Info appreciated

Share info on fishing Champlain.
Whitey
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 10:28 am
Species: Salmon

Info appreciated

Post by Whitey »

I'm an old timer who has limited knowledge very little luck when trolling for salmon. Currently I have two downriggers set up with dual holders and I run four fishing rods. I stack two rods on each of the cables. I will run bottom - lets say a needlefish - out around 8-10' just above the ball and about 10' above that I will run another pole/lure around 6-8'. I use roemer release's and boat speed usually 2-3 mph. I also use 17lb test clear mono for my lines. I am reaching out for help or suggestions with my set up which might improve my chances of landing some nice salmon/steelheads, or browns. I also run a top water lure out around 100' like a minnow on a small 2" dipsy-diver. I launch mainly out of Malletts Bay Fishing access and have been as far north as No Hero from the IS and on broad lake from Charlotte to Grand Isle Ferry.
Any suggestions on how I might change my set up will be appreciated.
Thank you and good luck to you all - I will monitor the forum and drool with envy as I see your posts again this year!
lingcod
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2017 10:28 am
Species: burbot, whitefish

Re: Info appreciated

Post by lingcod »

I have only one idea to suggest and hopefully others will weigh in. When I fish for salmon from shore I've found that they shy away from line testing over 6 lbs ( I use fluorcarbon which "looks" like 3lb. mono). Of course they have Lots of time to examine my offering. Just wondering if a thinner diameter leader may help?
Striperking
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 3:53 pm
Species: Salmon Trout

Re: Info appreciated

Post by Striperking »

Whitey: First I would ditch the 17lb mono. We run 8 to 10 lb florocarbon. That's plenty strong for any salmon/brown in Champlain. Speed wise, not sure you want to get up to 3mph. We stay below 2.5 for the most part. We primarily run spoons, although on occasion we will put out stick baits. But the spoons are the way to go in my opinion. Rainbow trout pattern was hot this weekend. I also like brown trout. And sometimes I get stuck on orange and copper. Blues and silver can produce on certain days too. But I think having something "natural" in your spread is important. We run a little further behind the ball than you do. 25-50 feet unless we are running verticles then we would shorten them up. I see you are running two rods on the riggers. We use cheaters. If you don't know what a cheater is it's a snap swivel, a 4-5 foot leader, a clip, and then a spoon. After you put your rigger rod out to the depth you want you take the snap swivel and snap it around the line on your rod heading down toward the ball. Toss the spoon back behind the line. The spoon will sink to a depth 1/2 way between the tip of your rod and the ball. It does this because your downrigger line will have a bow in it as it's pulled through the water. Once the cheater hits the middle of the bow it can't go any further because it would have to go forward in order to go all the way down. For whatever reason, we generally get more on the cheaters than we do on the the line hooked to the ball. To expand a little further, if the ball is 30 feet down, the cheater should run at 15. When I've had the fish hitting at 15 I move the other rigger up to 15 and for whatever reason, we don't get the releases. Also, when the fish hits the cheater it will slide down to the lure on the ball after it releases. You will be netting two spoons and a fish. But I think you really should lighten up your line for starters. We only managed a handful of salmon this weekend but caught a lot of lakers in our salmon spread and a 7lb brown. This weekend we fished 15-25 feet down over 30 to 40fow. I would expect those numbers will go deeper as things warm up again. Hope this helps.
lingcod
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2017 10:28 am
Species: burbot, whitefish

Re: Info appreciated

Post by lingcod »

You gotta love this forum! What a wealth of info. provided by striperking.
Whitey
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 10:28 am
Species: Salmon

Re: Info appreciated

Post by Whitey »

:) Thanks a lot Strikerking for taking the time to answer some of my questions. I really appreciate it. Off to buy some new line! Good luck fishing!
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tamiron
Posts: 1317
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:11 pm
Species: trout, salmon
Location: Granger, IN
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Re: Info appreciated

Post by tamiron »

Striperking:

