Dipsy Divers

[Forky]

I started doing a lot of cranking last year and on several occasions I found the best fishing to be in deep water(25 feet +). I can get down to about 30 feet with an incredible amount of line out but I figured there has to be a more efficent way to get at these deep fish.
I was given two Dipsy divers and two of those 'rubber snubbers' as a gift and I am looking for help on how to use them. How should I set up my gear for this type of fishing? Does the rubber thing go in front or back of the Dipsy? Does that hurt the divers ability to trip when a fish strikes the lure? How tight do you set the release? How long of a leader behind the Dipsy to the lure? What kind of lures work well behind these things.? How heavy of line do I need on the reel for the drag created by the Dipsys? Are they any worse than pulling planer boards? I am hoping some of you trollers from out East can help me.

Thanks in advance,


Forky

[ETT]

Forky,
Wow, here we go...

gear set up. Get all your Dipsy rods, reels, line alike. And the rods need to able to handle up to 20# test line. 8 or 8-1/2' rods are fine.

Snubber goes behind Dipsy, then a 6' leader, then the lure. It will not bother the trip devise.

Trip should be set at 2-1/2 to 3 # for calm water, up to 5# for rough water.

Leader length west of Cleveland is 6' , east of Cleveland up to 10'. (that's just the way they do it.) "In the know" guys use 20 or 25# pure flourocarbon leader material, and 2 Sampo ball bearing swivels.

Lures are spoons, stick baits, or harnesses. No deep diving lures.

I like Power Pro line (30# test - 8# dia.). Use a superbraid, or be ready to get disgusted.

Dipsys do pull much harder than in-line boards. You'll want / need special rods.

By the way this is all centered on #1 Dipsys (the big one) with the ring on.

If you want to ask more specific questions go to "Boatohio", click on "Boating Forums", then on "Ask the Expert". Good luck, and I'll see you there.

[FreeByrd]

Forky,
Once you get the hang of running the dipseys you won't want to leave the dock without them in the summer.
Our dipsey setup is:
Rods - Okuma 8 or 8 1/2 foot dipsey rods. $35 to $40. No need to spend more on dipsey rods. Reels Diawa SG27 Linecounters are the best at about $90. You can get the older Diawa LC47s or the Okuma 30DXs for less money (about $30 less) but lot's of people buy these first then end up with the Diawa SG27s later on so it's much cheaper in the long run to get the best up front. If you are going to get serious about the dipseys you want to spool up with one of the no stretch spectra superlines. PowerPro is becoming one of the most popular on Erie in the 30 pound test / 8 pound diameter. The no stretch factor makes it easy to "read" your rods to see what is going on down there, and also contributes to the vertical swing on speed changes/turns. The no stretch lines also make it very easy to "trip" the release on the dipsey if a fish doesn't trip it by itself. The thin diameter of the line also helps you get deeper quickly. We use a large ball bearing snapswivel from our main line to attach to the dipsey (attach to the pivoting arm that snaps in to the release.) The rubber snubber goes on the back side of the dipsey. Next is 6 foot leader made from pure florocarbon line. We use either Seaguar or PLine. You want the stuff sold in the small 20-30 yard spools as leader material. Not the stuff marketed as florocarbon line for filling reels which is usually not 100% florcarbon. We use 20 or 25 pound test. On one end of our leader we have another ballbearing snapswivel and the other end has a large round snap. If running a spoon behind the dipsey (the typical summer lure is a Michigan Stinger Spoon) we attach the end with the ball bearing snapswivel to the spoon and the snap to the swivel that is on the end of the snubber. If we run a stickbait (shallow bill only like a shallow thunderstick or a husky jerk) which is more common in the spring and fall, we reverse the leader and attach the snap end to the lure. Many of the best trollers just use the ballbearing snapswivels on both ends of the leader. You don't want to run a deep diving crankbait behind dipseys - they won't run correct. Most common are the spoons. We sometimes also run crawler harnesses. You need quality rod holders for dispeys. Some guys run the plastic ones, but I prefer to do my gambling in Vegas. I recommend the metal tube style holders like the ones by Big Jon, Tite Lock, Berts Custom Tackle or Vector. If you have a railing on the back section of your boat the clamp on style holder work great. Lee's are the best, but Perkos will work too. If you have built in tube style holders on your boat, you can run the dipsey from them too but this is not the ideal setup as the rods will be pretty much vertical. Also for your rods, you want to run all the same type of rods when running multiple dipseys on a side. It makes it much easier to read the rods. Some of the charters run up to 5 dipseys per side. Once you get the hang of it running 2 to 3 a side will be no problem. You also mention planar boards. Most of the serious trollers run dipseys and boards in the summer. Hope this helps. Post back if you have more questions or email if you wish. One other thing you may want to consider is getting your fishing buddies together and taking a charter with a serious troller. For equipment and advice one of your best sources is Denny Braun at the Sportsman's Outpost in Vermillion, OH 888 855 9032. Other places for info would be to check out Dean Clifton's "Denied" website and click on the "helpful hints" section. www.cliftond.com

