I'm a newbie and need help

[monkey12]

I've been out twice and trolled for several hours with no hits at all. Others coming in said that they had good luck. I was using the same things that they were using: wedding ring in pink, maggots, rubber snubber and 4 inch dodger with leaded line.
They indicated that they were down about 3.5 to 4 colors of line. Since I had the same set up and fished in same area, there must be some little thing I am doing wrong.
Here's my questions:
1. How long a leader should I have from the leaded line to the dodger? Seems to me that someone once told me to have 15 feet of monofiliment between the leaded line and the the dodger. That seems odd to me as I would think that the leaded line would be down deep and the lure would be riding way up.
2. Where should the snubber be placed - in front of the dodger or behind the dodger?
3. How many feet deep will each "color" take the line.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[sawtooth]

Snubber goes below the dodger. Fifteen feet of mono should be fine. I would check what speed you are trolling. Often times new koke fishermen tend to troll a little too fast. If they are using the same setup as you are then speed and depth are often two factors which can make the difference. Don't be afraid to change things up until you figure them out. Good Luck.

 

[monkey12]

newbie

Thanks, Sawtooth. Do you happen to know the answer to the leaded line color question?

 

[sawtooth]

Motor 1,
I don't think that it is as simple as each color equals so may feet deep. The faster you troll the shallower your line will be. What size dodger or flasher you are using with also have an effect on your line depth. I haven't fished with leadcore for several years as I now have a couple of downriggers on my boat, but when I did, I would usually change my depths often until I started catching fish and then return to that number of colors out to get back in the "strike zone". Sorry I can't be more specific. This site has several "leadcore experts" who could probably give you a better answer. Come on guys, help this newbie out. By the way Motor 1, welcome to the site.

 

[redmanjr1]

Agree with Sawtooth. 15 ft should be fine but not sure you really need that much. My guess the big factor is your trolling speed (as Sawtooth stated). Kokes like it a little slower (usually 0.8 to 1.5 MPH although I have caught them up to 2.0 MPH). Doing "S" turns will help speed up/slow down your presentation to entice a bite. How long is the wedding ring leader to your dodger? If too long that will hinder the action you hope to achieve from the dodger to the lure. Should be around 10-12 inches, maybe 14 at most. On the leaded line my memory fades as I haven't used it in many years. Downriggers are it for me now. Hope this helps some and good luck. Your almost there and I'm sure you'll be yanking them in the boat hand over fist soon!!

Laters,
Bob

 

[monkey12]

Thanks for the tips. Guess I'll have to experiment. I love fishing for kokes at night while anchored but am new to trolling for them.

 

[SilverBullets]

I believe each 10 yard section of color gets you down around 4-5 feet (depending on speed and terminal tackle.) 15' of leader is fine...you could even go longer. Since the leaded line takes away from the fight of the fish you could run 20- 30' of leader. Once you get the leaded line back in the reel the next 20-30' is just you and the fish. The longer leader shouldn't cause your terminal gear (dodger/lure) to rise...if anything it should be even with the depth of the leaded line or a bit lower due to the weight of the dodger and the slow speed you'll be doing.

 

[skookum9]

I know a lot of guys depend on the use of a snubber but I have found them to only be in the way and I have actually lost more fish by the use of them due to poor hook-sets. I would take the snubber off until I saw evidence that I was going to need it. Try it without and see what happens, then if you find that you need it you can always put it back on. It always seems to me that the less gear I have to have in my rig, the better it works, better action and more success.

You never mentioned what your trolling speed was and that can be a big factor. How fast were you trolling?

 

[den63]

Put your line in the water next to the boat and look a the acation of your doger. If it rolling you are going to fast you want it to move side to side. I find 1.1 to 1.2 work for me go to Vance tackle on line thay have some good
vidios thay use downrigger it will give you the basics.

 

[monkey12]

Skookum,
I have no way of knowing how fast I was trolling as I do not have a mph gauge on my boat. It was quite windy so probably trolling slower going against the wind than going with the wind. Also trolled in zigzag fashion so had varying speeds. I had the motor going as slow as possible.

Den63 - I'll check out the online site. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Downrigger]

Skookum,
I have no way of knowing how fast I was trolling as I do not have a mph gauge on my boat. It was quite windy so probably trolling slower going against the wind than going with the wind. Also trolled in zigzag fashion so had varying speeds. I had the motor going as slow as possible.

Den63 - I'll check out the online site. Thanks for the tips.

