New to all of this

[jimcr]

Looking for some tips for setups , how far behind the ball to run baits,what to look for when picking an area to troll in . What time of the year to start running flys. When would you use J plugs.

I plan on running 2 riggers and 2 dipsys ,whats the best way to run ,with flys and spoons, should I run the spoons on the riggers or on the dipsys? What colors work best in the spring?

any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Jim

[Priority1]

Looking for some tips for setups , how far behind the ball to run baits,what to look for when picking an area to troll in . What time of the year to start running flys. When would you use J plugs.

I plan on running 2 riggers and 2 dipsys ,whats the best way to run ,with flys and spoons, should I run the spoons on the riggers or on the dipsys? What colors work best in the spring?

any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Jim

A good rule of thumb with the riggers is the 100 ft total. 50 down 50 back, 30 down 70 back etc. This is just a general guideline. Oranges and Reds are good colors early and shallow. I like flies or squid behind a flasher on the Dipsys, but that's not cast in stone.

[Nailer]

Looking for some tips for setups , how far behind the ball to run baits,what to look for when picking an area to troll in . What time of the year to start running flys. When would you use J plugs.

I plan on running 2 riggers and 2 dipsys ,whats the best way to run ,with flys and spoons, should I run the spoons on the riggers or on the dipsys? What colors work best in the spring?

any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Jim

Flasher/fly works all year.

If I was to only run 4 rods, then I would have two on the rigger with a fixed slider attached (all spoons). The other two would be divers with 8' leads to flasher/fly.

Like Frank said, the 100 foot rule is a good starting point

White spinney with a no-see-um Fly

Green spinney with a green fly.

Siggsriggs has some nice fly's. Matt is a great guy that sponsors a lot of activities here.

Located here

[Lone Star]

Jim dont forget about leadcore. If two of you are fishing in Michigan, you can run three poles each. Adding two leadcores on planer boards will improve your odds and get a different presentation out there for the fish that may not like a downrigger or dipsey.

flasher flys and spoons work all year for me. Ill try jplugs late July and August on the loeadcores. Going to add some copper this year.

Wheels

[SUPERTRAMP]

The best answer is how big is your boat, and how many people will be with you. As stated in an earlier reply Michigan has a 3 rods per angler rule so you could run the riggers deep, the divers at the 2nd level and then you can add 300' of 27# lead core and run it off of inline planers. As for how far back, that can be as previously stated in the spring I usually run 85 to 100' behind the ball and some times farther if the fishing is in shallow water. If you plan to run the flashers or Dodgers and flys I suggest you run them on your deepest Divers, and get them out away from the downrigger lines I usually run mine set on 3 and try to get them down to the level just above the riggers. Lead Core will work great after you start to go out to the 50 to 100' water depth, and I use 2 300' 45# copper and 1 450' 45# copper down the chute and though I have 4 riggers I usually only run 2. Also try using Power Pro braid 30 to 50# on your dipsies you will gain a lot of depth.

Hope this helps.

Mike (Supertramp)

Boat Name MC2

[jimcr]

There will be 2 to 3 people in the boat, the boat is a Targa v 17 (18' 1" x101" beam)as I am very new to this I don't plan on running more than 4 possibly 6 if I can scrape up enough for 2 more trolling rods, remember a boat is a hole in the water that one pours money into ,and my stash is just about dry.

I need to get my downrigger balls and I was really surprised on how much those buggers cost! 40.00 for a 10lb weight? So I am starting a little slower than I thought . I got hooked last year jigging for Salmon just outside of the harbor here in Milwaukee.

[Yoda]

You'll find most everything related to big lake fishing is pricey..One thing to remember, since your just starting out you don't need top dollar rods ands and reels, sure there nice but a $20 fire wolf rod and a $30 Okuma Magda 30 DX will put alot of fish in the boat. The set up your talking about for your boat is a good start, as money loosens up look at putting 2 to 4 inline boards with core or copper, also a dipsie set on "0" run down the shute, the shute dipsie has taken alot of very nice fish over the years. As for aour Braid Dipey's we us Spider Wire Stealth #50 you can buy that for around $20 a 300yd spool, and somewhere down the line you'll be looking at a wire set up. I can speak of colors on the michigan side of the lake, for spoons Your Greens and Blues (Green dolphins/ Blue dolphins/ Chilly Willy's/ Sister Sledge was good to us last season/ Blacks like the MJ/Screw ball/ and don't forget the Glows. As for Flashers/Dodgers. greens and blues again/Trash can/ black & White's/. Flies We tie our own, 99% of the flies we tie have a touch of Mirage in them and again Greens and blues for a main color/. about mid July we start running meat riggs alot, sky's the limit on these, big thing is finding the herring to put in them. If I can help you out any farther drop me a email or pm.. good luck. John

[jimcr]

Thanks to everyone who replied , Was out on the big pond yesterday. My son and I went 2 for 2 . My first time with down riggers, 20ft down 70 back. 2 Browns. 2nd one was about 18lbs tangled one of the dipsy rod and the other rigger.put up a real nice fight. Can't wait for the coho to start coming in. Does anyone know about when that would be?

How does one post a picture?

Jim

[Nailer]

Thanks to everyone who replied , Was out on the big pond yesterday. My son and I went 2 for 2 . My first time with down riggers, 20ft down 70 back. 2 Browns. 2nd one was about 18lbs tangled one of the dipsy rod and the other rigger.put up a real nice fight. Can't wait for the coho to start coming in. Does anyone know about when that would be?

How does one post a picture?

Jim

Congrats on the first trip Jim. 18 is a very nice Brown.

Look here for posting pics.

[jimcr]

[GLF]

Thats a beautiful brown trout!

[Priority1]

Jim good job on your first trip.