Help with setup for deepwater trolling

[Don in Denver]

I'm thinking of getting serious about doing some trolling this year both for walleyes(15-35 feet) and lake trout (75-120'deep) and need help with equipment selection. I assume this means using a downrigger setup and trolling rod with line counter reel. I think one of the smaller "portable" downriggers might be good to start since I don't know how much I'll actually use this setup. What are the pros and cons of the smaller downriggers? What rods/reels should I look at? Would trolling with leadcore or steel wire work as well as downrigging? What else do I need to get started? I've fished for 45 years but just never got into trolling so any help you experts can give would be most appreciated.

[punch1]

Don,

My opinion is that downriggers are generally a waste for walleyes. I've heard various theories on why downriggers may not be the best choice for walleye, but all I know is that catch ratio dropped considerably when I plyed with them two years ago for walleye.

Opinions will vary but I would go with a good lead line setup or perhaps snap weights and long lines? If your on a budget you can pick up a rod/reel combo for about $75 (Okuma MAGD30 /Shakesphere Tidewater 30 reel and a Daiwa Heartland, Eagle Claw or many other rods)

For a few bucks more, Daiwa/Sealine makes an excellant mid range reel. The SG47LC is suitable for lead core.

If you fish lead line, just do a search and you will get many very good tips. If you find yourself fishing the same depths a lot of the time, you may just want to splice in 2 or 3 colors (30ft) of lead core. Otherwise throw a whole spool (100ft) of the 18lb lead core on. Hope I didn't get too far off your topic.

[Homer]

Don:

The degree to which downriggers are successful for walleyes seems to vary a lot from lake to lake. Personally, I caught more walleyes pulling Stinger Scorpion spoons behind downriggers last year in the western basin of Lake Erie than using any other trolling method. I have no clue how well they'll work in Colorado.

I have both portable (on my 14' boat) and permanent (on my 17' boat) riggers and can share my experience with you. First off, one nice feature of downriggers is that you can use spinning or baitcasting gear, and light equipment if you choose. You do not need a line counter reel. What you need to know is how deep the downrigger ball is, and the downrigger line counter will tell you this. The advantages to permanently mounted riggers are stability (bolted down vs. C-clamped), and the ability to have longer booms, getting the line farther away from the boat. The advantage to portable riggers are portability and cost. Hope this helps.

[Mckoz]

Don,

I just started trolling last year and had a blast - I found that dipseys and planer boards were all I needed for walleyes - although I would like to get 2 downriggers this year, so I can try Lake Michigan again. I think the downriggers will end up being less work and result in fewer tangles in the deeper water.

The biggest problem I had was not marking fish below 35 to 40 FOW - I did not discover this until I was catching limits on Lake Michigan and not marking anything?? I use an X-75 on the console (which is great) but It really lacked power to run deep - If I adjusted the sensitivity I could pick things out but there was too much clutter.

I'll be adding an X15 this year for trolling situations and locating baitfish over deeper water.

Mike

[John B]

Don,

I just watched a good deep water trolling video that may help. It's called Advance Walleye Trolling Systems with Keith Kavajecz and Gary Parsons. I also saw another trolling video they made in the new Bass Pro catalog. I'm going to try some of their techniques this year. Good luck!

http://www.precisionangling.com/videos.html

John B

[bob in montrose]

Don, where are you fishing for Lakers? Unless you really love trolling, vertical jigging for Lakers is a much more effective technique. A good lead line setup should do for the shallower walleye fishing. I do use downriggers for kokonee and prefer them over lead line, with a downrigger you can fish with 6lb test and feel the fish, allot more fun. I would stay away from the cheapest models the sport troll etc, I think the model I have is the unitroll about $150 each , they work fine. Let me know if you wnat more information on Lakers, but please don't kill the big ones, the DOW has really screwed up and declared war on the Lakers, nothing like taking a trophy quality lake trout lake that Blue Mesa became and then removing all stops to kill the lakers, go figure???

[Don in Denver]

Bob -
I don't want to kill any of those big lakers - just wanta give 'em a little exercise. My laker fishing has been limited to Granby and Flaming Gorge. So far I have just been deep jigging big gitzits for them but at Flaming Gorge I have yet to hook a decent fish and I've seen several 20lb+ fish landed by trollers. At Granby I took one a few years ago about 14lb.(34" and FAT) but it doesn't have the population of bigger fish that it used to have.

As for walleyes, I definitely want to give Glendo a try this year and I read all about all those big fish that were trolled up at the WC get together last summer. I have a feeling a guy might be able to stretch the good walleye fishing in the SE plains lakes of CO into late summer by deep trolling also if he knew what he was doiung.

Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree on the idea of downriggers, though. I appreciate the help. Keep those suggestions coming!!!

[melonbob]

Hey there,

If you plan on doing alot of trolling for lakers, I'd go without a line counter reel, and get a better downrigger instead. The downrigger is going to determine how deep you're fishing, and most mid-priced models have a line counter on them. I've used the little lake-troll models, and they are very frustrating. Also, if you are planning on a new finder in the future, get one that has dual cone angles, a larger angle (ie. 45 degrees) will pick up your downriggers canonballs very easily, and you will know exactly how deep you are running. I do about 85% of my lake trout fishing with downriggers, and have had great success....take care

Bob

[Don in Denver]

John-
I took a look at the video link you gave me. I'm going to have to invest in some I think. I've always thought of myself as a pretty good fisherman but I have to own up to the fact that once our western walleyes disappear in mid July to the depths I have no luck trying to find them. Thanks for the help.

