Sliders are dead- what's my issue?

[Hotdog71]

I was looking through my log from last year, going over spreads I ran successfully and the not so successful. I ran into a pattern with several spreads, my sliders. Now, since I fish on the MI side, sliders are a freebie lure. I don't think I've taken enough advantage of that by running them as often as I could have, but I have run them enough, I think, to have caught more fish than I have. It seems a little wierd but, I have fished the big lake for 3 years and have never caught anything on a slider. I was shocked when I went through my logs and discovered that.

My setup has been 2 riggers, 2 dipsies, 2 copper/lead core with sliders on occassion. Last year, whenever we ran a slider our downriggers were completely dead on all but one occasion. I've tried free and fixed with no success. Most times, when I finally give up on them, they come in all twisted up on the main lure, not the line. Very frustrating So what do you suggest? How can I fixed this?

BTW- My sliders are usually the same spoon as what is on the main line, only smaller. I used a spoon above a flasher once- wow what a mess!

[tangled mess]

make sure you use good swivles on the sliders and also try floro carbon for the line i usaly run the same pattern on main line one mag and one reg or mini streak

[JWheeler]

I run em every trip out. Sometimes they're working good, and sometimes they just don't do much of anything. I don't hesitate to put em in the line up though, because they will pay off:thumb:

[Nailer]

The more you keep them off your line, the happier you'll be. I get the same results as you with my free, or fixed sliders. When I do get a hit on one, it comes off half way to the boat.

[jatc]

I have my best success with sliders when I have my riggers working deep, like 100+. Sometimes I will use a free slider when I am just out searching and picking away at scattered fish, but the hook-up rate is fairly low on them. I still run them anyway because even a missed fish will help me key in on a pattern sometimes. I have my best luck running standard size spoons in green or orange.

When the fish are somewhat spooky during mid-morning, sometimes my best bite will be on my fixed sliders. I'll drop the ball below where I expect the fish to be and run the slider "in the zone". I don't have a picture of the rigging, but I'll explain the system I use. I tie up a leader with a swivel at one end and a surgeons loop at the other. I then tie another swivel to the tag end of the loop. The swivel by the loop goes over the main line of the rigger rod (don't forget this part cause I've lost a few lures due to this). Next, I take a small orange off-shore pinch pad planer board release and half hitch the loop through the hole. The release is then hooked to the main line below the attached swivel. I get around 80% successful hooking percentage on this rig, and zero tangles with the other lures to boot.

Rigging like this will allow me to run a large flasher fly on my main rod, and a spoon or a j-plug on the slider. You can run lipped plugs with this setup because the release won't allow the rig to ride all the way down to the ball. A killler set-up for me has been an 11" yellow tail flasher w/double chartruese bug-eye fly on the main rod and a green/blue splatterback Ace-hi on the fixed slider. You can do the same thing with a stacker rod, but like was mentioned a slider in Michigan is a bonus lure that doesn't count towards the three rod rule. Love using them when only two or three guys on board.

[wild at heart]

We started running sliders a lot more this year again. In tournaments its a must. We run them fairly short lead 3 to 4 foot, cuts down on tangles. Also bring them in fast when you dont have a fish on or hit the up button on your rigger to stop tangles. I run all mine on 12#test. If I dont want them to free slide I just half hitch them with a rubber band. They were good for about 30 fish this year. Sometimes they find fish that are higher up than you think they would be.

[fishsniffer]

I run em every trip out. Sometimes they're working good, and sometimes they just don't do much of anything. I don't hesitate to put em in the line up though, because they will pay off:thumb:

agreed..i run them just under 6 ft long..fixed ones i use the scooter or dreamweaver clips so they keep tension on the way down the mainline

[IRon]

I haven't contributed a lot here yet because I feel like I've been out of the loop for the last 2-3 years, but some things never change and down riggers are one of them.

Sliders are a good tool that, like said, have their special days. But I think there's a few little tricks that can make them better.

Some days when fish are scattered and out of temp., a slider just stuck randomly on your line will pick up a few. Because if you think about it, they're just running above by them selves ahead of the rest of the spread. But like jatc said, I especially like them on deep riggers. Then I'm usually running a short lead on my main line and a fixed slider just above and ahead and it becomes a part of the spread not separated from it.

Also a friend showed me how to run a MUP rig, which is a fixed slider with a mag spoon run just ahead of and above a regular size spoon of the same pattern, theory being it's an attractor for the main spoon. So I quite often run mags for sliders, too (well I did a couple years ago, hope to this year, too?).

Also, a little off topic, but if like me you only run 2 riggers, I'd stack a rod above the main rod/line and use a slider on the stacked line, to give me 3 lures per rigger. But things gotta be pretty slow to be doin' that

[Always Gone]

I love sliders. A free line and lure without any hassle. I actually watched a steelhead nail one as soon as it hit the water there was a splash and fish on. I catch alot of fish on them. However, they tend to catch more steelhead and shakers than other lures. Nothing nicer than a 2 fish on one pole double. Our first salmon in the Manistique derby was two 10 pounders on one pole. We thought we had the winner when it got to the boat and I saw a 45 inch fish. What i was seeing was the head of one and tail of the other.

My sliders are 30 lb mono, 1 1/2 foot long, good swivel on the lure end, cheap swivel on the line end. I usually run smaller lures on the sliders, but have caught fish on magnum size spoons off sliders as well.

Don't use them if you put a flasher/fly off the rigger though. If you do, reel in quick when you are picking up lines otherwise there will be big tangles.

[GLF]

If you are running your cannonballs right at the thermocline, your sliders will be out of temp, especially if they are free sliding. This might be why your sliders are not working.

