Complete novis is what I am so any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am gearing up to truing mostly for Lakers but also Salmon on the North shore. I have four down riggers and two lead core rods/reels.
Was wondering on rods, reel, line what is the best set up?
Also what size is the most common for down rigger balls?
THX
I like 10# weights if your riggers will hang them. I started with 6# and there was a lot of blowback when down 75 feet.
Rigger rods are cheap like $40 range. I run Scotty tourney twist but wish they had some more back bone down low in the rod. You want a slow action rod to load them up so they suck up the slack when tripped. I started with cabbalas riggers because they were cheap but they were a limp noodle and I could not even hope to drag a fish top side without shutting down my troll. I am going to check into Shimano TDR series myself and try them out.
I say at least a 27/30 size reel, I like 20# braid as my main mine but many will use 20# mono too. When using braid I run a mono/floro leader 30-50′. make sure you upgrade the snap/swivel to be a bit larger than walleye weight components.
It sure is fun trying and learning something new. GLangler has a lot of info too and the guys are very helpful.
Scott, I’ll shoot you a separate PM with how I set up my rods/reels as there is so much personal preference involved that I’m sure you would get a different answer from every reply. Besides, Mark alredy got you started off here with some good advice. FWIW, my rods are all Cabelas Depthmasters or Okuma Classics and agree that the Okumas definitely have more backbone, though I do still use Medium action Depthmasters as my primary downrigger rods. For my dipsy diver and lead core rods I do prefer the stiffer Okumas. Like Mark, I also recommend as heavy a downrigger ball as you can handle (think I run 12# weights). Minimizes blowback, keeps the counters on the riggers relatively more accurate and also keeps the rigger weights in view on my sonar at greater depths.
You’ll definitely want to add some flashers/flies and stickbaits to your collection of spoons. I’ll PM you my personal list of top producers, but as with rigging rods, am sure everyone around here has their own preferences and things they feel the most confident running. Do yourself a favor though and swing through Marine General in Duluth next time you are in that area. I’ve always found them to be very helpful/knowledgeable and can get you set up with good basic assortment of proven lures to compliment the spoons you already have.
Going to be a long winter so pick up a copy of “Great Lakes Salmon and Trout Fishing” by Dan Keating and Chip Porter. Lots of good info for someone just getting started. When I first got back into fishing the big lake, I based my equipment/line/rod selections largely off of what they recommended and then adjusted from there after a couple of seasons, once I got a better feel for how I liked to run things.
Your PM asked about other online resources for N. Shore fishing, but unfortunately, not too many N. Shore specific (or even Lake Superior, for that matter) websites in particular to learn from. Message boards like IDO are far and away the best sources of info and Ron and Mark already replied with a couple of other great forums/message boards to check in with every now and then. Not sure if IDO wants me posting links to external forums so don’t want to get in trouble with the mods, but definitely do keep an eye on the appropriate HotSpot Outdoors message boards and the Great Lakes Angler forums. The outdoor forums over at Lake State Fishing also have a Duluth-North Shore forum that you can keep an eye on for reports and general information. GLA, in particular, is probably the best (most active) Lake Superior specific forum, but also has active equipment classifieds and species specific areas to share info and learn from other anglers. Can literally spend hours and hours sifting through old posts on those three sites, in addition to IDO to get some good info. If you do that, you’ll also start to see some of the same lure colors/patterns come up time and time again so gives you an idea of what you might want to stock up on over the off season if you don’t have them on hand already.
One local website, however, you should visit would be the Western Lake Superior Troller’s Association (wlsta.org). They have a trolling guide / handbook that you can download in .pdf form that has various articles and information about early, mid and later season fishing specifically in the Duluth-Superior area.
I’ll shoot you a PM later on with some more info, but this should give you plenty of info to get started.
Lots of good info stated already. I’ll add to not forget your regular old walleye trolling rods and planer boards. I’ve got a lot of fish running stick baits that dive 10-20′.
Thanks for all the good info!
Wasn’t there another post on this thread that is now gone???
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