Warm Water question

[CatholicConis]

Fellow Gator Hunters:

Now that water temps in the metro are climbing into the mid 70's, I've come to that time of year where things slow down in the 10-15 foot range. I'm usually happy catching fish in the 20-30 inch range, so I'm not looking for monsters. Should I stick in that weedline depth and be happy with the occasional pike, or should I move deeper and fish deep cranks? (BTW, up till now I've been throwing spinners, spinner baits, spoons, etc and having great luck.) Any other tips would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[20lbSloughShark]

20-30" pike will be shallow all summer. Stick with what works, change it up when they don't bite. I have come to the conclusion that for me to get the 36+" pike in the summer, I need to go deep. I am still waiting for an answer on how to do that.

[JPenny]

There are several techniques to take big pike from the deep. Troll deep cranks along breaklines, jigging bases of reefs and main lake points, ect. It's enough to write a book about (and I have). Do your homework. And if nothing else, remember this, experimentation is the key to success. Get out there and try different things. If one doesn't work, try something else. For every technique you've ever read or heard about, it took someone who experimented to find it out.

[20lbSloughShark]

what kind of jigs do you use, swim baits? Also how deep is deep enough for trolling? My deepest crank is a super shad rap that seems to dive about 10' down. All the big fish I see on the finder are in 30' of water. Also where can I get one (or all) of your books?

[JPenny]

I really like the Esox Cobra jigs for deep work. They're great hookers. Soft plastic swimbaits? My favorites are either Lunker City Shakers or Big Hammer. I rig both on a Owner bullet-nosed jig.

[20lbSloughShark]

edit: I did some searching. I am going to get the big hammer swimbait 6.5" and get two of each of the colors atomic punk, baitfish, and toast along with owner ultrahead bullet jig heads in 1 oz. with 5/0 hooks. How much do the jig heads usually cost? The one I'm getting says $7.99 for a quantitiy of 1. I'm hoping 1 quantity = 10+ jig heads.

[JPenny]

You'll like those Big Hammers, but I probably ought to warn you. Once you get into a hot bite they don't last long. No soft plastic does. Yes, those Owner jigheads are not cheap. My best advice for finding affordable ones is hsolist. Look for bullet nosed jigs and you'll find others that look exactly like the Owners but are much cheaper.

Good luck!

[OnAFly]

I had some luck today just taking a bass jig, throwing a big crayfish on the end and and putting it on the end of a heavy fluoro leader.

[20lbSloughShark]

I tried casting spoons and letting them fall to the bottom in 20' and slowly retreiving. After 2 hours, nothing.

[goblueM]

I've done very well trolling DT16s, Bomber Long A deep divers, and the largest Fat Free Shad you can buy on 10 pound braid - they get down past 20 feet if you let out enough line.

[h8go4s]

The Deep Tail Dancer TDD11 will go down 30' trolled on 200' or so of 10-lb Fireline. I've caught more pike on the firetiger pattern than any other. There are a few other cranks that will get over 20' trolled, try the Reef Runner, Cabela's Walleye Runner and Storm Deep Thunderstick. It's been many years since I used Spoonplugs, but that might be worth a try if you can find them.

[OnAFly]

If you really want to get down without a mile of line out, use a 3 way rig with a ton of weight.

[20lbSloughShark]

If you really want to get down without a mile of line out, use a 3 way rig with a ton of weight.

I tried this, it is basically a weed collector. Soft swim baits seem to be the best option so far. Another thing I want to try is sucker minnow. They work the rest of the year, I figure 15' under a slip bobber in cabbage weeds they will be just as good this time of year.

[solbes]

Had a mid 30" pike this weekend on a downrigger and Rapala F18 floater. Wasn't getting any attention trolling the open water. Came in to check on our swim platform and the pike pulled it out of the release. Caught a smaller one in the same location. So maybe I need to contour troll using the rigger in the mid depths, say 20-25 feet.

Its just one of those Cannon Mini Troll units. Very handy for $75.

[20lbSloughShark]

I have been thinking about making my own downrigger. What keeps the line down, just one big weight? I am thinking of just bolting a spool to a pole. Heavy 50-100 pound line with a weight and a relese at the bottom? Will a 10 pound weight work? Heavier/lighter?

[h8go4s]

Shark, there were guys in the 70's who built downriggers out of tricycle front wheels (crank already built in). You need steel cable, a weight (how much depends on speed an depth but 8 pounds minimum), a brake to lower the cable slowly, a lock to hold the spool in both down and up positions and a release clip. Also a 3-4 foot pole with a pulley on the end and a rod holder. A swivel base is nice, too. I've probably forgotten something too. Check that online list duluth for used riggers.

