downrigger
- Thread starter ctkid
- Start date
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It really depends on where you are in the water column. If I'm fishing above 30' deep, I have long set backs. If I'm fishing deeper than 30', I have progressively shorter set backs. By the time I get to 50' deep, I'm around 10' - 15' of the ball. Some will go shorter, sooner if they are the kind of fishermen that like to spin on a dime to get back over a school of fish. Shorter set backs allow for agility in maneuvering.
dragonfly
Well-known member
what Dave says is right. it depends on the lake and the fish. most reservoirs have darker water and you can get away with shorter set backs and the fish won't care, but the high mountain lakes are a lot clearer so a longer set back is needed as far as the dodged following the ball, with a 15' set back looking at my fish finder it looks like it stays in line with the ball, but when using a ball I noticed the downrigger says 50' but the fish finder says the ball was about 40' because of blow back so you need to take that in account also. dfly
And Lord knows we can over split the hairs on depth accuracy. If I'm within a few feet of the fish it is all I can really ask. To believe that I am going to be on the exact depth and hit one in the head is a little overly optimistic in my opinion.
dragonfly
Well-known member
Dave what I am saying is that you have to take into account blow back. if you are seeing fish at 50' and you know your blow back is going to be 40' and you want your lure in front of them you need to drop down further on your downrigger to compensate for the difference. especially when the water is warm that 10' is a huge difference when they don't want to raise into the warmer water to go after it . it's the attention to the small details that put fish in the boat. dfly
Trolling at Koke speeds, I've never seen more than a foot or two difference between downrigger counter and sonar depth. 60' is about as deep as I troll for kokes. I can't imagine a blow back angle that would generate a 10' vertical delta.
chukardave1
Well-known member
I was thinking the exact same thing.
SuperDaveMT
Well-known member
Another thing to keep in mind, is that kokes see up better than they see down based on the position of their eyes, so with a couple of feet of blow back rise, you are probably right where you want to be if your downrigger counter is right where your depth finder says the fish are. Bottom line is what ever works, works, and there is a lot to be said for believing in what you are doing.