How are you setting the slider why you set your line? Do you just drop it in? I always keep the slider line tight(I run fixed sliders) when setting lines. I hang onto the spoon and "sling" the bait to the side to keep it tight. This keeps the hook from getting tangled in the slider line.

Make sure all of you hooks are sharp! Especially the ones on your slider. I usually run a stinger or stingray sized spoon on my sliders, and like to use a 5-6 for leader. 98% of the time I run them fixed, and usually they are 5'-10' above the ball.

[Priority1]

Get on those shaking rods FAST and reel just as fast as you can.

[BlueCollarOutdoors]

I fish the wiscsonsin side so sliders count as an and extra rod basically. But its any easy way to get an extra line in the water if i have more people in the boat without messing with my normal spread.

I did not run them very often this year maybe 15 hours and they took 4 fish i think.

2 of those were on a small bloodynose spoon free sliding.

2 were fixed.

When i run fixed i take a the black release from an offshore board.

2 swivels, 1 on each end of a 3 to 4 foot piece of mono. Put the offshore release free slideing on the mono in the middle(put the mono through the brass eyelet)

Lower your rigger with flasher 15 to 30 feet, then attach your snap swivel to the first main line, pinch the offshore release above it and throw the other end with spoon in the water. Lower the cannonball to 100 feet and now your working 100 feet with flasher and 70 with spoon.

[Legacy]

95% of my time on the water has at least 1 rigger with a cheater/ slider. i prefer to run mine fixed w/ roemer liberators because i gain control of where my bait is. For salmon i use 6-7' 30# cheater line and for trout i use a 6-7' 12# cheater line w/ a 20# downrigger line. The different # line (from your mainline) also helps in case of a tangle and gets it back in the water faster. There are no "rules". Fish them inconjunction with each other or not. The fish will always tell you if it is working or not. Some days i fish them close to the ball and tight (less than 10' of separation) with a similar spoon (larger, smaller, etc) and allow them to work together. Other days i run completely different spoons with a lot of separation (15-25') with the intentions of covering more water with the spread.

[Flyboy]

Never forget the time in August where the slider and the main line both had 20+ lb fish on them. You'da thought we locked on to another boat! Unfortunately, though, the two split in opposite directions and the slider broke. Still landed 1 of the 2 though. Sliders can be very productive though. Lately, however, we've kinda shied away from them and instead fished with another rigger rod stacked on the rigger, so we're running two rods on one rigger. Just seemed to have better hook-ups that way.

[BlueCollarOutdoors]

Free sliders are tough to get a consisten hook up on. For that or if you want that spoon at a positive depth go with the fixed slider. Rubberband or offshore release is the way to go.

Not saying that they will save the day, but if they get you a bonus fish, I say put them out. If i run them free, lower the ball to set depth, example 100 feet then clip on the slider, onto the mainline, throw the lure in the water and i like to move the rod over one way until i see the slider swing around behind the mainline. Now its tight, untangled and should stay that way as It works its way down the line to the 60 percetn depth, so 60 feet here.

If it wasnt an extra pole in wisconsin i would run them all the time, unless we were so hot it didnt matter.

[Dagwood]

Does anyone have a picture or diagram on what sliders are supposed to look like? Are they attached to your mainline so you still have just one rod per rigger? I have never used them but need all the hooks in the water I can get to put fish in the box.

Thanks, Dave

[JWheeler]

I run a lot of free sliders, for you guys running fixed, what is the least amount of distance up the line from the cannonball that you would run a fixed slider?

[BlueCollarOutdoors]

For fixed I wouldnt go closer than 10 feet but thats just my opinion, easier on tangles and hte lure is a little further away from the ball. I know some guys will go as tight as 5 feet above the cannonball though.

Dagwood heres the free slider in action. Yes its a 5 foot piece of mono that you attach with a swivel on your mainline. Set the mainlineand drop it down to the depth you want, grab your rod tip, attach a swivel and throw the spoon in the water. Take the slack out and relax. The line will slide down just under half way to the cannonball. When a fish hits it will have to pull out the slack or get pulled down to the release, so you might see a hit and reel alot more before you get the line tight. If you see a light hit, crank like a madman. Heres a before, during and after of the setup. (Ps i edited your pictures six shooter hope thats ok) Anything you see in redish color is the slide line, usually about 4 to 6 feet of 20 to 30 lb mono or flouro with swivels on both ends and a spoon.

Right after putting it in the water....

Trolling...

Hooked up!

Edited July 20, 2011 by BlueCollarOutdoors
addition

[BlueCollarOutdoors]

I have no idea why those pictures dont show up, they showed up in the preview mode and i swear they were there last night. Ill fix that when i get home tonight.

[KJ pluggin]

If your refering to your slider pics I can see them.

[BlueCollarOutdoors]

Alright I thought they were fine at home, maybe they just dont show up at work. As long as you guys can see them its all good.

[Hotdog71]

I can see pics too

[BlueCollarOutdoors]

Great, thought that might help out some of the guys that didnt understand what we were talking about.

[Mushy's Dad]

Nice art work!!!

Question??? Is a slider considered one or two lines in Wisconsin???

Thanks

Tom

[BlueCollarOutdoors]

Its not my original drawing so I dont want to take credit for that, I used sixshooters original write up on downriggers and just edited a bit for this application. In wisconsin sliders are another pole. But if you enough people and your out of poles, or dont want anymore tackle in the boat etc throw them out there.

I believe that in michigan they are not an extra pole/line. And in minnestoa well geez 1 pole? I hate that law.

For me for instance in a small boat, sliders are great becuase if I have 3 people and 9 lines to deal with in a 16 footer that alot going on.

I can a deep board line/torpedo, big snap weigh on the deeper dipsey side, and put on 2 sliders and I am then running my max 9 lines with not much more hassle.