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I started trolling a bit this year. Had good luck with Bandits. Also experimented with Dipsy Divers later in the summer with some good luck. However, lost a couple rigs when line broke while retrieving dipsy with no fish on. Using 10 lb mono. Did I just have the dipsy latch set too tight or should I be using heavier line?
10lb might be to light. I use 17lb with no issues.
Also, you will probably have better luck with braid on the Dipseys, no stretch, easier to release the “latch”.
The gold standard most guys use for dipseys is 30lb braid powerpro in hi vis yellow.Ten pounds mono too light for a dipsey going over 2mph.
Thanks all. So do you dedicate separate rods for bandits or do you troll them with the 30 lb braid?
30 lb. braid should be fine for trolling although you don't need more than 20 lb. I always put a 6 to 8 foot fluoro leader on minimum 12 lb. test. Just gives a better chance for picky fish not to see the braided line.
I am planning on going out Friday, is Huron still the hot spot?
We use separate rods for braid that we use for dipsies and mono for trolling inline boards.You can use braid for inline boards but the braid can slip thru the releases more easily than mono.We use 15lb Maxima mono on our trolling rods.I own 6 line counters reel/ rods.Got braid on two and mono on the other four.I have used the mono rods when trolling 4 dipsies with no problem in the past.But I never have tried running the braid on inline boards.My buddy,that I frequently fish with now also has 6 line counters rods with two braid and 4 mono.So with our combined rods can now run 4 braid on dipsies and 6 inline boards with mono.
Just started fishing erie this year. Troll 98% of the time. I just spooled my reels up with 10# berkley xt only because that's what the precision trolling data app uses for their depth chart. Its held up really well too.
I have all my reels spooled with either mono or fluoro backing, then filled with 30# braid (color not important), then 25-30 ft of 25lb fluoro tied with Albright specials or double unis. The fluoro is invisible to the fish.
I can run dipsys or cranks off of any rod without fear of breaking the line. Leaders from dipsys for spoons or shallow cranks are 6-7ft of 25lb fluoro.
Have been using Dipsey's on Lake Erie for some 40 years or so in the New York Eastern Basin waters out of Dunkirk and Barcelona. Start with the smaller ones in June and by late July am using the Magnum #3's to reach the 60 to 80 feet down levels to target walleye. With the 0 and #1 I use 20# braid and 12# leader. With the #3 Magnum I'm using a 50# braid and 20# XT leader and using 10' Ugly Stik Dipsey Diver Rods.
when trolling I only use 20 LBS braided with a leader of 20 or 25 mono or fluoro
I would not troll even on local lakes with any 10 LB line
10 LB line will keep breaking when trolling
10 LB is for drifting
if you are only using mono with no leader I would switch to braided with a mono leader
mono is a lesser line it stretches and makes the line weaker than it breaks
braided with a mono leader is far greater
using a dipsy your leader would have to be about the length of your pole
anything longer makes it hard to land the fish
E Bay has the lowest prices on line
Lures Pro has a thinner line for about 37 dollars for 1000 meters
after that the price goes up