Catching Browns in the spring time

[caznik]

Ok Pro's,

I am a pretty good fisherman but for some reason I do not have that much luck catching browns up close to shore. I keep my speed as slow as I can go, I keep my long lines at 80'-120' back behind my board with a 1 oz. sinker. Allso when I am fishing in around 10' of water about how far down do you run your downriggers and how far back from the ball do you go with your lure. I usally go back 40-60' behind the balls and 5-7 foot down on the riggers. I had better luck with my older boat but for some reason my newer boat I am having more problem catching spring browns.

Please help me out,

Cazzzz

[DIRTY DOG]

im not a pro ,but this is how i do it

to start i trie to keep the boat in no less than 15 fow{perferably between the sand bars} and i run big board ,i put them out aroud 75 to 100 feet and run 4 lines of both sides{75 to 140 ft off the tow cord} all with some sort of minnow bait {like a number 8 x rap}or small crank bait like a thunder stick jr.or thin fin with no weight, i also run the 2 corner riggers with small spoons like a reg stinger and a 1/2 core down the chute with a spoon, this spread has worked for me from port sheldon to st joe every spring {normaly mid march to late april} the key for my in the earlyer part is to run more natureal colar like rainbow and brown trout patterns and in april GO GOLD AND RED OR ORG.

also my speed is normaly around 2.2 to 2.7 on the gps hope this helps

[caznik]

im not a pro ,but this is how i do it

to start i trie to keep the boat in no less than 15 fow{perferably between the sand bars} and i run big board ,i put them out aroud 75 to 100 feet and run 4 lines of both sides{75 to 140 ft off the tow cord} all with some sort of minnow bait {like a number 8 x rap}or small crank bait like a thunder stick jr.or thin fin with no weight, i also run the 2 corner riggers with small spoons like a reg stinger and a 1/2 core down the chute with a spoon, this spread has worked for me from port sheldon to st joe every spring {normaly mid march to late april} the key for my in the earlyer part is to run more natureal colar like rainbow and brown trout patterns and in april GO GOLD AND RED OR ORG.

also my speed is normaly around 2.2 to 2.7 on the gps hope this helps

You think maybe my SWR rod would work to for the shoot?

[DIRTY DOG]

It Should As Long As It Is Geting To The Bottom 1/2 Of The Water Colum

[HitMan]

The first thing to consider is that the Brown populations are WAY WAY WAY down compared to only five years ago.

When brown fishing was actually worth it in the Muskegon and Grand Haven areas, we usually caught the most fish on high-lines and dipsy divers. Our spread was usually 6 surface planer boards with an assortment of Rapalas, Thundersticks, Thinfish, Bombers, and Stinger Spoons. We ran lengths anywhere from 40-180 feet back. We then ran two high-lines with Rapalas in a dipsy diver position back 120-180 feet. We then ran two dipsy divers with Stinger Scorpions on them and those were usually back 20-30 feet. Lastly, we ran 3 downriggers with Scorpion and regular-sized Spoons 5-7 feet down and 50-80 feet behind the ball. The most productive rods day in and day out were the 2 high-lines and 2 dipsy divers.

We don't even book any early brown fishing charters anymore as it doesn't seem worth the hassle and lack of fish.

[Satisfaxion_Gauranteed]

What is the word on why the Brown population is struggling as of lately?

In the last 2 seasons, I've only caught 1 brown. Thanks all the way around for the tips. I'll be putting them to use this spring.

[Billy V]

If you guys want browns, you ought to come to Lake Ontario in the spring. After a few down years, we have LOTS of 'em!!