deep trolling (spectra vs lead core vs wire)

Started by q3fishboy, May 10, 2018, 06:22:09 PM

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q3fishboy

Sheridan -

Please don't be sorry.  I mean that I am confounded.  Not that you are confusing things.

So, my understanding of the salmon regs is we have a 1 line + 2 hook + 4 pound lead limit per person.

The 4 pound lead limit is exempt if using a down rigger / a second line that releases.

In Santa Cruz, it seems like the fish are often caught pretty deep (hugging the bottom from 150-300 feet deep).

So, I started off interested in making a down rigger for when I go on boats that don't have a down rigger.

I was thinking just short / heavy rod with a level wind reel filled with spectra combined with release clips.

This has the obvious advantage of not having the weight on the line when you hook up and not loosing the weight either.

However, it obviously also includes the hassle of having 2 lines in the water at the same time.

At present, I have also never heard of anyone rigging multiple leaders to the same line that is released.

(Not stacking multiple lines on the same down rigger which counts as 2 lines and would require 2 people legally.)

The "wire line" option removes the hassle of having 2 lines in the water at the same time.

It also presents the option for 1 person to fish 1 line with 2 leaders at the same time legally.

So, it had an extra appeal so I was interested in exploring it and how to best get it down deep enough.

In an attempt to simplify, I started my original question of just how to troll deeper (spectra, lead core, wire, etc.).

Now, just thinking aloud, I wonder if you could rig up to use 2 leaders from a single mainline combined with a down rigger?

Maybe just a glorified hi/low rig but clipping the end of the line to the down rigger release clip instead of tying on a weight?

Swami805

Love it up there, was up the last weekend for my grandsons birthday. When I'd go salmon fishing up there I was relegated to cattle boats and mooching.
Hope you give it a whirl and try some some different setups, sounds feasible,just need to figure out the particulars. Maybe take a look at how the commercial trollers set up their gear.
Do what you can with that you have where you are

STRIPER LOU

Roy, another rod is not necessary. Just get some 1" EMT and bend it up so it fits the rod holder. You can make it any length and angle that makes you happy.

Best part is it will cost you next to nothing. Secure your reel on it and your good to go. Keep it together with the reel as a unit and move it from one boat to another.

.........Lou

q3fishboy

Sheridan -

I think the current wire line technique is as close to replicating what is done by the commercial trollers as possible while staying meeting the recreational regulations.

I think their biggest challenge is getting deep enough with the 4 pound weight limit, hence my original question.

Hope to fish with you again at some point, either up here or down in Santa Barbara.


Lou -

I already got another short/heavy rod, but is EMT just electrical conduit pipe/tubing?  How do you add an eye to the end of it?

I could see how you could bend it to fit in a rod holder and act as a down rigger rod and you could easily clamp a reel to it.


Thanks again for all of the help everyone.

David Hall

I know many folks who troll salmon with this technique on Monterey Bay very successfully.  You cannot use a release clip.  Limited to 4lns max.  Up to two leaders you can stack them however you want and when you hook up you reel up to your leader clip and hand line the fish to the boat.  The advantage?  You get to fish two separate rigs off one line I guess.  Most of the people I know use a good braided line on a large level wind reel. Pulling in 4lbs of lead is not a lot of fun especially at depth.  But it's productive and people who use it seem to stick with it.

gstours

Use the em tee conduit idea 💡 and add a simple pully idea like on a Scotty cheap o d rigger.   It can swivel and turn with the cable.  No more excuses.👌.  You are wasting time.🚣‍♀️

Keta

Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

oc1

#22
It seems like four pounds of lead would overwhelm any density differences in 200 feet of spectra, lead core and monel.
-steve

q3fishboy

David -

Thanks for the insight.  The could people I have talked to who use this setup use wire line.

I have heard that people still have some issues getting deep enough, hence the original question.

You said you have heard of people just using spectra as the mainline?

I think the other main advantage is when you don't have a down rigger and don't feel like using sinker releases...


Gary -

Thanks for the tips.


Keta -

I like the idea of mooching in general and getting to fight the fish without all that stuff (flasher etc.) on the line.

However, it seems like almost everyone here trolls, and mooching has a whole additional set of rules with it.


Steve,

So your impression is just straight spectra tied to the 4 pound lead would get me the deepest?

I wasn't sure, I just kind of assumed that some guys use a wire mainline tied to the weight to try and get deeper...

oc1

200 ft of monel will weigh about three quarters of a pound.  Spectra is about neutrally buoyant so 200 ft would weigh nothing in water.  If the extra 3/4 lb is worth the gripe of using wire line then go for it.
-steve

q3fishboy

Steve,

Thanks for the reality check that we are arguing about 3/4 of a pound for spectra verse monel.

Guessing the spectra is thinner too, so, even less of an actual difference.


gstours

If you're talking using spectra for your downrigger that would be the best and smaller diameter the better.   If you're using a four pound lead use Twenty or more spectra.   Assuming that you are trolling.
   Forgot the wire for light lead recreational trolling.   All that for two cents? ;)