jakerau
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1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
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Wasnt sure where to post this.... the boating forum or fishing forum....
I just bought my dads little boat. Its a 10 ft. livingston with 4.0 hp. Gets me around just fine.... for now. I do not have downriggers and am curious as to how I might get deep without riggers. I bought some lead balls (3 oz and 5 oz) as well as a diver. I figured I could find some depth with those, but are there any tricks or secrets that someone is willing to share with me? I want to fish at about 150 - 200 ft on a particular lake, but do not want to run out 300 yds of line to get there. Got to get down fast. Thanks for the help.
Jake
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Marty
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redneck yachter
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Those weights should get you down in a lake, the faster you troll the more drag your going to get. Braided line will help reduce drag and allow you to use a lighter lead. If your using lures with a lot of drag it gets tougher to fish deep. So depending on what kind of lure your fishing, it will dictate how heavy you need to go to fish at that depth.
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Marty
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Mojo
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I'd seriously think about buying a little "sport-troll" style downrigger. Cabela's has some models for around 35-45 bucks I think. I used to have 2 set-ups, and they worked pretty well. They are limited to 150' though. What kind of fish are you looking for?
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Tight Lines,
Mojo
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jimh
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Unless you are sure you need to fish that deep, I'd try flatlining slowly first. Unless you are going for Lake Trout, you need to be fishing the top 30 ft the majority of the time.
As far as getting deep goes, what Marty said. 
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Wear a PFD if you want to live.
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Mojo
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If he's fishing for Kokanee, he'll need to get down 40, 50, sometimes 60 feet. With 5 ounces on at 60 feet, he isn't gonna land many Kokanee, and he isn't gonna feel much of the fight. I agree 300 feet depth means bottomfish (which in a 10 foot boat is crazy), salmon in the salt (also crazy in a 10 footer), or most likely lakers. For lakers, I'd buy a small bolt on rigger, and go for it.
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Tight Lines,
Mojo
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jakerau
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1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
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I'll fish Kokes but generally jig'm most of the time. Big bull trout are the target species I am wanting to get deep for. I'm sure I'll find a good down rigger at some point, but until then, I guess I'll give this diver a shot and maybe try these lead balls too. Thanks for all the input.
About salmon in the salt..... Couple of ya mentioned the insanity of such a venture. Why? To be honest, I'd put my little boat in a big bay in a heart beat.... but maybe that is because I am not a super experienced boater/troller. How deep do salmon run in those bays anyway? Seems like whenever I have fished out in the ocean we are never too deep that I cant see the dodger/flasher working. Is it the size of the boat that makes it crazy? Who knows if I will ever actually do it - I just want to be clear on things if the chance does arise. Thanks again.
Jake
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jakerau
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1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
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What is the best set up for Kokanee trolling anyway? I do a lot of jigging for them and catch a lot of fish for a guy without a depth/fish finder. Anybody got an old one sitting around??? 
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Jake
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Mojo
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First things first, a 10 foot boat is too small for the ocean. I'm not talking bays here, but Big Blue. I wouldn't even think of taking it out of Sekiu, and it can be glass there. Have you ever seen the waves kicked up by a big freighter? Not to mention how fast the fog or wind can roll in on you. The ocean is nothing to mess with. Go prepared for any condition. I have taken my 22 foot sled out of Sekiu, but that's the extent of my salty travels in my boat.
I have never heard of Bull Trout at 300 feet. Lakers yes, but bulls run shallower from what I hear. You will be hard pressed to get any diver more than 100 feet. Line drag will limit the depth it will run.
When trolling for Kokanee, I use 2 basic setups. 1) (the go-to) pop gear, runner snubber (little piece of surgical tubing that helps keep the hook from ripping out of the koke's soft mouth), then a wedding ring spinner with 1 piece of white corn or a maggot on the hook. You can put trolling sinkers weighing from 1/2 to 5 ounces in front of that setup to get you to the depth the fish are at if you aren't running downriggers. 2) a small (like 3") SEP's flasher or other small dodger with 12" leader to the snubber, then 36" to a small spoon like a dick night or a wedding ring baited as above.
I generally find koke's shallow at first light (like top 10 feet) and then through the day the schools go deeper ( like 20-30 feet right now, up to 90 feet in the summer when it's hot out and the water warms). Since you don't have riggers, I's start with 1/4 oz of lead on the line. If you don't catch fish and other boats around you are, go to 1/2 oz. Keep going deeper till you get fish. You can also use leaded line, and keep an eye on how many colors you have to let out till you catch fish. Since they school at an almost constant depth, you can usually repeat success by letting out the same amount of colors as you got the last fish in. If you are only getting one once and a while, let another color out. A lot of fishing reports tell you how many colors they are getting fish at, and that's a good starting point.
That ought to give you something to think about. I can give you more info if you need it.
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Tight Lines,
Mojo
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Trouthead
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Subject of the Puritan Rep. of Washington
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His saving grace here is the fact that his boat is a Livingston. Twin hull glass boat with lots of built in flotation. Almost can’t tip it over. I run Puget Sound in NICE WEATHER with mine all the time using a 15 horse. I’ve been in the Straights with a 14 ft. Livingston with no problem but I stayed near shore. A 10 foot Livingston is too small for the open Ocean or the Straights.
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Trouthead
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jakerau
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1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
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Finally got out on the water today. Foggiest day I have seen - couldn't see 15 feet in front of me, but could hear guys talking and trolling motors all around me. When the fog burnt off at about 9 am, there were boats everywhere. I put 4 fish on the boat and missed several others. I used some pop gear with a snubber and a wedding ring tipped with corn. Also tested out my new diver - didnt land a single fish on it, but had three takes on it. Must be some kind of trick to hooking them with the diver. Anyhow, three nice-sized kokes brining in the fridge as we speak (er uh... type). One thing I wanted to mention - the CAGI fish call. I read about it here in a forum and bought one. Uses some kind of hydro-sonic sound waves to attract fish. I'll tell ya - I was skeptical, but I had more takes using that thing than I did without it. Too bad I got caught up on something big and heavy in the lake and lost an entire rig, fish call included ($10 a pop). I will definately buy another. Seemed to work great! All in all, a good start to the season. See you on the water.
Jake
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jakerau
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1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
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4 must be my lucky number. Was out on the same water today and put four more on the boat - missed 5 or 6 quick hits on the rod. Trouthead is right about these livingston boats. Its about as stable as a barge! Today I was up against 2 ft white caps - kinda hairy! But the boat took it like a real champ. The wind gave us a work-out though. Light weight boat. I'm out again tomorrow so watch for my report. Maybe some pics.
Jake
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Trouthead
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Subject of the Puritan Rep. of Washington
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Jake, your an animal. Gung ho all the way.  Waiting for pics.
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Trouthead
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camodrifter
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dual red striper
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sounds like you are figurin em out!
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set em and net em
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