Stacking set back distances?

[Strike Zone]

Anybody have any opinions about what might be good set back distances when stacking kokanee rigs on downriggers? Thanks.
Denny

 

[dragonfly]

on mine I usually run the top one 10' shorter than the bottom to keep from tangling. dfly

 

[nofish]

First off if I have more than just me in the boat I stack and this is what I have found that works best for me.

I run my bottom rod say 30 feet back and let the ball down ATLEAST 10 feet, I will set that rod in the back rod holder. Next I will let the top rod out 60 feet clip it in to the downrigger and set them at the desired depth.

Now when I get a fish on the bottom rod I try to get on the opposite side of the boat and try to steer the fish away from the downrigger, this also applies if I am changing my set up.

This does not always keep the lines from tangling but like I said its what works best for me.

 

[dragonfly]

nofish that is why I run the top line short. big salmon, steel head and other fish dive when hooked kokanee on the other hand rocket for the surface. so when they take the bottom line and go wide they have room to miss the top line. but like you said you have to use what works for you. dfly

 

[Strike Zone]

Hi fellow kokanee fishermen: I tend to do like dragonfly and fish the top one 10 feet closer than the bottom rig. I usually set back at least 100 feet on a long line with little or no weight on the surface rig. Or if I'm stacking, I usually do a setback of 35 ft. on the top and 45 on the bottom. Up till last Monday I was settting the top DR rig at 9 feet deep and the bottom rig at 13. The bottom rig goes straight out the back, and the top rig goes straight out the side. The shallower one always seemed to do the best lately. I'm not sure what's right so that's why I'm asking.
Denny
GET THE NET

 

[SuperD]

I run the top line a foot or 2 shorter than the separation distance so that it can't fall into the bottom line. In most cases, that means that the top line is 8' back on a 10' separation between the 2.

 

[Kokaholic]

When I stack, i run my top line at least 7-10 feet above my lowest line. i then run the upper line back a little further than the bottom. this is due to being higher in the water column and gets it back away from the boat. Hard to control what the fish are going to do once hooked up. yes, i agree that the kokes usually shoot straight for the top, but if i hook up on the bottom line, i will have whoever is with me clear out the top line and clear the way. gonna have to bring it in to reset them anyway. the rod that is to the rear of the boat will always be my top line. this is what works best for me.

 

[dragonfly]

this is good info for every one to see how others setup and why. I leave my lines in the water as long as I can, until I can can change both quickly, because if there is nothing out there you could be missing fish also when stacking and the fish are hot and they take the top line I will run a shuttle hawk down instead of pulling up the whole thing to re hook . on the other hand if I am marking fish and not getting hit in 15 mins. and speed and depth isn't making any difference I start pulling one downrigger at a time and change out color or style because dragging the same thing that's not working makes no sense. dfly

 

[Strike Zone]

SuperD:
So if I'm right your bottom rig would be10 feet back. Correct?
Denny

 

[SuperD]

SuperD:
So if I'm right your bottom rig would be10 feet back. Correct?
Denny

My bottom rig can be anything. With the top line set as I described, I would never fear a tangle unless the perfect storm was to occur.

 

[SuperD]

Here are a few additional comments from a thread in the FAQ section on stacking:

http://www.kokaneefishingforum.com/...while-stacking-downriggers&highlight=stacking

 

[Strike Zone]

SuperD:
Thank you for the info. I will try your method Monday when I'm out on Merwin. I'm always up for trying something new to see how it works for me. Sounds like I might want to increase the distance in depth between my upper and lower setups to at least 10 foot. Sounds like I'm headed for some tangles with a 3-4 foot seperation.
Denny

 

[Mharri333]

When stacking I run the bottom line longer than the top to allow it to pass easier as it comes up. I also run one rod pointed to the rear of the boat and the other pointed to the side. My thought was that this would give an 8 foot separation without me having to really do anything. Unless running really far back I have seldom gotten tangled and I don't usually pull lines when a fish is on unless it is really big or just fighting crazy.

I was dropping the ball 20 feet then adding the second line. Once I found the right depth I might move them a bit closer. I generally try to keep one just above the zone and one just below. Top line seems to get more hits. Bottom seems to get bigger fish. I would say 50ft back on bottom and 30ft on top.

 

[mtncat1]

I try to stack my releases 10 feet apart, then I always run my top line further back than the bottom one . I've found I less tangles that way but in general my bottom set up produces many more fish than the top.