We should have an outstanding sportsman award on the forum and you deserve the first nomination. Thank for sharing.
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Whitey
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 10:28 am
Species: Salmon

Re: Info appreciated

Post by Whitey »

Thank you lingcod info much appreciated
mrwalleye
Posts: 33
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:11 am

Re: Info appreciated

Post by mrwalleye »

I would just run a smaller fluorocarbon leader. Keep the main line that you have. I attach my leaders using a small barrel swivel that will fit through the rod tip. I would highly suggest getting two slide divers. They are a must have in my opinion. If theres only fisherman/women in the boat run two on the riggers and two on the divers with two cheaters you'll have out 6 lures., if you have three you can run your current set-up plus two cheaters on the top rod and add the two divers for a six rod spread and 8 lures.

If your not sure what depths to start a day at, just stagger you set-up to cover more of the water column until you find them. I also like to vary the colors and types of spoons until I find what they like if I haven't been out in a while.
Striperking
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 3:53 pm
Species: Salmon Trout

Re: Info appreciated

Post by Striperking »

Thanks for the kind words tamiron. I'm always willing to share what little bit of knowledge I have that others have shared with me. It's funny how some guys can be. I fish Lake Ontario in the fall for kings and cohos. The guys get out there get on their radio and some of them talk in code because they don't want to give away their secrets. 80% of the fish are caught on some form of green flasher and green fly combo...aka green on green...or as I like to say, you can catch them on any color as long as it's green! Anyway, there are plenty of fish out there for all of us and I only have about another 20 or 30 years on the water so hopefully the lakes won't be fished out by then just because I shared some tips with my fellow fishermen :-)
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tamiron
Posts: 1317
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:11 pm
Species: trout, salmon
Location: Granger, IN
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Re: Info appreciated

Post by tamiron »

Striperking:

At worst, the tips will be replaced by better ones!

These are all put and take fisheries that depend on a wide base of success to encourage politicians and DNR to keep pouring in money, more fish, and points of access.
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Cas
Posts: 440
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 7:57 am
Species: the kind that swim
Location: South Burlington

Re: Info appreciated

Post by Cas »

Ditto on the slide divers. Lead core can also produce as well. I have planer boards, but inline planers are also a good way to get a presentation out to the sides with varying depths using lead core if you don't have a set up for boards.

With 3 of us the other day, we had 2 riggers at various depths with a fixed cheaters and/or sliding cheaters, 2 slide divers, and 2 lead core so we were able to target a variety of depths with 8 lures in the water on 6 rods.

I'm guilty of not changing up my lures often enough if they're not producing, but the successful guys are constantly switching things up until they find what produces. Sometimes I think I just enjoy being on the water that I don't want to fuss around with it, but I know I'd probably get better results if I switched things up more often and check for weeds, etc. on the lures after too much time with no hits. Vary your colors, vary your speeds, vary your depth, and look for bait on the fish finder.

Good luck
________
Mike
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Hairbone
Posts: 970
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2011 5:05 pm
Species: Bluegill
Location: Whallons Bay...They Are ALWAYS Biting... ;)

Re: Info appreciated

Post by Hairbone »

Slide divers are fun to learn. Stopped using them and fish different length coppers.
Whitey
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 10:28 am
Species: Salmon

Re: Info appreciated

Post by Whitey »

Thinking about buying a fish hawk td. I hear lots about thermocline does this gadget really work? Are they worth 150.00? Thank you
kman05446
Posts: 77
Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2015 1:28 pm
Species: salmon/trout
Location: Colchester

Re: Info appreciated

Post by kman05446 »

I run 12lb mono, then a barrel swivel with about 4' - 5' of 8lb mono. Good luck
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Captain Paul
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:14 pm
Species: lake trout,salmon,panfish

Re: Info appreciated

Post by Captain Paul »

I would run a 10 lb floro leader or switch the whole reel to 10 lb floro . When it come to the Fish Hawk
I would buy the X4 so I had speed at the ball on Champlain with the different current this unit is very important foe consistent catches. Slide divers will improve catches.
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