August 1 thru August 16, 2009
Orleans County Rotary Derby
Lake Ontario and it's tributaries from
the Niagara River to the Genesee River
(585) 589-6724
13937 Allen Road, Albion, NY 14411
dont think that your doing something wrong on days when the riggers dont fire, some days they might be hot and others completely dead. i think chris' 100 rule is a good place to start. i dont stacked downriggers too often anymore but with that in mind i do like to run mupped rigs and cheaters. heres an example of a setup:
downrigger rod w/ 20# mainline w/ a smaller spoon 15-25' behind ball. i lower the ball 8-15' and connect my cheater. for my cheater line i use a 6-8' leader of 30# big game w/ a roemer liberator release w/ a larger spoon. dont feel that you have to use a larger spoon above a smaller one. ive found that spoons of the same size work great too. basically you want spoons that are either the same pattern or very similar and always the same manufacturer. i typically run this rig at the very top or the bottom of the active strike range. i dont run this rig extremely deep (over 100') or extremely shallow (under 35'). when the rig is really working i might even put the same spoon on another downrigger. heres another example: lets say on my mupped rig i have my bottom spoon down 60' and 20' off the ball w/ a small spoon. 10' above that (which is 50' down for those without a calculator handy) i have my cheater w/ a larger spoon. then ill take a downrigger (on the same side of the boat) and drop it down w/ a small spoon 40-45' down and 35' back.
fall is the best time of year to catch a giant and september tends to be a great month. forage is the biggest in fall and once water temps start to cool down, pike really put the feed bag on. fishing can be as intense as early spring fishing but with larger fish. aggressive tactics and big baits (spinnerbaits and large inlines) are the way to go.
outriggers help alot too guys. setting the outside dipsey in the outriggers gives you all kinds of room. a little extra separation in the water and you dont have to worry about the rod tips interfering with each other.
are you kidding me? i hope you have a smile on your face when you typed that. your probably entering your credit card info right now ordering them for the whole yankee troller team.
your itching to get out already? the ponds dont look as good as they did last week. long pond was really opening up today from the parkway. dont worry though, soon enough well be able to drown some minnows.