Fishing with the Morris Crew...Jeff, Jeffery, and Christian 8/23/2021

I had to be extra quiet this morning, because my sister and brother-in-law, who were staying with me over the weekend, and are not used to getting up as early as I am, were still sleeping. It messed with my routine a bit, but, seeing and spending quality time with them, was worth every kink in my neck from sleeping on Dexter's couch for the past three nights. lol


I told my crew I would pick them up at the White Caps Motel at 5:45, but when I arrived 10 minutes early, they were already standing outside waiting on me to arrive. After the usual greetings and putting their stuff in the boat, they jumped in the truck, and we headed through town towards Marblehead.


The boat and truck were already gassed up...so, we only needed ice this morning. We headed to Dempsey's to launch, and were in the water by 6:20. We cut through Bay Point Marina, and headed NE when we got out on the lake.


The lake was pretty calm at that time, so it was mostly flat with a little ripple going across the top of the surface. The forecast, was calling for wind to pick up a little later in the morning, but it would be nothing to worry about. It was SW to start and then was starting to switch to NW by the time we ended the morning. Waves were never over 2 feet.


What worked....just about anything worked.


We set up with Baby Spros (85s), on the port side, behind Off Shore boards, and ran them 120, 100, and 65 back with no weight.
On the starboard side, we ran a Ripplin Redfin 50/90 w/2oz (total of 140 back...weight on at the 50 mark)
A #7 Flicker Shad at 40/40 w/2oz
A Yaleye Mooneye Minnow 35/35 w/20z
The starboard side eventually was swapped out to Mag 44's at 50/90, 50/75, and 40/40...and, the port side was changed to the Adult Spros (Madeye 120s), because the speed was blowing them out and twisting the line with the Babies.


Dipsies were set on the zero, two, and three settings and ran spoons.
The zero setting ran at 45, 50, 54 at different times.
The two setting ran at 75 and 80 back, and the three setting ran at 90 back.


Speed was at 2.5mph.


Everything caught fish! Colors were all over the place too, but the Red Headed Wonderbread took the most.


It wasn't a slam fest on the keepers, but it was always busy in the boat bringing fish in. A lot of them around Cedar Point are in that group just under 15", so next year, those fish will be nice, healthy keepers. I can't wait. :)


Jeff, and his two sons, had a great time. I let them do the netting, since they seemed capable, and they did not disappoint. No one got "fired" from net duty this morning, like they usually do. lol
I usually don't let customers net, but since they were there to have fun and spend time with each other, I didn't think it would hurt to let them try it. If they lost fish, I don't think they would have cared.


Jeff told me on the way in that he wants to make this an annual trip, so he can spend this time with his boys for as long as they want to. Jeffery and Christian both agreed to the idea, so that makes me happy! :)


I thought I had a trip tomorrow, but I forgot to remove the name that was listed, because he said he came down with COVID, and would be rescheduling for a September trip instead....oops. My bad. Looks like I have an unexpected day off. But, I'm not complaining...I need a good night's sleep tonight.


My next trip is Wednesday, and my crew is coming in from Wisconsin. John Stanzyk and his crew want to start with perch and then if there's time, they want to try for some walleye.


Stay tuned....


Capt Juls

Great report as usual Juls....

I really look forward to hearing what you have to say!

You seem to be a master at using Dipsy's for Walleye.

There seems to be a shortage of #1 Dipsy's at the moment. A big shortage. Apparently the Dipsy #1's are about 4" in diameter.

I was able to buy two Dipsy "like" Deeper Divers off Ebay, but these are a bit smaller at 92 mm which works out to be about 3 5/8" in diameter.

Did I make a mistake buying the smaller Deeper Divers or is there not much difference, etc.

I have heard some people say that they like the Deeper Divers better than the Dipsy's. Since they have no ring, etc.

They make Dispy's and Deeper Divers in a variety of colors, but I don't recall you saying what colors you use.
Does that matter?

Can you shed any wisdom on Dipsy "type" divers?