Do you have a GPS? That's what I use to determine my speed. It also accounts for wind, which makes it nice.

I used leaded line over the weekend and found that I was down about 50 feet at 7 colors going about 1.5-1.6 mph. When I sped up to 2.2, I was down about 35 feet or so.

I usually go with a rule of thumb that 1 color out equals five feet down. It is NOT right on, but it gives me a general idea.

P.S. I don't run with a snubber either. I don't think you get a very good hook set that way.

 

[den63]

Skookum,
I have no way of knowing how fast I was trolling as I do not have a mph gauge on my boat. It was quite windy so probably trolling slower going against the wind than going with the wind. Also trolled in zigzag fashion so had varying speeds. I had the motor going as slow as possible.

Den63 - I'll check out the online site. Thanks for the tips.

Luher Jensen put out a trolling speed indicater for about $60.00
or if you have a gps in your car take it out when you are fishing this
will tell you your speed .

 

[mrmike]

Motor 1 I think your main problem I get some new line/ to much guessing with lead core. The more you take out the guess work the better success you will have just go to a simple 6/8 # mono fishing line use a banana weight(2/3/4/ OZ. count the pulls on your reel (no more guess work). attach a 6/7 ft leader to a swing blade and hoochie, By counting your pulls from the reel to the first eye/or run a flasher with weight attached to the rudder with a simple wedding ring double hook with corn and worm and scent. don't have to make it complicated. your trolling speed is very important. I personnel found 1.5 to be the magic number/ you need to know how fast your trolling . I hope this can help you to be more productive.

 

[skookum9]

There is a tool I've been trying to get out and try that I think I'm going to like. It's a diving plane that seems to do a pretty good job of hitting the right depth all of the time. Granted, it's not as good as using a downrigger, but it's a lot cheaper too. Mostly, I want to use it because on my little boat I really don't have the room to spare for a downrigger. It is a diving plane made by Davis. I had never heard of them until I found this one for sale but it looked like it might work so I bought it. One of the first things I noticed about it is that it doesn't weigh near as much as a normal diver and so it doesn't put the same pull as a normal diver either. It has a series of holes that you can select which one to use and it takes you right down to that depth. The holes are arranged to provide up to 80' of depth in 5' increments. Obiously this is approximate. But, it seems that it doesn't matter how much extra line you let out, it settles on the depth that you have set it for. It doesn't look like it's designed for larger fish but it sure seems to be alright for fish that are 24" or smaller, which pretty well has me covered for kokanee. I have only had limited opportunity to use it thus far but it does seem to work quite well, and it has caught a few fish for me. The only place I have found this diver for sale is at a store called West Marine here in Portland, Oregon. Maybe there are other brands of divers that do the same thing, I don't know. This is the only one I have ever seen like it.

 

[redmanjr1]

Skookum9, could you post a pic of it? I've used jet divers with good success and always looking for a way to run that third pole out the back of my boat (I use downriggers off each side).

Thanks,
Bob

 

[skookum9]

Sorry Bob, but I don't have any way to post a pic of it right now. I did just look it up online though and they have a picture of it there. I couldn't find it under the name Davis but I found it by going to the West Marine site. There they have it listed under Davis Instruments. They have a picture of it there but it is a little difficult to tell much about it from their photo. I tried looking up Davis Instruments and found that they are a manufacturer of weather, automotive and marine products. They have a picture of this diver there that is probably the same photo except I was able to click on it there and blow it up to see it better. I tried to click on it and copy it here but was unable to get it to work. This diver is supposed to roll over when you get a fish on so you won't be fighting the diver, just the fish, sort of. Take a look there and see what you think. I've only used it a little bit but it seems to do what they claim it to. It is quite light in construction so I wouldn't recommend it for salmon fishing but it seems more than adequate for most of the fish I chase. I have a small boat that I really like to fish from and I don't troll very often so this little diver works a lot better for me than a downrigger would. I just started using it this year and only for a few hours so I don't have much experience with it. If you decide to try it, I hope you'll share your thoughts on its performance with us here. I'd like to hear what you think.

 

[monkey12]

newbie

Thanks all for the tips. I'll keep at it. In the meantime I plan to go out at night and still-fish for them. I've done that before and have had a lot of success.

 

[redmanjr1]

Skookum9,
Found this...has some .pdf files that explain it pretty good. Looks interesting and I may try it. If I do I'll post a report. Thanks again.

Bob

http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/list_marine.asp?grp=m15-4