Luhr-Jensen J-Plug for Stripers?

[wcarah]

I have a number of Luhr-Jensen J-Plugs in various colors and dressings that were used for Great Lakes salmon.  Regretably, the Great Lakes salmon fishery is in decline and it got me to thinking about using these lures for other species.  I get to both the east and west coasts periodically for fishing and I was wondering if anyone in the forum had used these lures for stripers, blues or similar game?

[akfish]

I've heard they are good for stripers. I'm sure blues would hit them too, but you';d need to rig them with wire. That may affect their action.

[Keta]

I have a few I rigged with single strand wire, they run good but not at wahoo speeds.

[alantani]

stripers will hit pretty much anything that moves, right?

[Dominick]

stripers will hit pretty much anything that moves, right?

If Dom can catch them I guess so .  Dominick

[wcarah]

Thanks to all for their input.  I guess wire would be needed if Blues are around.  I'll have to experiment with wire and see how it affects lure action.  The normal movement is a rapid wiggle of the tail end of the lure when it is trolled at even slow speeds.  It probably sends out a lot of vibration into the surrounding water as you can feel it in the line during trolling.

I have always fished them at depth with downriggers in the Great Lakes.  You do not hear or see much about downriggers used in trolling for stripers in the northeast.  As far as I'm concerned, downriggers are the best way to keep your lure where you want it in the water column.  However, there is little current in Lake Huron whereas there is likely a lot of complications using downriggers in the ocean.

I'd like to hear other person's experiences using downriggers for Striper and Blue fishing.

Warren

[Alto Mare]

stripers will hit pretty much anything that moves, right?

If Dom can catch them I guess so .  Dominick

[whalebreath]

I know Tomic plugs are popular for Stripers so  J-Plugs probably work too.

[broadway]

If Dom can catch them I guess so .  Dominick

Hey Dominick and Sal, do you guys like offshore fishing?  Maybe, I should take ya's with the guy from Pilkguns and leaningposts.com... Looks like I got a boat full of chum!  

Stripers can be very picky at times, but yes J-plugs do/will work. There are better options, but if ya already got 'em, use 'em!  Just make sure the hooks and hardware are solid.  Blues on the other hand would even attack one of Dominick's paintless cedar plugs!  



Warren,

     The answer to your questions are yes and yes.  You can use downriggers without a problem in the ocean as long as you pay attention to the depth of the ball.  We only have 10' - 70' of water where we fish for stripers with lots of bottom contours going from 55'-30' in seconds.  You should know the area before you troll the riggers.  For years I trolled dipseys and downriggers on Lake Michigan for kings, cohos, steelhead, and lakers... I love depth control cause you can really hone in on 'em!
Dipsey's I did try about 2 years ago, but if you're not going with the current you can't keep the line on the rod unless you use about 20lbs of drag... it's crazy!

Best of luck,
Dom

[wcarah]

Hi Dom,

Yikes! With bottom contours that swing over 20 feet in seconds you could litter the bottom with lost cannon balls.  The Great Lakes usually have very uniform bottoms, so snagging a weight is not common.  If you play it safe in an undulating bottom, then you usually don't get the lure where you need it. I can see where knowing the bottom well is essential to successful downrigger fishing in salt water.  My downriggers have a drag mechanism of sorts to deal with snags, but in heavy seas the rise and fall of the boat puts a whipping action on the wire which often results in a break if you don't scramble to relieve the load.

I've also used Dipsey Divers on the Great Lakes, but not in saltwater.  I can see where going against the current would require a gorilla drag to hold the line.  I frequently use outriggers as well, but using line clips strong enough to hold a diving lure also means dragging smaller fish around for hours not knowing they are there.  So, Ill try my J-Plugs and downriggers this summer and see how it goes.  Thanks for your comments.

Warren

[broadway]

Give it a shot... it can be done, but there will be a learning curve.  I look forward to your findings.
Best of luck,
Dom