trolling/diver help

[870 ExpressMag]

So we used to fish Erie all the time, stopped going after grandpa passed away for about 8yrs. The program has changed big time from what we used to do, so now I am trying to figure it all back out and have some questions. I went on a charter a couple of weeks ago out of Port Clinton, we did something I have never done before, casting worm harnesses while drifting. By god we caught fish! So We took our boat out of Bolles Harbor and went around turtle island, i tied up some harnesses just like we used on the charter and we had a decent day. Now I wanna try to get trolling figured out, we used to troll erie deeries and hotntots and just let line out and let em go. Last weekend we did use the harnesses with the 3/4oz weight and just let em out and trolled and we did get a few fish. So I know to use the divers correctly I will need a line counter. Can i use the diver without boards? if i do that, will it really pull hard on the rod? which divers should i get? if i need boards, which boards? and then am i correct that once i do the line counter and diver, and/or board, i can use spoons, harnesses, etc? sorry so long just trying to figure out what i might need to get started trolling. i been reading a lot of posts and watching youtube videos, but the details sometimes are assumed that someone already knows. just trying to put it all together

[jm gremore]

For what it's worth, here is just what I do. I use off shore planner boards with worm harnesses. I use a 5 ft 10# leader tied to a 3oz in line weight. I troll 1.5 to 2 mph. In 30 ft of water, I let the line out 25 ft. This has been working for me.

[stubby]

as far as linecounters, just pull out 50' of line on your reels and spray paint the line.....go every 25' or so if you want until you buy some line counters.
some line counters are not that accurate anyway. be sure you fish with full spools...jmo...good luck....

[FishOn205]

870 Mag ..

yes you can use divers without boards but nee to make sure that you troll in a straight line or you will end with a big ol mess of fishing line and divers! no fun..

The jet diver will pull on the rod but wont hurt anything at all... if you don't use boards it wont pull near as hard as if you do use boards.. either way is perfectly fine if you have trolling rods..

I would recommend 40 tru trip jet divers .. they are easy to use and work very well.. most guys I know run them and love them..

I would recommend if you want to run boards just starting out that you try the yellow inline boards first. just set your diver and lure out to your desired distance then clip it right on to your fishing line and then let more line out until you are satisfied with how far from the boat/ other boards it is.. once you get the divers you can in fact run harnesses and spoons off of them.. you will need some kind of leader going from the jet to the spoon or harness (length of leader is personal preference)

line counter reels are definitely a major help!! yes stubby is right .. sometimes they don't work but that can be fixed by calibrating the reel.. there is a pretty good you tube video on how to do so. line counter reels don't actually count the line that's being unspooled .. they are designed to turn the numbers with the revolution of the spool itself which is predetermined from the factory.. it all has to do with the diameter of the spool (how much line is or isn't on the spool) .. it sounds confusing but once you watch the video and do it its really not that bad and honestly worth the little bit of confusion so you know its accurate..

I would recommend stopping into Dreamcatcher Fishing Bait and Tackle on route 2 and talk to Dave sometime..he is a very good friend of mine and very knowledgeable and will be able to get you set up and explain the whole deal start to finish with what you need .. No I am not trying to get him more business or am in no way affiliated with any sales made at the store.. he is the one that got me set up trolling and he is successful at trolling and is willing to help out anyone whether you buy your gear from him or not.

I hope this helps

[870 ExpressMag]

thanks for the good info.....so if i run divers off of boards, i set the diver and harness or lure out there and put it out the desired distance per the counter, so it goes to my desired depth, once that amount of line is out i then clip the board to the line and let out more, so that the length of line i desire is from the board to the diver/lure, correct? so that means when i hook a fish and start bringing it in, when the board gets to my pole you have to stop reeling and remove it? on the counters, we thought about just getting the counters that clip to the poles and using our exisiting setups, and our thinking was if the counters are all the same and clip to the pole, they might be more consistant to each other?

[wakina]

thanks for the good info.....so if i run divers off of boards, i set the diver and harness or lure out there and put it out the desired distance per the counter, so it goes to my desired depth, once that amount of line is out i then clip the board to the line and let out more, so that the length of line i desire is from the board to the diver/lure, correct? so that means when i hook a fish and start bringing it in, when the board gets to my pole you have to stop reeling and remove it? on the counters, we thought about just getting the counters that clip to the poles and using our exisiting setups, and our thinking was if the counters are all the same and clip to the pole, they might be more consistant to each other?

If you are using braided line the clip on counters do not work well, they work best with mono line, braid is to slippery and slides through the counter wheels without registering the line that slips through. In all reality the clip on counters are more accurate than line counter reels. They measure the line that passes thru the counter while the line counter reel measures line from the number of revolutions. Clip on counters are accurate even if your reel is only partially full.

Jet divers and tru- trip divers are to me the easiest to use. Dipsys move away from the boat and can be set for port or starboard but require more patience when setting them out. Tadpole divers are also easier to set out but both the dipsy diver and the tadpole will sink if you have to slow up or stop making them more likely to snag the bottom if your leads are longer than the water is deep and you are over a rocky bottom. Dipseys will also tumble if your speed gets to slow or if you are forced to stop. You must also remember that the various divers have their own unique dive cure and the lead length to obtain a certain depth for one type of diver will not be the same for a different type diver to acquire the same depth.

[Madd Matt]

Quick Response:

Line Counters - Great! if they are built in. Otherwise, mark your line every 25 feet with good nail polish or paint for now.

