trolling with a three way swivel

[bobbymalone]

I trolled up some lakers last year in Canada using rig with a three way swivel. All the trolling equipment was provided by the lodge and I just can't remember exactly how the rig was set up.

Simple stuff. It was basically the main line tied to a threeway, with a leader and a spoon on one end and a dropper with a chunk of lead on the other. Fishing about 80 foot at deepest up to about 40 foot.

Any help on what size weight to use?

What sort of length would you run for the leader and for the weight?

Thanks for any help folks, heading back up to Canada in a few.

[tunrevir]

Snap weights would be the way to go if you have long trolling runs but a 3 way will work for tighter structure. Rigging is very speed dependent when using both 3 ways and swivels as to what depths you can reach. 8-10 oz balls should get you down there or if you have a beefy enough setup a 1# ball would work well. If you can find any big water trolling editions of precision trolling it will help you out a great deal.

One way to run a weighted rig, is troll at the speed you are going to troll at and put the ball out at 50' and then freespool the line out untill you hit bottom and then reel up 5-7 cranks to lift it off the bottom. This is more effective with heavier weights as you can feel it hit bottom versus a lighter weight.

Lead length is going to vary by preference but 6-10' should be sufficient. Another option would be to buy dipsey divers in the mag size and run them with powerpro. Use a 6-10' lead of 15-20# mono off the dypsie. Shorter leads tend to be for more aggresive fish, while longer leads tend to be for more neutral fish.

You can "chunk" 3 ways up and down breaks while keeping it closer to the boat whereas dypsies and snap weights are better for open water with long stretches of 1 depth of water. Good luck!

Tunrevir~

[candiru]

I have done this type of fishing years ago. We used a 12-16oz weight with about 2-3 ft of lighter line(so you just lose the weight if you snag) between the 3-way and the sinker.

We ran about a 6-8 ft leader between the 3way and the spoon. At times I also ran two spoons off of separate 3ways with different leader lengths.(check current regulations). Multiple lures were allowed on one line. For spoons we used Miller or Sutton flutter spoons. They are lightweight and work at slow trolling speeds. They were all silver or a combo of silver and gold. It has been a few years, but in the past I got them at Capra's and Joes Sporting Goods in the Cities. They can also be obtained in Canada. I wonder if a white Power-Bait twister tail wouldn't work - hmmm, maybe on a floating jig head above a spoon. You have to let the multiple rigs down slow to avoid tangling. I do believe in scent for trout/salmon.

We used to fish as deep as 120'. Don't get too hung up on one depth. One fish can come out of 120 and the next can come out of 60'. I would also recommending using a reel that is up to the job. Hauling in one of these large weights can ruin a standard baitcaster in a couple of days. For line I would go with 30lb Fireline or Power-pro. (or equivelent) I got by with mono for years before this stuff came on the market.

[End of the Line]

Don't use any leader longer than your rod, its too hard to net a fish. 5-8 feet should be plenty.