line size for Dipsy Divers

[fishdawg]

Lew - I like to make a suggestion

 

Using a Dispey is not a bad idea but I think a much better solution would be an inline planer board.

Much simpler to use ( I know you have used them a time or two on others boats before)

Will get your crank bait of choice away from the boat ( I assume thats why you want a dipsey)

 

And I think the best board for you would be a small one called a Tru-Trac - not saying the Church or Offshore is a bad choice, but the Tru-Trac is a little bit smaller and can be used on either side of the boat & wont add too much to the "fight of the walleye".

 

That 10 mono set is perfect for this.

[erieeye]

Lew, I fished lake erie with dipsies now for ten years, and you don't need all this hi priced braid or wire. 20 lb trilene xt for your main spooled on an okuma 20d. magna line counter reel on an 8ft. medium heavy dipsy rod, led with a 7ft. vanish floro 12lb. leader and harness(you mite want to go a little lighter for trout and never make the leader longer than your rod, for netting reasons)trolling at about 1.8 gets me about the 45 ft. range in the colum, and this setup has caught me numerous wallys. Set your dipsys lite and the fish will pop them when they strike, and yes even a wally strike. And i have never had any problems poping the dipsies with a quick tug of the rod. This is with the large dipsy mind you 3 1/2 in disc. Pretty much the same for the smaller ones except 12 lb trilene xt for the main line. So use the K.I.S.S. method and dont go broke. Hope this helps. ERIEEYE

[Fishmaster]

Well your the 1st ive heard that likes mono on dipsy rods ...ive run Charter's on Erie since i was 13 years old and after dragging so many walleye around useing mono is why we started useing braided line and you dont have to worrie if your dipsy is triped due to setting it so light really sucks draggin a dipsy around that has triped from a wave .with braid you can still set your dipsy tight and pop the release with a quick snap ..yes braid is more money but last many years ...i run 4 inline boards off each side of the boat all with big or small dipsys and when a fish hits you no it ..usally early in the season i run 15 and 20ft Jets and as the fish go depper we get into the dipsy ...a note to remeber never use a diveing lure with dipsy or jets ...shallow crank baits will work but no big lip lures..if you go cheap fishing you will only be disapointed big water fishing means big water fishing gear ....and thats how you put the A Big Eyes in the boat ..

Edited April 8, 2007 by Fishmaster

[lew]

Fishmaster, I've got an extra musky reel sitting here that I don't use anymore and it's spooled with 65 pound Power Pro, which has a diameter equal to 16 pound mono.

 

I was thinking of taking that line and putting it on the reel I plan to use for the dipsey, or is that line too heavy ?? If so, what would you suggest ??

[Fishmaster]

Lew that will work just use a good leader the lenght of your poll ...but for 18.99 for a spool of Stealth you can get 30lb 10lb diam to 50lb 12lb diam and you will be good for years to come ...but if ya can't aford that use what you have ..braid sure shows the hits for walleye ...is you reel a line counter reel..

[lew]

OK thanks Fishmaster, I think I'll grab a spool of Stealth and go with that and yes, I'll be using it on a line counter reel and 8' medium TDR

[Fishmaster]

Good Choice Lew ....good luck walleye fishing this 2007 season if ya have any ? feel free to ask away ..

Edited April 8, 2007 by Fishmaster

[erieeye]

Fishmaster, I guess it makes sense for you to use a heavier set up daragging your sets behind a charter boat when landing fish is your bread and butter. But if your a leisure fisherman on a budget i've found my way to be no problems on a 17ft. fishing boat.I could count on one hand how many wallys i have lost trolling mono. Thanks for the insight....ERIEEYE.

[Pigeontroller]

I have found in my limited experience with Dipsey's and In-line planer boards that mono is just too stretchy...Last weekend I dragged a 2-3 pound Brown around for who knows how long, I realized it was on when I reeled in to change lures. I was using 20# Big game, 120 feet back, 50 feet out on an In-line board. Last year I found that using Dipsey's I couldn't get them to trip and reeling in was a b*tch!

 

Lew, I agree with Dawg, In-line planers are real easy to use, I like the Churchs Tackle Walleye board. You might even try 'em for Muskie this summer!

[Raf]

Lew, we troll with 14lb xt or 15lb big game for lakers in the spring. Then a 15-20lb fluoro leader about the length of a dipsey rod (8-9') or a touch shorter.

 

The divers themselves get better with age. brand new out of the box, the release mechanism is a little tight. I "work them in" a bit by opening and closing them a few dozen times.

