust the drag before taking the rod out of the holder if it is a screamer

Put the boat into neutral

Start a slow turn to 90 degrees towards the fish if it feels big

 

Is there anything else you guys would suggests. We are heading out tonight.

 

Just wondering Dan, if you keep your drag pretty tight, and also what pound test you use on your dypsy setup for your leaders, and what types of knots you use on the hooks, as we have had some problems there as well. Oh yeah, if you keep your drag tight do you find that you get hooks straightened, or torn out?

 

Greg, go fish'n buddy. You've got the basics down. Don't over think it, you'll dail it in and figure out the angles and pressure to use through experience. Now go dredge bottom and hook up a derby winner. Good Luck

Edited August 23, 2011 by Harrison

[Gregoire]

Greg, go fish'n buddy. You've got the basics down. Don't over think it, you'll dail it in and figure out the angles and pressure to use through experience. Now go dredge bottom and hook up a derby winner. Good Luck

 

Thanks dude. Hopefully we'll hook into something decent. Ill try to take a pick or two.

[dave524]

Saw this video on youtube, perfect drag setting for trolling with a dipsey, not too light or heavy. I find that sweet spot is where you occasionally get a bit of creep at times, if your not getting a bit of creep you're probably too tight. Those Down East holders are the ticket too for the problem of getting yor rod out of the holder

 

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[kickingfrog]

Not sure if this has been brought up, but is the drag working properly? Even the best reel can be made to feel cheap if the drag is worn or not working.

[Gregoire]

The reels are new this year, and the drag pulls pretty even and steady, so I think they are working properly. Got out tonight. Nothing but shakers except for a teenager on the leadcore, which we hardly ever use. It was lucky that we used it tonight. Numbers were good though, as we released at least 15 fish. We just didn't get the screamer like we were hoping for. Thanks for all the tips as I have learned a lot from this thread.

[castgame]

here's a thought: with 200+' of line out, 20lb mono might be a stronger system than 80lb braid, due to the stretch/dynamic nature of the mono. that stretch absorbs a lot of energy that is otherwise transferred straight to the knot or wherever the weakest point may be. not that i've caught thousands of kings or even many over 25lbs, but i've never broken one off even using as low as 12lb test! of course, the dynamic nature of mono also makes setting the hook more difficult so you probably lose some fish before the fight starts, but i wouldn't be surprised if you landed more, as others are saying, with stronger hooks/swivels and good monofilament.

[myot]

It definitely was a tough lesson to learn. We've been a bit to casual up to this point in terms of setting the drag and using the boa to help us fight the fish. Definitely will by trying some new things on the water. I know that we did a few things wrong with the fish, but I'm not sure if we would have tightened the drag up earlier he wouldn't have straightened the hook or simply ripped it out. It is two days later and I'm still in awe of the pure power of the fish. Even if we would have done everything fight we would have been lucky to bring him in, if he was the monster that I like to think he was.

Here are the changes I am planning on making:

900 feet of line

Increase the tension on the drag while in he rod holders

Adjust the drag before taking the rod out of the holder if it is a screamer

Put the boat into neutral

Start a slow turn to 90 degrees towards the fish if it feels big

 

Is there anything else you guys would suggests. We are heading out tonight.

 

Just wondering Dan, if you keep your drag pretty tight, and also what pound test you use on your dypsy setup for your leaders, and what types of knots you use on the hooks, as we have had some problems there as well. Oh yeah, if you keep your drag tight do you find that you get hooks straightened, or torn out?

 

for divers we run 4 differnt setups

Early spring or after a lake turn over 30lbs mono for targeting fish 20' down "lots of strech not my favorate"

50lbs braid "love this set up but fleas can be an isue"

30lbs 7 strand wire made by AFW great all around

20lbs 7 strand wire made by AFW fantastic for fishing deep but not kind to amatures

 

as for leaders we run

20lbs floro for spoons

30lbs floro for atractors

never a snuber we just use rods that are not as stiff as a traditional diver rod

never a roller rod just a high quality rigger rod with a twilly tip

 

any other questions just shot me a PM I will do my best to answer them

 

Dan

Knockout Lures Prostaff