Pointe Aux Barques

[big jim]

Headed out yesterday around 1 pm on my 16 foot boat and 8 horse mariner. She "rezembals" a '57 dodge my dad says with her fins on the back. Anyway headed strait to the bell bouy then about 30' of water headed dew north and setup trolling speed. I'm a novice at trolling btw. Any how Had my 2 poles setup with big jon mini divers a 4 foot leader of 6lb test mono, and a crawlerharness (chartruse with a rainbow hollowgram) . I asked the guy i bougth the tackle from a little about getting them to depth. And he told me to let out about 150ft of line and watch for bottom( he told me the rod tip would bounce when it skipped rock) So when i set my poles up i guess I brain farted and marked the line at 150yrds(:eek:IDK) but any how the first pole I was setting up before I could let out that (redickulus amount of of line) Hooked a fish a 14" bass. Released the fish and Then I found out that the line was out to far. So i worked that out. Hooked another fish (another bass (saw it jump)) And my leader broke so tied another on and the line of that leader kept twisting to the point that the line was only about 2' long. So my questions are. How far about does the diver have to be back to reach max, Is the barrel snap on the lure side of the leader making the line spin like that, and is 6 lbs heavy enough for the leader ( the harness line is heaver than my leader line). Thank you. p.s. I went out to try and figuare out some tactics of trolling using divers I was alone so only had 2 poles. Ended up with 3 hooked fish (bass) only one of those landed. And 3 bass drift fishing all between 15 and 30 fow. And most of all some expr.

[Priority1]

The discs are ok but I feel there are easier and better ways to get down less than 30 ft. Snap weights, in-line weights, Bottom Bouncers, and Jets. I like weights because they are cheap, simple, and you are quick to the fish. I like to keep things as simple and basic as I can.

I like that area around Port Austin. It's been awhile since I fished it.

[big jim]

Like I said I have no field experince at all in trolling just know what I've read and most fisherman are slow for anserwers. I guess this is what I have to work with for the time being mostly cuz I liked the consept in the store with no fore thought or research. That is a beautful area. And with all the shallow shoals theres not many 40' cabin crusers trying to drowned you like by Port Hope and Harbor Beach. Thank you for your insight

[big jim]

I like the basic's too.

[Nailer]

There is no reason to have a 6 pound leader hooked to a 15 pound harness.

The pole restriction is 3 per person also. If you do what frank says, you will get better at fishing. Frank has perfected the art of Walleye fishing. (go look at a few of his post).

[Paulywood]

Did a dive curve come with the divers? If not you might want to check a Precision Trolling book to figure out how far to let them back. I am no walleye pro but I was reading an article earlier this year that said if you are trolling between 1-1.5 mph (a normal walleye speed) that a 1 oz inline weight will go down 1' for every 2' of line you let out on average. To me that seems like a simple way to organize your gear. Get a few 1 oz inline weights and attach the crawler harness directly behind it. Then when you figure out how deep you want to be just double it and you should be in the ballpark. And I agree with Ken, it makes no sense to have a leader that is 1/3 the strength of the harness line.

[big jim]

K thank you guys for the help. I was just intersted in the mini divers thought they where neat and was wanting to fig them out. The guy at the bait shop. Kinda look at me like i was crazy for doing what I was doing with them. Frank sorry if you toke my reply the wrong way. Was NOT meant too seam like I was trying to wright off your knowlegde or experince. That way does sound good since I have lots of lead and swivils and there cheap to replace. As far as the 6lb to 15lb ratio ya doesn't make too much since does it. Now I'll just lurk here until I'm a better fisherman.

[flyman013]

Big Jim, when you fish out of Pointe Aux Barques, do you launch from the Port Austin Harbor or Grindstone City? If you go from Grindstone and go around Eagle Bay, there is more deep water you can navigate than if you go from Port Austin. I've always done better on the Grindstone route. When we go from P.A., I had the same problem of hitting the bottom because of the shallowness of the reef.

[GLF]

K thank you guys for the help. I was just intersted in the mini divers thought they where neat and was wanting to fig them out. The guy at the bait shop. Kinda look at me like i was crazy for doing what I was doing with them. Frank sorry if you toke my reply the wrong way. Was NOT meant too seam like I was trying to wright off your knowlegde or experince. That way does sound good since I have lots of lead and swivils and there cheap to replace. As far as the 6lb to 15lb ratio ya doesn't make too much since does it. Now I'll just lurk here until I'm a better fisherman.

