Dagwood

Lost 6 fish on the dipsey last night. Just could not keep them hooked. Going to shorten my leader so easier to handle in my 17 footer. That may help but any advice to a rookie on how to keep them hooked. Here is the setup: braid dipsey, snubber, 9 ft rod with an 11ft leader, big paddle and 36" fly leader. Fly had 2 single hooks. That's just fishin too. Great night on the water and lots of fish being caught. Thanks, Dave

My son did not want to even post this report (especially after seeing the full coolers at the cleaning station) but hopefully someone can lend some advice. 100 fow. Went 1 for 7. 11# king. Braid dipsey on 2 150 back big white paddle and chartreuse BW fly. Missed on 300 copper with bloody nose, rigger with mountain dew SD and pickled sunshine fly- 80 down. (not sure if that is a good combo or not). All the rest were on the dipsey. Had a monster (at least for us) to the back of the boat and shook it off on a little run toward the boat. Then a bad net job on another nice one and that one was off. The others smacked the dipsey crazy hard and fought them for a bit and then nothing. It seems like there is so much hardware (dipsey, paddle) in the water that when the fish makes a run there is a lot of resistance and easy to pull the hooks out. The fly had 2 single hooks as well. Was a real learning experience however. Also going to shorten my leader so it is easier to handle. Probably will look for some advice and post on the salmon pro forum. Still was very exciting for the rookies. Good luck, Dave

What do you mean by high and low diver?

That's cool!

Great thanks for the info.

Fished last night from 6-8:45. Electrical problem with riggers so only fished with 3 rods- Full copper, braid dipsey, and half core down the chute. Finished 3 for 4. All kings- 11#'s, 6, and a shaker. All around 125 fow. 2 were on full copper with DW glow bloody nose that I just got as a present from my son. The shaker came on the dipsey 125 back on 2 with a big white spinny with a green BW fly. The one we lost came on the dipsey when we were fighting the 11 pounder. Took off screaming and the wife couldn't get it out of the rod holder...never the less a great night on the water with the family. Rehooked everything up this morning and magically the riggers work. Go figure. Lots of big fish at the cleaning station. A big thanks to all everyone who put that cleaning station in. Holland is our new favorite port.

What size convectors and do they have line counters?

Going to start looking for 2 new rigger rod combo's. Any suggestions on what to buy? Also, what lb test line and brand should I put on? Does the fleaflicker line really work? Thanks always for all the advice. Dave

I carefully take the rod out of the holder and bring it into the boat so I can reach the line and then hook the slider on.

I am curious on the rubberbands. How do you attach the slider to the rubberband and mainline?

Fished with free sliders for the 1st time last night. Dumb question but when a fish hits the slider does the rod start bouncing in the rod holder like it does when it hits the main line? Is it suppose to release from the ball as soon as it hits? As I was marking a school of bait fish last night the rod started to "jiggle" not really bounce and wasnt sure if a fish was hitting the slider or maybe the bait hitting the line? Great night on the water. Fished solo and landed my biggest king to date- 14.1#'s Thanks, Dave

Wow! I'm jealous. How deep and where? We went south and had little luck.

69 degrees at pier in Holland this morning. 72 at surface in 100 fow.

Nice fish! I wish we could of got ours in like that this morning. Oh well, great morning on the water.

Quick trip out of Holland this morning. 1 for 4. Had to go deep for a laker so my son could wake up. Sorry don't know my fly names but large green paddle with green/white fly. Had a monster steelie or king on that we could not budge. Fought him for a good 15 min. That was on a dipsey with large white/blue SD and white/blue fly. Also had nice rip on full core with a lemon ice spoon. Lots of boats and fleas not as bad. Saw 5-6 fish surfacing when we first got out. We were between 70 and 100 fow. Marked a lot of fish all morning just could not get them to go. A lot of perch fisherman but guy at ramp said he only caught 1 and saw very few caught. Hope to get out all weekend. Buddy in Pentwater nailed the big kings this morning. Good luck, Dave

Ok thanks. I will let you know how we did.

What if I put a 2oz or 4oz dive bomb on a mono rod and put a board on that? Would that work?

Going out of Holland in the morning (8/5). Where should I go and what should I use? I will give a report as soon as I get back. Thanks, Dave

Who carries JP Slammers and BLL's? Also, can I put out 5 colors on my full core if I run it down the chute? I know I can't attach the board to the core.

I only run a 5 rod spread with a core down the chute. 2 riggers, 300 Cu, braid dipsey, and the full core. I would like to target a rod or two for steelies. What is the best setup to put a steelie in the box? Color and size spoon? Thanks again, Dave

Good idea. Thanks for the advice. Next time out I try sliders for the first time and more attention to speed, currents, and direction. More questions to follow... Thanks again.

I've read a lot of the different posts on speed but Sat. night out of GH I am on a south troll and catch a king at 2.8 on the gps. I turn and go north thru the same area without touching the throttle and I am going 2.2 (the lake was calm) and feel like we are standing still. With no probe if I catch a fish at 2.8 should I stay at that speed no matter the direction? I am not sure on the whole blowback thing and how current effects the speed at the ball besides sometimes it is faster and sometimes slower. How do you tell with no probe? Maybe I am making this more complicated than it has to be but would like to catch more than one fish each trip to keep the kids interested. Dazed and confused, Dave

What channel is everyone on out of Grand Haven and Holland? I thought it was 68. But total silence on Sat. night so I thought I had the channel screwed up.

Good idea. Especially with kids on board.

Great night on the water with the family. Fished until 10. Just not enough fish. Went 1-2. 10# king on mixed vegy. 39 down on rigger- 100 fow. Belly was full of 3" minnows. Fleas very bad. Sure wish I could catch more than 1 fish per trip. Good luck and thanks for all the replies to my endless questions. Dave