Divers - Fantastic idea... however many of us that use divers also run in line weights (ie.. 2oz inline) on worm harnesses anyway so in-line weights are fine too for worm harnesses. You can google in-line weight depth charts and get depths based on weight and speed and line length... If you do use divers, i recommend 40 Tru Trips. Most reports you hear on the radio will be for 40 Tru Trips, or will be for something that you can easily convert to work with 40 Tru Trips. Dipsy Divers are a good alternative if you only have 2 guys and are running 4 rods as they are directional and you can set them to run away from the boat, and 2 to run straight behind, or slightly offset.

If you are going to use offshore boards, you will have to get advise from someone who uses them. I went from your situation of drifting and being gone for a couple years, straight to the big outrigger boards. I love them!

I'd recommend that you go out with Skipper9 (Eye Hunter Charters) for a trip. He has spots open for a walk-on every once in a while. Tell him that you only want to go with him to learn how to troll. He will give you more knowledge than you can absorb in a trip and give it freely. Well... for the price of the charter. He won't hold anything back, and he will even give you a couple good baits that he or his first mate have custom made and painted... (Now watch, I'll get an invoice for 2 lures) lol I don't have any connection with Skipper9 other than I leach information from him whenever I can. He hasn't stopped taking my calls yet.

[870 ExpressMag]

Thanks for the info, as of right now only one of my rods has braid on it, i just put it on due to loving it on the rod i used on the charter. the rest of them still have mono, but may be switching more over to braid because i love the feel. so if i use a trutrip 40 and a board, this will help keep me from tangling up all the lines as opposed to just using divers? we have two pole holders, one out each side, and 3 spaced acrossed the back of the boat, a lot of time we troll 4 rods as 5 can sometimes get the lines pretty close especially when weaving between drifting boats, so probably boards is my best bet for keeping things un-tangled? i have never run a board before and am not familiar. My plan is to get out on skipper9 boat sometime, only reason i went on the other charter was one of the manufacturers we sell for took a bunch of dealers out so i didnt get to pick, but it was a free trip! are trolling rods really a necessity right now? i have been trolling 6ft med action fast tip rods, and a 7' med ugly stik and havnt had any problems yet, but dont know what will happen with the new hardware pulling behind em

[Madd Matt]

Thanks for the info, as of right now only one of my rods has braid on it, i just put it on due to loving it on the rod i used on the charter. the rest of them still have mono, but may be switching more over to braid because i love the feel. so if i use a trutrip 40 and a board, this will help keep me from tangling up all the lines as opposed to just using divers? we have two pole holders, one out each side, and 3 spaced acrossed the back of the boat, a lot of time we troll 4 rods as 5 can sometimes get the lines pretty close especially when weaving between drifting boats, so probably boards is my best bet for keeping things un-tangled? i have never run a board before and am not familiar. My plan is to get out on skipper9 boat sometime, only reason i went on the other charter was one of the manufacturers we sell for took a bunch of dealers out so i didnt get to pick, but it was a free trip! are trolling rods really a necessity right now? i have been trolling 6ft med action fast tip rods, and a 7' med ugly stik and havnt had any problems yet, but dont know what will happen with the new hardware pulling behind em

There are people far better than I to address your questions, but no one has answered yet, so I'll give you my 2 cents.

If you are comfortable currently trolling 5 rods, you may not "need" boards. Dippy divers will get your side rods away from the boat, and you can use a setting (0,1,2,3) on them. If you set them on "0" they go straight back... Theoretically. If you set them on "3" they will swim offset a great deal. So in short, if you ran dipseies off the side on a 3 setting, the 2 corner rods off the back at a 1.5 setting, and the middle rod at a "0" setting, then you would have a nice fanned out spread.

Sounds good.. However, you now have 3 rods directly out the back of the boat (or close to it). There are a lot of fisherman who swear that one of the best reasons for using boards is to get out away from the boat because the lines behind the boat are being trolled through water that fish just swam away from because of the fact that your boat and engine just went through it. If fish are swimming away from the noise of your boat, they are going to swim left or right and when they do, all of your lines are 8' - 100' away (using big boards).

I troll 95% of the time. I use MH 6'6" or 7' ugly stix. I catch a lot of fish. There are far more expensive, and even better rods... I've just never spent the money and I catch plenty of fish.

Keep in mind, Dipsey divers are lead based weight diver and sink when not moving. Jet divers are a "fin" based diving system and when they stop moving they float... Regardless of hitting the bottom if you stop, you will need to decide what happens to your lines when you stop. Your setup will determine what the best system to use is. For example, you may want to run Dipsey divers out the side and jets out the back, one maybe 1 jet straight out the back... When you stop with jets and they get slack in the line, because they float, they float at all directions and if you lines are extremely close together then they could possibly tangle.

Boards will help you get your lines away from the boat so you can catch all those fish that hear a boat and run for cover, supposedly... I joke about that, while I am one who strongly believes that this is a true fact, I also am proven wrong all the time when we catch as many or more fish on the lines closest to the boat, or in our wake behind the boat as we do the lines 100' out. And all the ones in between.

-Matt

[870 ExpressMag]

thanks for all the good info guys, i am kinda on information overload! Anyways, couple more questions before i start accumulating some gear little by little....

spinning reels with add on counters, or line counter reels preferred?
if line counting reels, are they switchable side to side as most i see are right hand crank and i crank left hand.

on the tru-trip 40's, what color? probably only get 1 or 2 to start out with

i may try to run a diver without a board first just to get the hang of things, or will this just frustrate me?

also with reef runners, they dive themselves so no need for a diver with these correct? however you can still run them off boards?

once again thanks for the info guys