No need to lurk. The quickest way to shorten the learning curve, is to hop on board with someone else who has been doing it for awhile and see how its done. Actually....it is nice to hop on board with several different people and learn everyones tricks. Take the information your learn from everyone and put together a presentation that works best for you.

There are lots of knowledgeable fisherman here with years of expierence. Ask the questions, and you will get the answers. This is what this website is all about. People helping other fisherman to become better fisherman.

[Priority1]

Big Jim, when you fish out of Pointe Aux Barques, do you launch from the Port Austin Harbor or Grindstone City? If you go from Grindstone and go around Eagle Bay, there is more deep water you can navigate than if you go from Port Austin. I've always done better on the Grindstone route. When we go from P.A., I had the same problem of hitting the bottom because of the shallowness of the reef.

I think the Port Austin Harbor is closed and being rebuilt.

[Priority1]

K thank you guys for the help. I was just intersted in the mini divers thought they where neat and was wanting to fig them out. The guy at the bait shop. Kinda look at me like i was crazy for doing what I was doing with them. Frank sorry if you toke my reply the wrong way. Was NOT meant too seam like I was trying to wright off your knowlegde or experince. That way does sound good since I have lots of lead and swivils and there cheap to replace. As far as the 6lb to 15lb ratio ya doesn't make too much since does it. Now I'll just lurk here until I'm a better fisherman.

Jim, I didn't take offense to anything you posted. The diver discs are popular on Lake Erie. It's whatever works best for you.

[Adam Bomb]

Nice work out there, im sure it had to be a blast. Mini disks are a great tool. You can deploy a multitude of baits behind them. Most popularly used to deploy smaller walleye sized spoons. A 10# leader of 4-6' is plenty for a spoon app for walleye. If your gonna run harnesses behind them id opt for a longer harness to eliminate the leader, of 15# line plus as it takes some abuse from teeth/gill plates on the business end.

In saying that, if i could make a recommendation, id say that if your going to fish harnesses that you should learn to tie them yourself. Its easy and cheap to do and the end product will be much better quality and built to fit your needs...eliminates leaders, better hooks, hook styles, endless color combos, quick change clevises to change out blades etc. Most harnesses are tied on 15-20# line ranging from mono to more expensive fluorocarobon. For big water fishing such as your doing i opt for a two rig harness. I run a #2 octopus hook on the front and a #6 round bend or EWG treble hook on the rear. I prefer Gamakatsu or Mustad Ultra Point hooks for my harnesses. I tie the treble hook on with a palomar and snell the front hook. I run my harnesses 3'-4'.

For most harness applications its more practical to deploy them with inline weights or bottom bouncers. Both are inexpensive and achieve depth quickly. For a 1 oz. inline weight at 1 mph you can figure pretty close to a 2:1 ratio on line out to depth achieved. This will work well out to around 45-50' range according to my bait data pressure depth probe. Its my belief that line drag begins to overcome the inline weight and hinders its depth gain. Simply opt for a bigger weight if your fishing over say 30' of water.

As far as lurking, i would not do that. The internet is an awesome tool to severely shorten the learning curve. Thus the foundation these very forums were created on. There are no dumb questions, just the one thats not asked. Trolling is allot more than just letting a lure out and hoping a fish bites it. Its a real art and with some knowledge a very effiscient and effective way to find and catch fish. Be safe and have fun on the water.

[big jim]

Thanks guy's I guess I sould have been more "pacific". By pointe aux barqus I ment lighthouse park between grindstone and port hope. My Plan for going out was to learn some things and stay close to shore in front of the willow creek mouth which is about a mile north of the ramp and lighthouse. According to the nautical charts there's some nice reefs there that I thought where intresting. (Like 15'to30') Few years back my buddy and I went out on his boat drifting and ran into a few walleye and lots of Bass in that same area. The bottom is very rocky which is pretty cool to explore it self withit's Huge flat shale rocks and Cracks, caves that look bottomless. Plus the ramps a few miles from my house. I am very intrested in the dyi of the harnesses, I injoy making gear. Thank you guys sorry for the confussion of location (The lighthouse is named PointeAuxBarqus) Changed some of my things up and plan on heading out this evening God willing.