Dipsy Diver Tips Wanted - Lake Trout

[pegasis0066]

I am going to be fishing an Ontario lake that has lake trout. We will be fishing June 21-24, so as I understand the lake trout may be a bit deep 40 to 100 feet.

I bought a few dipsy divers and think I understand the general idea, but wanted to ask if there were any tips or tricks?

Thanks

[BenBeattie]

Funny you should ask... I'm in the middle of writing an article about Dipsey Diver Lake Trout for a major Canadian magazine, however it won't be released until after your trip. I will get back to you with some tips when I have some time to sit down and write them out.

[pegasis0066]

Thanks - looking forward to it.

[new hips]

I have used on the Great Lakes, for salmon. Usually 3, you can swivel the weight left or right or centered. A 7-8 ft trolling rod - Penn Reels, This year I also want to try it on Lake Trout. You can use a snubber (like a shock absorber) with a small flasher also. I'm taking my line counter reel this year, or count footage with loosen drag and give it pulls about a yard at a time. In fact I'm taking J-Plugs and assorted flutter spoons. Larger spoons for larger trout, If catching smaller ones drop it a little bit lower. I take a clamp on rod holder also. There is an adjustment on the Dipsy so when a fish strikes the Dipsy straightens out and stops diving. Adjust that release to match the lure and the size fish your going after. :howdy:

[BenBeattie]

Here's a quick list of Dipsey Diver tips for Lake Trout. Hope it helps.

- Rigger rods, or similar work well. Long and relatively soft. You don't need to 'set the hook' when trolling Dipsey's.... it sets itself when the fish hits.
- 14-17lb line, mono! Run a similar # fluoro leader from your mainline to the dipsey. Fluoro is more abrasian resistant when you're banging bottom with the dipsey. Believe me, banging bottom triggers hits!!
- There are dive charts on-line for the different sizes of dipsey's - look em up so you know how how deep your dipsey will run with X amount of line out.
- if you can, get a line counter reel. Critical for repeatability once you find fish at a certain depth. Takes the guess work out of depth control.
- Run a 4-6' mono leader from the dipsey to your bait.
- As new hips suggested... Jointed baits (eg, rapala J-11 and J-13) and Spoons are excellent baits to run behind dipsey's. In recent years I've been switching out all trebles for single siwash hooks. Hook-up ratio's are still high and the best part is how much easier it is on the fish to unhook. Makes a huge difference, I find.
- When trolling for trout, your electronics are just as important as your boat and rod/reel combo's. Scan likely areas looking for bait, trout and structure. Note the depth and use the depth control of the Dipsey to put the bait in the strike zone.
- Rod holder is a must!! Run the tip of your rod low... 4-6" off the water is ideal.
- Trigger hits by changing your speed... drop into neutral for a moment, speed up, slow down, run 'S' curves over structure. You'll be surprised how many hits come when you 'change up' your presentaion like this. If you have a GPS - note the speed where you pick up fish and establish a pattern.
- Dipsey's troll relatively close behind the boat allowing tight turns. Great for targeting smaller pieces of structure, eg deep humps or underwater points more efficiently.

Good luck!!!

Ben

[Northern Manitoban]

Im an avid Lake trout angler and have been for many years, Dipsys are okay, for targeting lake trout, but I would highly recomend going with a deepsix instead they have a far better release system then the Dipsy and they do work far better, since you obviously dont have a downrigger check online or your nearest dealer on the Deepsix they come in different colors and sizes for different depths you want to fish. the only thing they don't do is plane away from the boat like the dipsy's. The deepsix has a snap swivel release which you can adjust also for strikes and depth you fish its a far better system :)
http://www.xtremesportfishing.com/albums/admin/deepsix.jpg