What do you think?

[Killin' It]

So here is a picture of my boat and how its set up

2 riggers 2 divers 2 tree's on each side. I also have a gunner rod holder.

Normaly I fish with one other person, and we run 6 rods.

2 divers 2 riggers 2 core ( 10 and 7 or 10 and 10 with a dive bomb depending on the water we are fishing.

I have spent the winter reading and looking online at new "simple" ways to catch fish.

So with the wife wanting to go fishing on the boat more and more I can run my full spread of 9 rods. I could run more core and cover the water from 2 color all the way to 10 plus with the aid of dive bombs, BUT.... I have a small boat and dragging all that crap is a pain.

I personaly could care less if I catch a laker, king, coho. I just like to catch fish. (I perfer steelhead but who wouldnt:)

In saying this I was thinking of ways to work Jimmy's Spin glow into my spread while still keeping other lines in the water for kings ect.

So the question that looms could I run a "Thumper" rig on the inside board? So it is in contact with the bottom 10 feet?

Or maybe a 12 pound mono rod with a 6-8 oz dive bomb???

Would it be better to run this down the shoot?

[mayvillemark]

I tried running my full core down the chute when I first started, My new motto is nothing belongs in the chute but fish.

[GLF]

Dave,

You will have your hands full with 10 lines in the water.

My new motto is nothing belongs in the chute but fish.

I get a wild hair up my a$$ every now and then and throw one down the chute. Yep....every once in a while, it gets tangled with another rod that has a fish on it.

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

I use the center rigger areas mostly to net fish nowadays. So, the "chute" area always gets a core rod, usually 10-12 color, mostly in deeper water with a 1# wt. rubber banded. It's moved immediately when a fish hits on the port or starboard side to the opposite side, it usually avoids tangles this way. It's been a hot rod for me over the last 10 years, don't discount it if you use my method of moving it asap after a hit. Best bait has been a magnum green glow dolphin spoon, NK or Dreamweaver heavy spoon, sometimes I attach a second treble hook trailering back about 4" when they are hitting short.

[Nailer]

I think you have to much time on your hands

Two more divers is what you need.

Keep the back open.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Nailer

[jgaul]

I have the same situation with my boat. I'm moving some rod holders towards the bow for future trees, so I can run 2 riggers, 2 mag dipsys, 2 reg. Dipsys and 2 cores when I have that 3rd person on rare trip. I too have a place for a chute rod and have never used it.

[jimcr]

Dave how wide is the beam on your boat, and your side riggers go out how far.

I am set up to run 12 rods right now . Thats alot in the water, I would either put on a diver or lead core , with nothing out the back. keep the back open for landing fish. Even your corner riggers can get in the way unless you have a very wide beam.

From what I have been told is more is not necessarily better. My setup looks just like yours, but I have to pick out from ,4 rigger rods, 4 braided dipsys, 2 wire dipsys, 6 lead core, 2 copper. I would say to run your inside rod with the dive bomb .or thumper rod. But I do agree with Mike , Only fish in the back of the boat.

[eastcoasttransplant]

Wow, now I see I'm missing rod holders...LOL.

It's usually only me and a friend on my boat and I usually run two cores, two dipsys and two riggers. If I get another person in the boat, I'll add either two more cores or two more dipsys and may stay with 8 rods or stack a rigger.

I asked the question about ball rigs and chute rods and most stated that while it will produce fish, it can result in more headaches and tangles than it's worth.

My real issue with rod location and set up it that with the addition of the bimini top, windshield extension and sides (during cold, wet weather) I really only have the back half of the boat to work with.

[Killin' It]

Can I run a 1# ball on the inside board and have it bounce bottom?

would it work with say 200-400 feet of line?

[KJ pluggin]

Can I run a 1# ball on the inside board and have it bounce bottom?

would it work with say 200-400 feet of line?

It depends on which boards you are using. You would probably have to use the bigger boards to run a 1# ball, like the Church Tackle TX-44.

[Nailer]

Can I run a 1# ball on the inside board and have it bounce bottom?

would it work with say 200-400 feet of line?

I can't imagine letting a 1# ball out/back/out to the side, with out it tangling with the diver or even the rigger pole.

Keep the spread easy, and tangle free.

[Killin' It]

Ken,

I was thinking of running at least 200 back then set it just like a planner, I figued it would miss the diver.

I figured I would set it just like a core rod.. maybe my logic is lacking.

What would be the differance between using a core with a dive bomb and a mono/braid rod with a 1 pound ball or 12 oz dive bomb?

I guess desk fishing is way to easy right:)

[mattmishler]

iv ran .5 pound off planar boards...no problem but i was also only had it out 150ft

[eastcoasttransplant]

The ball won't really "bite" into the water as much as a planer or dive bomb.

What you're suggesting can be done for sure. Guys up north, near Sheboygan and beyond, regularly use ball weights off of boards. The things is, as with most spreads, you're lighter weighted rod sure be the farthest outside and slightly back from the rest of the presentations and the heaviest weighted rods on the inside and closer to the boat. That helps reduce your tangles.