Edited April 8, 2007 by Raf

[fishindevil]

Great set-ups fishmaster & erieeye,thats almost exactly the ways we salmon fish,we can use mono as well and i do use trilene big game but then the fleas start and that puts an end to mono...well for cutting through the fleas the wire line rules for sure. flea flicker works well too,but from now until late june big game mono 20lb is my line of choice,but for mainline backing i use 50lb power pro then my flouro lead,or power pro to my dipsey then flouro lew you can use mono as backing but if you plan on fishing lake o all summer you will have to change it to either flicker or power pro....some salmon guys last summer were using 80lb mono and it worked well against the fleas,but man it takes alot of room up on the reel,and you dont get much on...but for a charterboat you can reel them right in like a tow truck...80lb is like 1/4 inch rope....but like i said i run mono for now but i already have 2 rods that are wire rods so i dont change them....i also use 50lb power pro as backing for my leadcore rods as well i run a 5 color and a 3 color, mono can be used as well but if you are going to use that all year in lake ontario the fleas will screw that up to,so at least with power pro you can get the fleas off alot better than with mono ...do you get the fleas as bad in lake erie, because sometimes they get so bad in areas depending on the current its almost impossible to fish with anything other than flea flicker or wire line...as you guys well know its always changing out there and it cost to much money to always be changing lines every few weeks to keep up with the different conditions cheers

[dwc67]

everything else has been covered but you will get further from the boat with the ring on then you will without it..

larger surface area

 

set your drag just tight enough that it slips when in a turn or you speed up a bit

a lot of times you only know you got a 2 pounder when your hear click..........click................click

[Fishmaster]

Fd on Erie fleas are not to bad ....i mostly fish Kings on lake ont ..i have a boat set up for both lakes ...im not a fan of flea flicker i have all my rods loaded with 50 Stealth / Wire/ and full spools of Carbon for the riggers ..my lines usally are not in the water long enough to get to many fleas and if they do pick up fleas i see them on my lowrance and remove them ..all day long im in the back of the boat checking rods ...

[Headhunter]

Hey Lew, you've been given a great deal of good advice here on Dipsey set ups. If I may make a suggestion re: your Spring Quinte trip? Don't bother with Dipsey's on Quinte, atleast not in the Spring! I personally didn't get a fish on Dipsey's last year on Quinte and a guide buddy of mine didn't get one all year on Dipsey's!

Your best bet for Quinte, that time of year would be to keep a close eye on water temps, look for warmer water entering deeper cold water areas (bay mouths) and troll these edges. Remember to down size your baits, nothing over 1/2 an oz., with 3/8oz being ideal. Try and keep that bait no more than a foot off the bottom and hold on!

If I was going to invest in a rod for Quinte and many other applications, I'd look to Lead Core as a more effective and dynamic method of presentation.

As for in-line planers, I only use mono, 20lb. After you've learned how your rod reacts, you'll know if a fish is on, it just takes practice. I've seen too many fish lost on braid as there is no forgiveness. Just rip the hooks right out. Mono, is far more forgiving. (I'm only talkin Pickeral here) I don't leave my clicker on, with a loose drag, to indicate a fish on. I watch my line, MY BOARD, and how they are reacting to the conditions. It takes practice and some experimentation, but you will learn and be a better angler.

HH

[lew]

Hi guys, as usual, plenty of great info here.

 

Just to clarify though, I've been fishing for springtime pickeral in Quinte for decades and we always do well, specially at night. We head out around 8:00 Pm and stay on the water until the bite stops. Our night time trolling is done down around the Glenora Ferry area.

 

The night trips are all flat lining with body baits in shallow waters close to shore

 

Daytime hours we normally head up into Hay Bay and cast deep divers down into and around the weed edges and again usually do quite well. We also do well trolling harnesses in Hay Bay in the daytime.

 

Jigging is something that I have no interest in at all and much prefer either casting or trolling and am just looking for a few alternatives and figured either the dipseys or boards would be something interesting to try.

 

I'm probably gonna go with both set-ups and see what happens.

 

I always enjoy our spring pickeral trips to Quinte, but for me, pickeral is only a filler till musky opens in early June, then all the pickeral gear is back in the basement till next May to collect dust.

 

This has been an excellent thread and I'm sure alot of folks have both benefitted from and learned from it.....great stuff as always guys

[tonyb]

Please, please do not endorse or promote Berkley Vanish as a good alternative to other quality fluorocarbon lines (Seaguar, Maxima, PLine). You WILL lose fish and be generally dissapointed with this product.

 

Not bashing Berkley in general as they have many great products, Berkly Vanish however, is not one of them.

 

Cheers,

Tony