Like the title says- new to chasing kings, but wanting to get into it... economically? To start, I'm not in the great lakes region- I'm out in Montana, but there is a fishery for stocked kings in freshwater about 4 hours away. The king fishing here kicks off about now, from 75-120' down, and runs for another couple months. Deepest the reservoir gets is 160ft, but I don't think the fish run that deep. Primary forage is cisco- a type of lake herring, and the kings average in the teens with fish getting over 20 pretty regularly. This is about everything I've been able to learn from the limited articles, reports, and the odd youtube video.
Looking at running 4 magnum dipsy's to get to depth. Thinking 8'6" Okuma combos (Great Lakes line counters) out the sides & back, 30# braid. Snubbers, too. Flasher+fly/hoochie, agitator + herring, and spoons (in order of preference). Maybe some plugs or even balsa cranks if I'm feeling adventurous.
I feel like this avoids the cost of downriggers, give me the ability to use the rods for other applications, and the versatility to take them on other boats (friend has a ski boat he wants to try this from). My boat is a 14' Klamath, so I'm limited to good weather days- other days will have me hiding in bays to chase walleye & northerns. Thinking the stern rods need to be the deep rods, with the side rods running slightly out and shallower.
Any thoughts on this setup? Has anyone run a program like this successfully, or used the rods in question?