Thanks,
Dave

Dave, don’t mean to horn in. The Capt. Certainly has much more experience than I. But one thing I do know, regardless of the devices that are used, one needs to know the tested data that proves the depth curve of any device we use. If the divers you bought came with that data, or if it can be acquired, you have high percentage of what you need and they should work just fine to the depths, line lengths, line types, and speeds that are recorded.
Use the data and your sonar to place your baits where the fish your are targeting are at. Then just keep on learning. This place is one great source of information. ;)

Dreamweaver deeper divers dive chart can be found online.
I’ve been pulling them for a few years now. Haven’t had any problems with them. Mine are all black.
Hope this helps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dipweed

I was able to buy two Dipsy "like" Deeper Divers off Ebay, but these are a bit smaller at 92 mm which works out to be about 3 5/8" in diameter.

Did I make a mistake buying the smaller Deeper Divers or is there not much difference, etc.

They make Dispy's and Deeper Divers in a variety of colors, but I don't recall you saying what colors you use.

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Morning Dave,
I don't have any experience with the ones you bought. Just try them. I'm sure the packaging came with a dive curve chart for them. As long as the dive curve is correct, you should be able to look at your electronics and see where the fish are hanging out at and target the depth just above them.

I like plain black ones best.....for no particular reason. I have all kinds of colors, but I always put the black ones on. It's just my preference.

Good Morning Captain Juls,

Thanks everyone for responding.

These are the ones I bought.
82 Archives - Dreamweaver Lures
They have a brief chart on the webpage which I guess is a start.

I'm using 30 lb Spiderwire braid to connect to the diver. That line is crazy thin. I've always used monofilament in the past.

I am using some old Penn 209 reels that my Dad gave me and I had to wind some monofilament onto the spool first before I put on the Spiderwire line. Otherwise the drum was way too small in diameter for this high tech braided line.

Are there any phone apps worthwhile that work with these? Or am I complicating things? I sometimes tend to overthink things.

So I read that many folks use fluorocarbon line for a leader between the diver and the lure.
I have a bunch of 20lb Monofilament. Would I be dumb to use that instead of buying some fluorocarbon line?

I've read that others commonly use black divers as well. I wonder if walleye might try and hit the diver if it is too flashy? That could be counter productive.

I guess I can paint the ones I have black if they don't work well as they are. Or should I just paint them black and be done with it?

Thanks, Dave

I use 17-20 # mono for the leader because it has some stretch in case a salmon or steely hits it. You can get away with fluoro also but beware the salmonids.
Rickerd

The color of the dipsey is not that important.I would not attempt to paint a dipsey.Would be afraid the paint would affect the mechanism parts of the dipsey.You can use the mono for leader too.No problem using mono.Some guys actually prefer it.

The Precision Trolling Data App has the info for the Lure Jensen Size 1 Dipsies for 0,1,2, and 3 settings.

Pretty sure that other diver you're using is not listed.

I would not paint them either.

I use 20# mono (Sunline Supernatural in green....line diameter of .018) It's the same line I use on my trolling rods.

I use 30# power pro on my dipsey reels....I also use a snubber with my leaders.

Thanks for the info everyone.

So I didn't know that snubbers existed except for dock lines. So I did some googling and reading.

Juls, do you use the snubbers made by Luhr Jensen? I read on some other old posts that some "make their own" but no details were given??

I guess the idea is that the snubber allows the fish to take the bait and not have it yanked out of their mouths so quickly so the hook can set?

So you use Mono on your trolling rods when you are dragging diving lures. But you use braid on your dipsy rods?
Since I don't have that many rods, I was going to use braid on all of them and use them to pull dipsy's and diving lures.

Does that sound like a bad idea? I know the braid has very little stretch while the mono is quite stretchy.

If I use all braid with diving lures (no dispy), am I going to lose a lot of fish?

Thanks! Dave

I bought 2 dipsy divers at central basin bait and tackle in vermilion yesterday

We have 8" snubbers on our dipseys also.They act as a shock absorber when bigger fish hit the lure and help keep the fish hooked up when playing the fish.I also believe they help prevent the dipsey from spinning when letting the line out.Been reading a long steelhead thread on OGF and they say the snubber is not enough to prevent line breaking,but the drag has to be set very loose for steelhead.
You can use braid for cranks and dipseys,but the main problem with braid when using the inline boards is that they slip out or through the releases.They make special releases for braid line,like the OR18 by offshore.Or you can wrap the braid around the release to hold it also.

