Downrigger/Dipsy Which One????

[Jose]

Giving a person had both setups on their boat(total of 4 each), which one would you prefer to use and why? If you catch them on a dipsy then why can't you off of a ball? They are about the same size. Downrigger - can vary the length of the line behind the ball, dipsy - you are limited. Just wanted to get everyone's option and thoughts on the comparison.

Thanks,
Jose

[The Smalleye]

Good point I did catch 75% of the fish I got last year on dipsys but thats mabe because I ran more lines with dipsys. I think if your fishing shallow water you are at a disavantage with downriggers cause they may spook the fish more but they are fun to use and a great tool to get down to deeper waters of Erie Pa were I fish most of the time.

[CarpetBagger]

Dipsy's and riggers both can be used effectivly. I run most of the time 4 dipsy rods and 2 riggers. Now lol a rigger costs from $150 each up and a dipsy well u can get a few for 150 bucks.

Personally i would invest in both. If you ever plan on fishing ontario you'll love ur riggers then, and ive had days where every fish came off a rigger 2' off the bottom in 70'

Every1 is goin to have their preference on dipsys/riggers im just gald i have both options. u can run 4 dipsys really easy out of a titelock system off ur gunnles(2 each side), and the riggers now let u get 2 more rods out (if you buy just 2).

Look for a set of riggers on Ebay, every once in a while there will be a set on their cheap

CB

[4given]

I use both. One of the great things about Dipsys is they "hunt" the slightest turn or wave or change of speed causes them to move up or down in the water column. When I trolled alone, I used two Dipsys.

[Jose]

Thanks CarpetBagger...I have both setups right now. Well, 4 riggers and 2 dipsys. I have the 4 riggers mainly for Mich. I wanted to see what everyone's thoughts were on the two. I like being to adjust the amount of line let out behind the ball. Just a pondering thought.

Jose`

[Water Dog]

I like running dipsy rigs when the fish are active and deep .(Over 30 ft down )

For shallow water active fish , trolling with inline planers or our mast planer system seems to work better than the dipsy rigs .

As to the downriggers , well they are almost ALWAYS running !

Some days we just gotta scrape bottom to hook up .

[bob]

I have never invested in riggers. I catch too many fish on dipseys. Most pros will tell you the same. Riggers to not attract fish. Dipseys do. Dipseys take up hardly no room. Riggers do. Dipseys are cheap. Riggers are not. Set a dipsey out in 1 minute. Set a rigger out in 5. The only downfall that I have found with dipseys is that you cannot run deep diving cranks off them. I troll sometimes along fish nets to pick up steelhead I cannnot imagine what would happen If you got a rigger cought up in one. Save the riggers for ontario and michigan. that is my opinion

[ETT]

To add to the disgusion, a 2-1/2 oz Dipsy may be the dia. of an 8# ball but it makes much less noise down there,& can indeed act as an attractor where the ball scares the bajeppers out of them (ussually). The other problem most have with riggers is detecting a small walleye or a tarsh fish on the line. They end up pulling the riggers every 20-30 minutes just to check them, pretty tiresome stuff.


Now steelhead are a diferent story. The noise of the wire and the ball attract them like a magnet. Probably 3 to 1 over the Dipsys. Good luck.

[CarpetBagger]

ETT
See thats where most guys are wrong. See if you run your riggers right you really shouldnt have a problem picking up fish just as consistant as your dipsys. 1st off alot of guys dont run long enough leads off of their riggers. I run long leads (like 50+) then clip it on the ball and send it on its way. Longer leads get away from the boat and down deep. Riggers have always been a producer on my boat, and when you get a spread of dipsy's out then u can drop 2 more real quick off the riggers. I will never own a boat for erie without them.

and as for detecting a slight bite on your riggers...Use a snubber or a shocker as your lead to the snap release. you can catch perch bites and walleye bites alot easier this way, just watch the tip

CB

[Jose]

That is one reason I like the Big Jon riggers with the band buster release. I thought at first it would be a pain...but it really isn't once you do it a few times. The rubber band between the line and the downrigger cable will stretch and allow movement on the rod. With this setup I could see when ANY fish is on. Caught a 9" perch last year on a rigger and I could see it on the rod.

Thanks and keep opinions coming,
Kelly

[ETT]

CB,
We run 4 Dipsys on each side and speed set them. This requires having the whole area behind the boat free of deep lines. When we use riggers for walleyes, we use a minimum drop length from the ball of 85'. And we use a snubber between the ball and the release to maximize readability (if there is such a word). Dern little white bass can stil be a problem. Good luck