Jump to content

StarvinPilgrim

Members
  • Posts

    7
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

StarvinPilgrim's Achievements

1

Reputation

  1. Gotcha. Slide divers look kind of interesting- I'll have to dig into those more. Fort Peck isn't nearly as clear as Lake Michigan, so I'm not certain if a slide diver would be required for the stealthiness of presentation. I was looking into the SWR for a while when considering downriggers, but that seems overly complex for the conditions I'm looking at. But if something is the best setup for my budget, then I'm all for it. There's also a lot of terrain features in the dam area that might be better to keep shorter lines to troll around. Could be why everyone I've heard of uses downriggers.
  2. Interesting. How do you get the bigger weight- do they sell them independently, or do you have to buy the magnum and cannibalize it? And given the schedules this year, I'll probably be shooting for next year on targeting them. Gives me plenty of time to figure out the right setup and shop around for some deals.
  3. Actually, I think I've got a better idea now that I've slept on it. Buy the four Okuma Great lakes trolling combos for the dipsies, but then by some lighter rods and swap the reels onto those as needed. Doesn't have to be anything fancy for me, just something. Do you think these rods will work for a mag dipsy in the 9-ft medium heavy power? https://www.tacklehaven.com/okuma-great-lakes-line-counter-trolling-combos/
  4. And that's why I came here for advice. I was really hoping to double-duty these rods for walleye and Kokanee trolling, so I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on full set of heavy action rods. I know that's probably not realistic given the size difference of the target species, but a man can dream, right? If I backed off one size on the dipsy diver and set the drag to where it slips occasionally while trolling, would I be able to get away with a medium or medium heavy action? I feel like I'd still be able to hit 100 ft with 30 lb braid and running them way back- and I thought running them way back was preferable for kings, anyways.
  5. 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?
  6. I'm trying to figure out how to get the depth without the cost- even $150 per manual downrigger seemed steep to me, especially since release clips and balls are more on top of that. I was initially thinking about running a torpedo cuda in front of 3 colors of leadcore, but the depth charts seem to indicate I would max out at the top range of the chinook depths (80-100'). I was very interested in stacking rigs, too- especially with a shuttlehawk, and I don't see that being possible with a torpedo. Cheaters, maybe with flex-seal-dipped swivels, but not a stack. I think I have a decent idea, though- saw a 4ft "snagging rod" today for $25, and I should be able to couple that with a hefty baitcast (like an old used Penn) and 90# braid or heavier and an 8-10# cannonball. Mark the braid every 5 feet, put it in a rodholder and send it down. Long story short- I could definitely see myself going overboard on this... Might try the Kokanee game this week on my days off, just as soon as I can get the motor to run...
  7. Moved to MT a couple years ago as a metallurgist, and now find myself in posession of a 14' all-welded Klamath and 15hp outboard. Now this might not seem relevant to anyone, but there is a reservoir here with chinook salmon that routinely get over 20lbs, as well as lakers in the deeper haunts. The best part is- there are places to fish with that size boat on good weather days. And there are some places with kokanee a bit closer to home, just to get out and knock around, plus walleye and northern in places. And for anyone concerned for my safety/mental health- a friend has a 23' ski boat that he's interested in trying to troll out of. So I'd rather go out half-armed and half-witted than unarmed and dull-witted. Which brings us to here- I figured I'd join up on a forum that knows more about trolling for freshwater salmon than anywhere else- a Great Lakes forum. You guys have to deal with clear water, no salt, deep fish, and decent amounts of pressure- about what I'm gonna be looking at out here. Heck, there's probably more salmon gurus on here than there are salmon fishermen in my entire state. I'll probably lurk for quite a while before having anything decent to post, so just bear with me. And then, it'll probably be about rigging tips while avoiding major expenses. Tight lines- StarvinPilgrim
×
×
  • Create New...