is this about right?

[Dano2]

When useing spinner rigs, if the wallys are about 3-4 ft. off bottem use about a 5 ft. snell?
If they are closer to the bottem use about a 2-3 footer?
Also I have read that when use a BB, to use a longer snell like atleast a 5 footer, because the BB can spook the fish.
whats your comments on this, and if so true, what if the fish are holding tite to the bottem, wont useing this length of snell keep your bait to high up from them, or are fish that are hugging bottem generally inactive anyway, ( thought someone told me this once)

HEY, THANKS ALOT!

[Borch]

Unless your using a float in your spinner rig you'll actuall be closer to bottoms with the longer rigs. I always use bouncers or 3way rigs with my spinner rigs. If I have fish 3-4 ft off bottom I'd go to a threeway with a 4-5 ft dropper.

I haven't found that bouncers spook fish much. Certainly some fish may get spooked. But I've seen lots of eyes caught on bouncers with 2-3 ft spinner rigs. Although I prefer 4-6 ft spinners myself.

As far as active fish it's true that fish 2-4 ft off bottom tend to be more active than those with their belly laying on bottom. If there significant current(like a river) you can just throw this out as it doesn't apply). However walleyes like to feed up. And I've seen them come up over 10 ft to hit a bait(icefishing). I've been catching a lot of eyes this summer in 8-10 ft pulling cranks diving 4 ft(over the scatter weeds). So if you in doubt try to put the bait above them rather than below. However if they aggressive they'll hit it from almost any angle.

Borch

[Dano2]

wow, now I'm really confused.
I was reading over at wally central, and it says to use a longer snell if the fish are a few off the bottem and use a shorter one if they are closer to bottem.

I wish I could see down there whats really going on.
I understand the concept behind the float, but what about without it.
so your saying a spinner rig or spinner with crawler harness, with a longer snell runs closer to bottem than a shorter snell?

IM SO CONFUSED

Maybe I'll just stick with the ones you buy that are generally in the 36" range, and get some with the float on them and try that.

what about when you blow the worm up abit?
Any idea if that makes it ride a little higher? or does that just make it look juicier, HEH!

thanks for the tips, I'll just have to keep experimenting.

[Chris Haley]

I like long snells, ten feet sometimes. Spinners are different though, and I would beleive that a longer snell on a spinner would counterproductive without a float.

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Guiding for:
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(218)759-2235
[email protected]

[Borch]

Dano2,

It'd my experience that the longer snells with ride lower with a spinner rig.

However a livebait rig with an inflated crawler or integrated float will ride higher with a longer snell. Also be aware that the amoount of elevation of the bait will be speed dependent as well. Infisherman once had some info on this but basiclly if you are move 1 mph you'll need a very long leader(8+ft) to get that bait 2+ ft off the bottom. Now if you go slower you'll need less and of course if you stop you'll need even less.

Different manufacturers make spinner rigs with floats built in. To be honest I don't feel they're necessary. Aggressive fish will find your bait if it's close. Especially with a spinner. Otherwise go to a 3way rig with a longer dropper.

Borch

[Dano2]

Thanks.
I have never tryed a 3-way rig, and have no idea(well, maybe just a small idea) how to make, or use one.

I really need to get ahold of some good videos or magazines or something that shows this stuff in action and explains it in detail.
Any decent suggestions for this type of material?

[Borch]

Just do a google search for a 3-way fishing rig and you'll likely find all the info you need. They fish a lot like a bouncer setup but your able to increase the length of the dropper so you can easily fish further off of the bottom.

Borch

[BDR]

I also prefer a 3-way rig when trolling spinners or cranks 2-4 feet from the bottom.
I tend to prefer a leader from the 3-way to bait to be 6-8 feet. I adjust my dropper line accordingly to the depth I want to keep the bait in. It does seem to be some guess work. I find at about 2 mph I need 6 foot dropper to keep a spinner about 4 feet off bottom. I like the wire bottom boucers for this because, I want to feel the boucer touch bottom on a regular basis and the wire style has very little surface contacting bottom. I like to think it's not stirring up mud too much.

Any thing over 4 feet off bottom I like to have an in line wieght and practice trolling at different depths with X amount of line out to judge how deep it is running.
EX: Say I want to fish 20 feet down in 35 feet of water. I will set up my rig how I want, then I will find an area that is 20 feet deep, Send the rig out and keep a mental note of how much line it takes to stay in contact with the bottom, Done, now I can move over the 35 foot depth and troll knowing my lure is running aprox. 20 feet down. It really doesn't take much time, but, every time the lue(spinner blade, crank) is changed so will the running depth.

I think its just a matter of getting out and goofing around with different set ups.

Trolling 3 way cranks and spinners at 2-3 mph has produced very well for me over the past few years. My numbers wont be huge but the size will go up.

Even more confused?

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I'd rather be skunked than follow the crowd!

Brian Rogers

JR's Tackle
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait

[This message has been edited by BDR (edited 07-31-2004).]

[Dano2]

can you put a jig on the other line instead of a sinker? or are you only allowed one in MN?

how far you reckon one would be off bottem useing a 1 foot dropper and a 3 foot trailer,

does anyone know if that trolling guide book explains this stuff when useing lindy rigs/spinner rigs/3-way rigs,etc., etc., etc., besides just trolling with cranks?

I have read about them now at a few different places.
One guy says if fish are off bottem 5 feet, then use 5 ft. of loine for your dropper and so on.
also read that for every foot of dropper, use 3-4 foot of trailer.
HEH! so with these two scenarios together, if the fish are sitting at 5 feet off bottem, then I should use a 5 foot dropper line with a 15-20 foot trailer, heh, heh!

I'll just shutup now and go to bed.

thanks

[This message has been edited by Dano2 (edited 07-31-2004).]

[This message has been edited by Dano2 (edited 07-31-2004).]

[Borch]

Don't use the jig for your dropper. First it's illegal in Mn and second the jig wouldn't likely be heavy enough.. usually u\your dropper will run 1-3oz in weight. I mostly use the 2 oz dropper weights. I wouldn't mess with a 1 ft dropper. You're pretty much duplicating a bouncer rig there. I usually go to dropper starting around 3 ft -6 ft in lenght. After that I usually troll cranks if they are higher than that.

I'm no expert on 3-way rigs though. I'll grab a bouncer 90% of the time myself only going to a 3 way after that doesn't work for me. You can tell by the percentages that they usually will work for me.

Borch

[Dano2]

thanks for the help, I believe I'm ready to put some stuff together now, and have taken good notes this time.
A guy with 800 some odd posts like me, you'd think he'd know a little bit, HEH , HEH!
problem is, I've always been a bad note taker,
and thought I had a good memory, but now I'm getting the hang of it. (note takeing that is)
Thanks

[Dano2]

Is there a way to adjust your dropper line so you dont have to tie on a new one when wanting to try a different length?

[buzbunni]

Try using an egg sinker with a splitshot clamped tight below it to hold the heavier egg in place.

You can let the extra line(if you've got it up short)trail behind.

Loosen the splitshot and adjust the egg up and down the dropper line to vary the length.

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SERIOUSLY! It was THIS big!

[Lost]

Dano, if you want to see what's down below without buying an underwater viewing system (AquaView, etc), you can rent them at some tackle shops. It's like $25 for the day or something.