Now throw in the chute rod........once you start running so many rods you run a greater risk of tangles (no rocket science there). Your spread is weighted and staggered so that the rods move to the middle of the transom after hookup. Throw a chute rod in their and you now have a presentation that is directly in line with where your hooked fish are going. If your chute rod is weighted heavy enough, the fish will pass over your line. If not, you're line is so far back that your hooked fish will end up crossing the line and becoming a PITA.

Thus, most guys I talk to forego the chute rod. Will it catch fish....absolutely, but will it eventually cause tangles.......probably.

[silver one]

I tried running my full core down the chute when I first started, My new motto is nothing belongs in the chute but fish.

Amen!

[Sea-Mac]

Thats a great motto..Tho somtimes I find myself running a short core down the chute. I think as long you make it very clear to everyone on board that as soon as a fish goes on another rod someone has to hustle up and get that chute rod in and out of the way asap.

[Killin' It]

So lets say I am running a 2 person spread....

I would normaly run

2 riggers

2 divers

2 core 10 color and 10 color with a dive bomb

I would drag along 2 extra rods with 5 color and mono in case the fish seemed to be higher up.

This covers 90% of what I would have fished this year. I would fish the 5 color early in the morning with a glow plug on it.

Comming up this year when fishing with 2 people

I was thinking of

2 riggers

2 divers

1 10 color

and something new.... possible my laker set up idea......

So many options....

[tgafish]

Dave,

Pull a rigger rod and run the thumper in that rod holder if you want to run a thumper. Putting it on a board removes the effectiveness of watching the rod to see it's working properly. Then add another core,copper, or diver set.

Always good to have a spare diver and long line setup ready to go if that's whats hot at the moment. Matching the presentation that's working is often more beneficial than matching a color

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

Check out Sorry Charlie Sportfishing Charters out of Sheboygan Wisconsin, talk about a guy that likes running Divers? He's the Slide Diver pro, and salesman too. It's the ONLY program he runs on that boat, divers and only divers, and catches the Heck out of the fish everyday too. Mostly limit catches, I know, I've been aboard.

[Killin' It]

I was thinking a copper set up too, 300 maybe?

[jatc]

I was thinking a copper set up too, 300 maybe?

I would highly recommend this. My 300' and 400' Cu rods put many more fish in the boat than my cores do for some reason. I like magnum spoons on the copper. Best luck I've had with 10 color is with plugs. Just for some comparison here is my typical mid-morning spread most days (my boat has a 8' -6" beam and my riggers have 5' arms):

Starting inside to out,

1. Corner rigger w/ arm perpendicular to boat and rod in a stern rod holder.

2. Wire diver in rigger rod holder

3. 300' or 400' copper on in-line board.

4. 10 color or 7 color on in-line

5. 3 color or 50' copper on outside

Mirror image on other side for a normal spread of 7 - 10 rods.

I have 6 rod holders other than my rigger holders on each side and I also have my rocket launcher that I often put my outside lines up there. I used to run stuff down the chute, but with long lines off the side I started running into too many tangle issues, so now everything goes out the sides. Once the fish tell me what they want, I'll taylor my setup to work that zone.

[Sea Eagle]

I made something almost identical for my boat. I printed out a few copies and use them to plot my initial spread before I go out. I also laminated a copy and use a dry erase pen to mark what I have down. It come in handy when we start wondering what we want to chage out next

[SUPERTRAMP]

Try substituting 300' of 45# copper for your deep cores it gets down to around 80 to 90' and runs really well off of my Walleye Boards. In the summer they are my hottest presentation outside of the deep divers. Riggers are always in play but I run a 12 rod spread most of the time off an 8' beam. the key is to keep the V presentation going riggers are always the deepest then the Dipseys then the copper and the cores outside. I have 4 riggers on the boat but mostly run 2 with 15# pancake weights. I only run a chute rod in the early spring when we are shallow for Coho and Browns. All flat line and shallow riggers no dipseys on cores at that time.

[Line Dancin]

Try substituting 300' of 45# copper for your deep cores it gets down to around 80 to 90' and runs really well off of my Walleye Boards. In the summer they are my hottest presentation outside of the deep divers. Riggers are always in play but I run a 12 rod spread most of the time off an 8' beam. the key is to keep the V presentation going riggers are always the deepest then the Dipseys then the copper and the cores outside. I have 4 riggers on the boat but mostly run 2 with 15# pancake weights. I only run a chute rod in the early spring when we are shallow for Coho and Browns. All flat line and shallow riggers no dipseys on cores at that time.

I run a similar setup 8'6" beam four riggers two divers and up to 8 boards

or four divers and 6 boards as long as i have enough people on board. Make really slow long turns and you'll have no problems. I agree withthe other info in this post.

Edited January 12, 2011 by Line Dancin
stupid laptop keyboard