Umbrella Rigs Report

[cooleyfarms]

I tried umbrella rigs on half my trolling rods during the season and my results are as follows ; I used 3 wire rigs with 2 6 inch wires on the outside and 1 8 inch wire in the center. 1 rig was on a dipsey diver with 3 michigan stingers and 1 rig was on a jet diver with 3 stingers on the same side of the boat. On the other side of the boat I used 1 stinger behind a dipsey diver on one pole and a stinger behind a jet diver on the other pole. I started my season the 1st of june and finished 1st week of october. During June and 3 weeks of July there was virtually no difference in the amount and size of walleye caught by either method. At the end of july, trash fish started to hit hard and the three stinger rig would have 3 trash fish which caused excitement until the catch was viewed. In august walleyes quit hitting the umbrella rigs entirely and I switched all rods back to one lure. Surprisingly, snagging in the landing net was no worse than a single lure, and tangles when storing the rods were uncommon. We did not catch more than one walleye at a time on the umbrella rigs but were hoping to do so. The rigs were legal and I carried a copy of DOW's website ruling with me. Three hooks per pole are allowed and a treble hook is considered one hook. Stingers are a spoon that has one treble hook so three on one pole are legal. Good Luck to everyone next season.