Running copper

[sjk984]

Last year was my first year running copper. While my 200' and 150 ran good, my 250 and 300' had on occasion weeds and Zebra mussels on them.

How are you guy deploying them so they do not fall to the bottom. I was getting stuff on them in 100-140 FOW.

I let the water pull the copper off the reel as we move. do I need to tighten the spool a little to keep them up in the water a little or is there something else I'm missing..

[Nailer]

Deploy them as you where, and stick them in a rod holder for a few minnets before hooking the board on. Let the deep coppers deploy on the drag as they go out, after putting the board on.

[BlueCollarOutdoors]

Sounds like you just gotta let em out slower. I use the clicker and feed it out reel slow especially to start. Generally once you have about 50 feet in the water the pull and resistance will gradually take it out nicely without any backlash or dropping it in the water too fast.

Another option....Last year I only ran one copper and I just get 25 feet in the water then speed up a couple mph and let it rip out. Gets it out in seconds. Otherwise in the morning by the time I get the other lines in we generally have a fish on and now I have no room to put out a 300 down the pipe with a fish coming in. If my last rod in is a rigger or dipsy I can still sneak that out while we play the fish.

Same thing at night I just let the copper out at 6 to 8 mph and its into the backing in seconds. Slow down to 2.5 or whatever and get to work on my other 5.

[southtrollsouth]

Last year was my first year running copper. While my 200' and 150 ran good, my 250 and 300' had on occasion weeds and Zebra mussels on them.

How are you guy deploying them so they do not fall to the bottom. I was getting stuff on them in 100-140 FOW.

I let the water pull the copper off the reel as we move. do I need to tighten the spool a little to keep them up in the water a little or is there something else I'm missing..

As the guys mentioned above with regards to deploying. It just does not seem right that you are putting copper on the bottom when you are deploying, unless you are trolling .5 miles an hour. Even then, there is some resistance moving forward and even with the fastest deploy its just not going to sink that fast in 100-140 fow, with only 250-300 feet of copper out. The average depth rate for those segments are only 50-70 feet down depending on current and troll speed. That steep of angle to put those on the bottom would not be possible at a reasonable rate of troll like 2.5 sog trolling straight.

The majority of times when guys come up with stuff from the bottom is because of turning, particularly hairpin turning. Tight turns are a huge no-no with copper, which will sink very fast once deployed particularly on an inside turn. We rarely ever turn the boat period, but when we do, it is very very wide and at a high rate of speed to keep our gear "up". If you are a guy that likes to turn alot, lighter copper will benefit as it wont sink as quickly on an inside turn. Heavier copper does not give you that luxury. Also, try to turn to the outside rather than towards shore, and bump your speed up. Hope that helps!

[mriversinco]

+1 on southtroll's answer. First thing I thought about was turning too sharp with the copper on the inside. It's the only time I've scratched bottom in that deep of water.

[killerbe20]

I have to agree with Southtroll as well. I have a very hard time believing you are hooking up on the bottom during deployment and it is most likely on turns. On the westside over here, especially Racine area, we fish structure most of the time over current. We are forced to turn on fish much more often then just straight line trolling for miles. Sometimes it is maddening and you feel like your getting dizzy! I am a copper guy and still do it daily with a full copper spread out. Like mentioned, you can not just make hairpin turns. You have to know what your next move is going to be well before it happens. It almost takes pre-planning of your set route you want to focus on for the day. Your turns need to be wide and ideally to the outside. It takes time and patience, especially when there is a hot bite. I will often make a wide swing opposite the direction I want to turn to limit the distance i am from where I want to be when my turn is complete. I would rather be patient waiting for the boat to come back around then waste fishing time with fouled baits or checking and re-stting coppers.

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

My rule of thumb is just to let 200'+ coppers out in 150'+ depth of water. Safe everytime. Under 140' or so, no coppers. It's no fun dragging weed/zebras for hours with no hits. Deep gear/deep water, simple and true.

[killerbe20]

Interesting perspective, definitely a way to stay safe!

If you can visualize the water column in three segments, you can be safe and productive running copper just about anywhere. Target zone of 0-50 feet you should be safe running up to 200 foot copper setups. Your 200-300 foot coppers will hit the 50-70 foot target zone. And targeting below the 70 foot mark will be your 300+ copper segments. This is based off straight line trolling but again, preplanning your turns will keep you safe nearly every time.

Another really safe bet with your coppers is to figure 10 feet of depth per 50 foot segments. This is just a generalization but will get you PRETTY close. Experience and trial and error will bring comfort.

[SlamDunk]

My rule of thumb is just to let 200'+ coppers out in 150'+ depth of water. Safe everytime. Under 140' or so, no coppers. It's no fun dragging weed/zebras for hours with no hits. Deep gear/deep water, simple and true.

Certainly an error proof idea and way of avoiding trouble.

But personally I like to drag 300 copper in as shallow as 70 fow sometimes. Just let her out slow.