EDIT - looks like ETT and I were typing at the same time...

Good Luck,
Steve Carlson
steve199132@yahoo.com

[Driftr]

Forky,
One more suggestion. A copy of Precision Trolling. This is a must have.

Driftr

[Duane_MI]

Thanks for the info. I am going to try them out this year also and I will use this as my guide.

[Jose]

Is a braided line a must? Will 20# mono work. I want to be able to use the same rod for dipsey's on Erie as I do for downriggers on Michigan. I definitely don't want to use a braid for salmon. What is the diff's between braid and mono on dipsey's. I know I'll have to let out more line to get the depth but I will like to have a versatle rod.
Thanks,
Jose

[Fishnwiz]

Jose.....While the above mentioned methods are some of the best ways to use dipsys for eyes, the setups you have for Michigan will work but need to be watched very close for signs of a fish on the line (Due to line strech). One other option is the Jet Diver that does not rely on a trip type release. I myself use my lake Mich rods for eyes and salmon and I run light line of 10lb xt and lose very few fish or equipment. There is always the chance that a big Bow will hit your rig and do a number on you but this beats having to have another whole set of reels for fishing these eyes in deep water. The cost can and will be considerable if you keep changing over to superbraids and then back to mono. It should be noted that a buddy I fish with alot uses superbraids for BOTH salmon and eyes with good luck but your reels better be top quality with excellent drags if you want to keep your replaced equipment costs down! Go for it and good luck! Wiz

[CarpetBagger]

Welp once again ill add my 2 cents worth. I troll erie (central basin) all summer long like 3-4 days a week usually. Now when dealin with fish in the lower 30-65'of water gettin down and gettin deep is essential.

I have different setups for each type of fishing. I got my rigger rods that are 8'6'' Shimano TDR's, I have my small dipsy rods 8'6'' Daiwa Heartlands medium action (for boards), and then i got the big dipsy rods 9' Heartlands Medium heavy action.

Reel wise i use mainly daiwa and okuma spooled with braid. I used cabelas 30 or 40lb ripcord. Great stuff with very small diameter (40lb=10lb diameter).

I pull big dipsy's alot of the time and even when i pull small dipsy's i use the same set up:
1.)About 6-8' of 15lb Seaguar for a leader (its hard to break 15lb pure florocarbon and ive taken some big steelies on the stuff and its lasted through)
2.)Behind the dipsy im usually pulling Harnesses, spoons, quickfish, or thundersticks.
3.) everything is attached by a snap swivel (im too cheap to buy sampo so i just buy cabelas ball bearing swivels) this minimizes any type of twist ur lure may generate.

I've learned alot bout dipsys the hard way. I started using Mono and i hated them. Once i switched to Braid, i fell in love with em and i use em constantly. Braid definatly is the Key to dipsy fishing.

Trial and error find a system that works and use a good rod holder and ur set.

CB

[Sparky]

If you run a 30# test superbraid for the dipsey it will also work great for salmon. The walleye application has been covered thoroughly so I'll address salmon. I've run this setup out of Ludington, MI for at least 8 years without losing a fish because of the braided line. It'll be real close for the Precision Trolling dive charts and give you plenty of strength for 30# plus Kings. Just remember to set your your drag light for salmon. I will let the dipsey out and then adjust the drag just tight enough to keep it from slipping. When a King takes the lure you'll understand why. After you have him on for a while you can adjust the drag a little tighter. Just remember to loosen it up again when you reset it.

[Forky]

Thanks ETT and FreeByrd, I really appreciate your info. I am from Minnesota and probably won't be getting out East to see how you guys do it. Thanks for taking the time to give me some pointers. FreeByrd I will e-mail you if I have any more questions. Thanks a bunch.


Forky