woodguru Loc: El Dorado Ca

This is inspired by having a chance to hear what guys are doing in different lakes, and trying to apply it to something that could work timing wise, in part to the fact that even though I have had a boat the last few years, I have had limited chances to go fishing with my wife, and that has been weekends at that.

I would say that somewhere upwards of 9 out of 10 outings have been in the dog day off seasons of the perfect hot bite periods. My wife has said I needed to find some fishing friends that can go out more, and that has had some interesting dynamics.

To set the stage for what I'm talking about, I have bought great equipment and spent countless hours online watching lake specific videos that are being made by guides that are making instructive easy to watch videos where they are setting out every single detail of how they are consistently catching fish. These guides will say here are my top six go to lures for this lake, I write that down and get online and get a selection of what they say their first go to lures are plus some others that are highly rated, usually upwards of about $200, and paid attention to the speeds you will want to troll them at. They are also really good at covering everything that they think is part of making things work best, including scents.

I go out with a strategy for trolling, set out a dozen of the top go to lures, nothing is working...you're in a dog day, guys you are asking say they can't buy a bite, or got one all day on something like a blue and chrome Kastmaster, which I make sure is one of the four things we are trolling.

Okay, dog day, nobody is catching much. It seems like you can't let bad days throw you off of trying the same things you were doing, because on even a decent day those things will work.

The frustration is coming from guys that won't give strategies they aren't used to a shot, even when their favorite go to lures and methods aren't working. I've had two guys now that can't seem to get into giving new strategies that they are not familiar with a shot, and if you can't work a given set of lures the way they want to be used there isn't much chance of giving them a fair shot.

The friend of mine that died last year wanted to pull just his broken back Rapala, I'd tell him if we we are using a trolling speed for other lure types that isn't optimum for his Rapala he needs to go with lures that work at the same speed, I'd tell him we can work Rapalas for half an hour or so, and then switch it up to slower speeds and a different setup with dodgers or flashers.

I think you have to be willing to work lure groups and what works well with them, and try different ones, when that isn't working change strategies. My new fishing buddy wants to work Kokanee lures while we are trolling at spoon speeds, I try to tell him we'll work faster trolls and if that isn't working we'll slow it down with the Koke setups.

saw1 Loc: nor cal Windsor

You DEFINITELY have to use compatible lures for the speed you're goin.
A prime example would be trollin blades and worms at the same time you're trollin a broken back Rapala. You shouldn't be goin any faster than 1.5 mph trollin blades and worms. That not fast enough for a Rapala to work properly. Or most other lures as well.

woodguru Loc: El Dorado Ca

Exactly, so then when you get a guy that doesn't want to go with the zone of what you are fishing it doesn't make sense. It's like I tell someone who wants to go a different route, let's give this a fair shot then we will switch it up to the slower rigs if you want.

I usually put a lure out in the water next to the boat and see if it is working well at the speed we are going for the rest of the lures that are out, if it doesn't have the right action I stick it back and try something else, heck, we troll 4 different things looking for what is working, but they have to work well at the zone we're in.

Still above water Loc: San Francisco ca

As a stated earlier, one of my top two lures is a chrome and blue speedy shiner. Regardless of the lake, if I’m trolling it will be one of the first lures that I will use. There is a reason for its name(speedy) if you are not trolling it at at least 2.5 mph it will not be effective! Trolling speed is a very important factor when deploying the proper lure that u choose.

Still above water Loc: San Francisco ca

Another factor to consider. If testing the lures action along side the boat is a good idea if u are top lining. But if u a using downriggers fishing deep, let’s say 60ft. That lures action will be totally different at that depth due to the resistance that the lure will encounter. The deeper the depth that I’m fishing the more I will add to my trolling speed to overcome that resistance. Just my opinion!

saw1 Loc: nor cal Windsor

Yep, that's for sure.
The PROPER speed for the blue you're usin is very important.

Still above water Loc: San Francisco ca

How’s it going up there buddy. Wish I had the the to come up and help u. Please be safe!

woodguru Loc: El Dorado Ca

I bought a bunch of Speedy Shiners in the Blue and chrome, also other colors like gold, copper, fire tiger, etc. Also Thomas Bouyants, Cyclones, Phoebes, Cleos...I'm decked out with blue/chrome. Word has been on an overcast day go to copper colors. Guides also seem to highly favor Criplures and Humdingers in watermelon and pinks as well

A lot of the guides like Watermelon and pinks for Berryessa as well.

