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Ok guys, help me out


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I've been watching YouTube videos and I can't stand it anymore! What do I need to basicly get started. Going for lake trout, steelhead and salmon in lake o. I have really no other hobbies than this. Working on a tight budget. But if I need it, I need it! Always looking for a good deal! Thanks

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Sounds a lot like what I did this year. I watched a few salmon smashing dipsy vids on Youtube. Did a bunch of research and rigged up my two toughest trolling rods (made for dipsies) with 30# Fireline (& backer), bought 2 mag dipsies and some spoons, flashers and flies.

 

Then I read up on this site and headed out with my 18' walleye boat to try catching salmon. First day I trolled the marks and went 3/4 on steelhead. The next day I paid attention to the depths the guys were giving on here for the salmon and ran down deeper even though it was below the marks I was seeing. Got my first mature salmon plus some bonus fish (2 matures, 2 little guys and 2 dumped).

 

So it can be done fairly cheap, as long as you watch the weather.

 

A couple of things I had to figure out. I run dock rope from my front cleats to a carbiner that I clip on the rods to keep them from snapping off my cabelas rod holders (mag dipsies put a ton of pressure on the rod and salmon strikes are violent) and I watch the bend of the rods and try to keep the same bend I'm getting strikes at. The currents are crazy and I don't have anything for downspeed. Some days I'm running under 2mph SOG and pulling drag in one direction and 3mph plus in the other direction and the rods are hardly bent.

 

And one more thing. Now that I've caught some fish, it's getting more expensive. I just picked up a 300CU set-up and a TX44 board and ordered custom heavy duty rod holders.

 

Also have my eye on the Fish Hawk TD and a wire dipsy rod. Still holding off on the riggers and a proper salmon boat though! For now...

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Well here ya go....I used to fish Lake O big time in the late 90's...sold all of my gear...riggers...boat etc. I just bought a new boat last year and completely re-rigged. I can't tell you how many thousands of dollars I have spent on just rigging the boat,lures etc. Welcome to the club and break out the credit card!!

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I am still new in the salmon game. But two things that increased my production were my fish hawk (expensive)... and my wire dipsy rods. I used mono for a while and had success but wire has been an amazing addition. I do very well with the riggers but price to success a dipsy set up is much cheaper. Even for a really nice setup.

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Damn man a 20ft cuddy, you can go pretty much most of the time, yes get better rod holders preferred metal with a metal base, if you dipsys are doing keep at it. I would invest in riggers sometime but a probe will put more fish in the box. There are day my riggers are along for the ride as the dipsys are doing all the work. I would get me two slide divers, and put a 30ft fluro leader on and keep your sliders on the mono, and that gets as good as it gets shy of riggers.

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