[mudpuppy]

The first downriggers I got was a cheap set of attwood portables . For the price , they did O.K. . But with a 4# max on the ball weight , I was limited on depth . 120' would be tough , even at the slower speeds for Lakers . You can get there but depth control is lost with the amount of "blow back" . Some guys mount larger downriggers on oak boards to make them portable , just make sure you attach the board well . My second set of downriggers were used , got them on ebay , saved some money .

[Gumbo]

Don, I agree with these guys that for most western waters, leadcore, snap weights, or deep diving cranks is best for reaching deeper walleyes. If the walleyes are stacked in open water at a certain depth chasing smelt or shad, then the downrigger might be a viable option. But lakes like that are limited out west--at least in Utah.

As for lakers, I wouldn't think of fishing for them without downriggers. I fish the Gorge regularly, and I always start out fishing downriggers until I mark a high concentration of fish, at which time I might switch to vertical jigging. For lakers, I'd highly recommend an electric downrigger because you need to constantly adjust the depth to keep the ball banging against the bottom, kicking up dust. But you don't want it dragging bottom. And to minimize blowback, a 12 lb ball is recommended. That would be a lot of cranking and you'd be worn out soon.

A friend of mine has the Cannon bottom trackers, and he catches more lakers than anyone I know. Hugging the bottom is the key.

[bobco]

Don, downriggers are ok for laker fishing, the problem with downriggers and lakers is as Dennis/utah said you need to be right on the bottom, Blue Mesa has a couple of spots you can do that, forget the rest of the lake it goes from 30' to 100' in a minute, real hard to downrigger fish, I expect Granby is the same. The Gorge has big basins that are fishable downrigging but the top Lake Trout fisherman hunt the big lakers and then fish the fish, requires good electronic and an electric trolling motor to position the boat. Harry Colburn from Rifle (Colorados second best Lake trout man, his wife Collen is Colorado top lake trouter!!) put out a video a couple of years back about jigging for Lakers, you can find it at some sporting goods stores. If you have real deep pockets the Cannon bottom tracking downriggers look awesome for fishing lakers, they keep you right at the bottom. Don are you the Don on Waynes Words at Powell? Talk at you later.

[Gumbo]

Bobco, I think you, Don, and I are the three Wayne's Words followers here on WalleyeCentral.

I was at Lake Powell just this Monday--awesome place.

[Neal/CO]

I agree with Bob and Dennis! We used to fish at Blue Mesa with down-riggers and it was a pain in the #####! We were always raising and lowering the cannon ball. Electrics are a must, but I would just as soon vertical jig. I think both 50 lb Lakers caught at The Gorge were caught big Gizzits. Blue Mesa is the place to go here in Colorado!!!

I have been trolling leadcore for 15 years and I still think it is the best option when fish are suspended in open basins. Also when you are trolling tight contours along canyon walls. The best day I ever had at Pueblo was trolling in 25 feet of water out over a 100 feet of water. It was a 102 degrees that day and the walleyes were suspended right under the shad out in the middle of no where. We found them this summer at Glendo out chasing shad in the basin at the mouth of Airplane Bay.

Anybody ever ice fish Blue Mesa?

[Sheldon Meidinger]

Don Stop in at the Triton Booth next weekend at the Denver sport
show I can give you some pointers on how I do things and how to
troll with reefrunners.

[Don in Denver]

Thanks for all the help. I think you just saved me from an expensive and frustrating mistake. I think Ill stick with vertical jigging for the macks and learn more about snap weights and other less involved ways to fish walleyes. I never liked to troll, just figured it was another technique I need to add to the arsenal. Bobco - yes I'm the same one who hangs out at WaynesWords. Sheldon, if I'm in town I'll take you up on your offer. However, I'm hoping to take a long weekend and go either to Flaming Gorge or Powell. There is still open water at the Gorge from Lucerne south and I hear they're finding some macks and I hear the striper fishing at Powell has held up well this winter with a few walleyes mixed in. I've been ice fishing several times but can't find any walleyes so I guess I'll go look for something bigger than 16" slimers. Thanks again.

[bobco]

Neal, I fish Blue Mesa on the Ice quite a bit, it is my home lake, only 45 minutes away. The Laker fishing is best on the west end and it doesn't freeze up until Feb, the middle bay freezes a little earlier. I have never had much luck on the ice for lakers, last year I did not hear of anybody doing good on the Ice and I know of a couple of guys that are good and they hit it hard..... First ice out around 20th of april is of course Blues best laker fishing. I hope we are not offending the walleye fish but us poor souls in Colorado have to get by catch "trout"...

[bobco]

Dennis , where did you fish and how was the fishing at Powell? From Waynes post last week it looks like the water is still warm for this time of year.

[Gumbo]

I fished at Gunsight near Wahweap. Water was 52, I think. Fish were lethargic, and wouldn't take jigging spoons. But a little chum brought them around. I just motored around until I saw enough arcs on the graph, then anchored and chummed. Once they started biting, the fishing was fast for 45 minutes and then it died off, chumming occasionally to keep them biting. I then moved to another school and repeated. The freezer is full of vacuum packed striper fillets.

Definitely worth the trip.