I think I had been trolling a bit on the slow side at 2.3/2.5 and have bumped it up into the 2.7/2.8 range where you guys have been recommending.

Still above water Loc: San Francisco ca

You stated that u put out four rods with different lures. What I do do is put all rods out with the same lure adjusted each rods depth. Two on the downriggers two top lining. Trying to find the strike zone. No hits switch out. But put all rods out with the same lure. Trout are stupid! It’s All about putting that lure in the strike zone.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

It sounds like you are doing everything "well" and applying a great deal of thoughtful knowledge to your approach. "If" the lakes you are fishing have decent populations then I would think you would be catching some. Hmmm...

I do a fair amount of Great Lakes deep water trolling with downriggers, and a few things we do to maximize lures in the water are:

1. Running 2 rods off a single downrigger, with one lure set at the lowest point and another about 10' to 15' higher by using a special pinch clamp pad that connects to the cable and allows for a release device to set out and deploy the second line.

2. Using a 6' leader with a swivel snap on each end, connect a lure to one end and the other right over your rod's line...then gently toss the rig overboard and let it find the slight bend in your first line. You do not really know what depth the rig is at, but it will be well above your first line. If a fish strikes the upper lure, just release the lower lure with a quick snap of the rod and let the slack catch it all up. Sometimes you have a little tangle when getting it all undun but the process does catch fish! Around here they call it deploying a "slider". There are small contraptions available that will also allow you to lock on and make a solid determination of where a slider rig is going to run.

Good point about making sure that all lures you are running at the same time are compatible with speed and action. You might still push the envelope a bit by trying to run some different stuff that may wobble or flash slightly different.

Not sure if you get any "cable hum" underwater that can resonate an electrical current in the water that some say will spook fish as you pass over. Some Companies try to inhibit this with their downrigger design (like Cannon). Some folks swap out stainless steel cables for super heavy (200 lb) braid on the downrigger. The braid is supposed to run a little sleeker thru the water and gives slightly less swing back on the cannonball weight. I am converting a downrigger that I use in a kayak this Spring to test that theory.

You might also want to consider deploying your lures via leadcore lines or by using diving devices (like the Dipsey Diver) from Luhr Jensen). These 2 approaches can fan out your lures farther from the boat path as well as quietly get your lures down to depth. If you use leadcore line then an inline side planer board is often required to swim that line out away from the sides of the boat. Depending on the length of leader you use on a leadcore set up, the line itself, when trolled, can provide an interestingly provocative action to your lures. Sometimes I even use a 2 or 3 color leadcore set up on a downrigger. The lure will be much farther back than normal, and that is OK as long as you don't put 2 leadcores side by side on your downriggers.

Another idea is to vary how far back from the cannonball your lures are clipped on. Some fish are "leary" when the lure is too close to the ball. Some fish don't care at all.

It sounds like you are targeting kokanee, which most often are probably suspended on your graph.

Hopefully any one of these thoughts or ideas may help add some new dimensions to what you are already trying. Good luck!

Still above water Loc: San Francisco ca

Heading to Berryessa this Thursday. Staying at pleasure cove for a nite. Gonna target the trout/ salmon. Still not sure if the bite has turned over to top lining. But gonna give it a try. If not will deploy the downriggers. Will post my results!

The bus Loc: San Francisco ca

Good luck still you should kill them yeah please let us know how you did looking forward to some pics good luck buddy

DozerDave Loc: Port Orchard Wa.

I fish exclusively for Kokanee. I run cable on Cannon electric down riggers that can hum me to sleep. I clip about 15’ behind the ball. I have a very good catch rate. I read where the cable vibration is actually an attraction for Kokanee. It works for me on a regular basis… 🐟on

Still above water Loc: San Francisco ca

Nice catch👍 do u ever clip further back ?

DozerDave Loc: Port Orchard Wa.

No, I use to until I discovered this method and now that’s all I do. It doesn’t seem to detour the fish at all… 🐟on