[solbes]

A 4lb weight will work for some cranks down to 20-25 feet. A 6 lb weight (which is what I have) will work for most cranks down to 30-40 feet. You need the 10-15 pounders if you're working deep on Lake Superior. A lighter weight will still get them down there, but there will be a lot of "swing" as the weight is pulled towards the back.

Two things I think you want to do. Make sure the weight is big enough so it shows on your sonar. Mine shows perfectly on my HDS7 display. The Mini-Troll rigger is mounted right above my transom transducer. The second is to have a line measurement device on your rigger spool. Mine tells me +/- to a foot on how much cable is out. Gets you close and then you can fine tune based on your sonar readout of the ball. Big thing is you DON'T want to have your rigger ball hit bottom. So you need to have very accurate maps if you are going to troll the shorelines!

See what it would take to make your own. And then check out that Cannon Mini-Troll. Might be easier and costs a few more bucks to making your own.

[20lbSloughShark]

A homemade one would cost me some heavy fishing line and a wing nut. I'm not looking for a fancy rig, just something to get my favorite lures down to 20' so I can troll in the summer. I have a bowl that would make a perfect mold for a ball. From what I read elswhere the steel wire isn't very good, and 150 pound test braid is the way to go.

[wahoo]

I prefer braided line over shell, altho I have 2 with cable and 2 with braid. The braid has less resistance in the water and I find it easy to work with. My 2 cents. I also don't think you need 15lbs of weight to go deep. 10lbs will fish well and I have used it to 125. However, you must adjust for the fact when trolling at higher speeds the ball/weight, and thus your lure, will rise as you move.

[OnAFly]

Probably a dumb question...how differently does a downrigger function than a 3-way rig. Just curious as I really don't know anything about downriggers.

[solbes]

Once you get a downrigger figured out (and it takes a couple of outings), I think they are more bullet proof than a 3-way. I've had some tangling issues with 3 ways, which can obviously be resolved. Here's a few advantages to riggers that I've noticed: you can constantly monitor ball depth on sonar and adjust within seconds, your lure is in a known location from the boat (let out say 30 feet of line, add 5 for ball swing, etc), and no limitations on lure size/drag.

That said the first time I used one, I hit bottom and lost a $13 lure as the ball tangled itself. Also takes awhile to figure out the release and to be able to quickly set and retrieve. I'd say 3 hours of practice and it becomes pretty easy.

[wahoo]

Probably a dumb question...how differently does a downrigger function than a 3-way rig. Just curious as I really don't know anything about downriggers.

The advantage is that the line pulls out of the down rigger release on a down rigger and you fight the fish without any added weight.

[20lbSloughShark]

I am heading to lake of the woods tomorrow. I have 3 options, fish shallow, fish deep with lots of weight, or fish deep with a sucker on a slip bobber. Why is it so hard to get info? I have been searching non-stop for a month or better and can't find anything better than just asking when I get there. It took my 2 weeks to even find a lake map, and its $25 and only shows part of the lake, and I'm not sure which. I can't help feeling very unprepared for this in terms of a game plan, anyone have any tips? Why is the fishing here such a well kept secret?

[h8go4s]

"It took my 2 weeks to even find a lake map, and its $25 and only shows part of the lake, and I'm not sure which. I can't help feeling very unprepared"

It's probably too late, but you need to abort this trip. If you can't even read a map, you shouldn't be on LOTW.

[wahoo]

I am heading to lake of the woods tomorrow. I have 3 options, fish shallow, fish deep with lots of weight, or fish deep with a sucker on a slip bobber. Why is it so hard to get info? I have been searching non-stop for a month or better and can't find anything better than just asking when I get there. It took my 2 weeks to even find a lake map, and its $25 and only shows part of the lake, and I'm not sure which. I can't help feeling very unprepared for this in terms of a game plan, anyone have any tips? Why is the fishing here such a well kept secret?

I'd check with folks on the LOW Forum. They are by and large a nice group. I only fish LOW for a month in Winter and then in Spring through Memorial day. Basically we fish the walleyes and stay pretty much around the area outside of Zippel Bay. Thus any info I might have would probably not assist much. I, personally haven;t had much luck after May for Northerns in that part of the Lake, but I am certainly not an expert on catching them there.

However, in very early Spring, just after ice out, the Northerns (some large ones)are pretty good in Zipple Bay itself. However, once it warms and since the Bay is rather shallow, you usually only catch smaller Northerns in the Bay a itself.

Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

Tight lines,

Wahoo