I checked Cabelas in Dundee, MI and also Bass Pro in Toledo and Bass pro had one 4" Dipsey diver. Yes, only one.
All of the online places I checked were out of stock on the 4" Dipsey. So I bought two more of the deeper divers that I purchased before off Ebay, so now I have a set of 4, and 4 decent rods with braid. Which works with the 4 rod holders on my boat. I have the depth curves, so hopefully they work well. I think I am limited to 3 lines anyway if I am fishing by myself in Ohio, right?

I counted the number of lines that Juls had running mentioned at the top of this thread and I believe she mentioned 9 lines being set. I've trolled a lot in my past, over the years, but if we had two lines per person on the boat, that was a lot. I can't imagine dragging 9 lines. That would take some skills that I haven't acquired yet! So Planer boards are not in my plans yet. But obviously the more lines you have set, the greater your chances of catching fish.

Bass Pro shows stock on the snubbers so I will pick some up when I drive by there.
Is there a reason to get the 8" vs the 12" snubbers?

Thanks, Dave

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dipweed

I counted the number of lines that Juls had running mentioned at the top of this thread and I believe she mentioned 9 lines being set.

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When I have two customers, we run two boards per side and 4 dipsies, so only 8 of the 9 lines allowed.

When I have three customers, we run 3 boards per side and the 4 dipsies, for a total of 10 of the 12 allowable lines.

If they are experienced with boards, then we will run 4 boards per side and the 4 dipsies for 12 of the 12 allowable lines. But, seldom, do I have experienced customers who know how to run inline boards, so it's usually no more than three per side.

Keep it simple. :)

Ohio currently allows 3 lines per person.It really doesn't matter if 8 or 12" snubbers.Just want them all to be identical except maybe color.I have different color snubbers so I can keep track of what setting and what side of boat a particular dipsey is running.

itsbob:

Ok, Thanks. I'll see what I can find in snubbers.

Juls:
12 lines! I'm not seeing much "simple" in that! I thought that 9 lines would be overwhelming.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

Dave

the luhr jenson snubbers will wear out after a couple years...amish outfitters makes 8" ones...i have used them for a few years now and they are still good...one good thing though is when they wear out the swivles and snaps are heavy duty and are good for muskie fishing

Can anyone tell me about fishing a reef north east of Avon Point? Apparently comes up to 14 feet. GPS coordinates?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Davf

Can anyone tell me about fishing a reef north east of Avon Point? Apparently comes up to 14 feet. GPS coordinates?

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You might want to start your own thread with this question. You might get your answer faster. I don't fish Avon, so I have no clue what reef you're referring to. Sorry.

Apparently I have a deep misunderstanding of the fishing related gear business.

Today I managed to buy 5 Snubbers from Bass Pro in Rossford, OH.

I thought I could just buy some online but my initial search came up empty, and I found out that Bass Pro had a number of them in stock.
So today I stopped by Bass Pro in Rossford, OH and went to the marine equipment area where they sell boat seats, boat hardware along with downrigger supplies and Dipsey Divers.
A store guy was stocking in the same aisle so I asked him where the snubbers were that were shown as being in stock online.
He said they should be right in front of me. Nope. He explained that the management was rearranging the store and many things could not be found.

I thought: Perhaps they moved them to the fishing section? (where the Dipsey divers and downriggers should be, not next to the gas tanks)
Their fishing lure section is ridiculously big. As I entered the fishing area a women asked me if she could help me. I told her I was looking for snubbers made by Luhr Jenson and used behind Dipsey Divers. She replied: Oh, they should be in the marine equipment area. I told her they were not there. She was puzzled and suggested that they might be sold out.
Regardless, I started looking around in the fishing area. Sure enough, next to the wire leaders were the Luhr Jenson Snubbbers. They had 10 of the 12" units at $3.99 each.
I bought 5 of them. Half of their stock!

What is going on!?!?
There must be no more than 50 cents of material in these Snubbers and obviously Dipsey Divers are very popular on Lake Erie.
Bass Pro has huge amounts of money in fishing gear only has 10 Snubbers in stock? I bought half of their stock!!

This seems insane. What am I missing!

Dave

Feel most retail stores can't get qualified help. The help they do get wants to be on cell phone most of the time. Too easy to blame limited stock on covid, easier to have online merchandise only and cut down on overhead. Just a thought!

bass pro still is mainly bass fishing not lake erie fishing...always thought they and cabelas in dundee were missing a great money making opportunity by not supplying items for erie.

I buy the 6" snubbers locally, here at one of the bait shops in town. I try not to buy from the big box stores whenever possible.