ideas for lure component of three-way bottom bounce rig?

I have had some fun with various three-way trolling/bottom bouncing rigs when fishing for rockfish over fairly flat bottom where some searching for the fish is required, (like in santa cruz). you could also use this on a fast drift in deep water I'm pretty sure.

I use an 8 to 16 ounce ball on an ~18" dropper where the lower part of the dropper is something like 80lb mono for abrasion resistance, and the upper part is 15lb mono so if I snag the 10oz ball, I only lose the weight.

the lure is on a 3 foot leader or so, like 25lb test.

The big question is what lure works the best. cause there are issues of it not snagging or tangling but also catching fish, like how well it hooks the fish, holds them, etc as often the rod is in a holder.

I'm interested in some discussion on this one, mostly just for fun.

I have used an apex equivalent (pro-troll string-king?) and a minnow-shaped floating plug as well as a grub and a swimbait with a light head as well as bait, either a sardine or anchovy on a two or one hook harness with an extra spinner, as well as a whole squid.

strangely, the things that have worked the best were the pro-troll e-chip equipped apex-equivalent, the minnow-shaped floating plug (only two hooks) and the sardine or anchovy.

haven't caught anything on the whole squid or the grub for whatever reasons but the others have caught fish.

Nobody designs lures for use with a three-way rig like this so i do have to wonder what people have tried and what works well.

Sure seems like a grub with a hook through it would be best choice cause it is cheap and has action plus doesn't really have an up or a down, but I don't have a ton of confidence in that one right now.

John

I have tried that with swimbaits and anchovies.  The anchovies produced more.  I assumed it was just the scent they have.  Fuzzy Tom uses 'fish shaped' plugs and seems to do well.

Hi Yakers:

      I caught my first Butt on 8 Oz. Egg w/ 3 Ft. Whole Squid Stinger Leader. I have tried
a three-way /Flasher Whole Squid Config. but, the tackle keeps getting tangled up.
      I have caught fish on both type of Tackle but, the sliding Egg seems
to hang up less.
      I think the problem is that there are NO FISH in Santa Cruz!
                                                                   Sea-ya
                                                                   Ernie

It's pretty standard in the Pacific Northwest to run kwikfish and flatfish on a three-way system for salmon in the big rivers.    You might want to give them a try.

It's pretty standard in the Pacific Northwest to run kwikfish and flatfish on a three-way system for salmon in the big rivers.    You might want to give them a try.

I worry about any deep diving thing (which is what a kwikfish is basically, right?) behind the sinker cause it might dive and hit the bottom and get snagged.

how do they prevent that from happening? what length is the dropper and what length is the leader?

I was actually thinking of using a top water plug as it would not dive, but would still have some action.

likewise the apex does not dive, so just follows behind at the depth of the threeway swivel.

John

What about a hoochie with some scent? What about Berkeley riggged eels? The length of the eel may give it some action (w/o diving). Kinda like adding a white worm to a plug when striper fishing. Maybe add a bead chain swivel to prevent twisting?

What about a shallow running rapala that is commonly used as a rip bait for bass fishing? They are typically  a 5-6 inch long hard bait, very shallow divers, and they suspend. If you cannot find any that suspend, you can weight them with lead tape.

I like the rigged eel idea. I have some 10" power eels. the hoochie *should* work, but has not for me so far (haven't tried enough maybe).

I have used a fasttrac jointed 4.5" rebel with one hook removed or all three trebles removed and a single hook in the middle (with some lead tape to counter act the missing hooks). works great!

the ripbait or jointed plug works great. that is the thing that has worked best for me so far. expensive tho, and would prefer a better single hook solution since trebles on the yak suck.

I just put two saltwater hooks on a small berkely frenzy suspending 2-hook minnow plug. I bet that works.

would prefer a single hook plastic solution.

I am wondering if a topwater plug would work. I have a coupl big mirrolures that look like they would be great if they don't start leaking..

I bet a stupid  senko on a straight j-hook would work great.

John

     Anyone who trolls for rockfish is nuts, in my opinion.  They are the kind of people who might just kayak anyway even if there were no fish to catch. Which, I admit, is the way it often seems in Santa Cruz.  But just in case I ever try it, where does the 80 lb test go - is it the leader to the 3-way? Not that I'd know for sure, but wouldn't the most abrasion be on either the dropper to the ball or the line back to the lure?
 I'd think price of the lure would be more of an important factor in trolling in the areas you'd likely attract rockfish, but next most important might be rattling and wobbling and light reflecting.  And maybe something that would float off the grassy bottom while you're unsnagging the lead ball,  But the weights you're willing to drag around  and bring up with a good-sized Olive are probably not going to hit bottom all that often anyway, even with braid (which would seem like a good choice to cut through the kelp). 

Quickfish and Flatfish don't technically "dive". They are wide wobblers and need to be fished SLOW or they run out of true. You won't hang bottom too much with one if you keep the leader to your weight around 3-feet. You could also get fancy and do a sardine wrap.

FYI - Walmart in the SAC area has Apex's half price. Too bad I don't salmon fish.

Tight lines!

rob
jrsyboy

It's pretty standard in the Pacific Northwest to run kwikfish and flatfish on a three-way system for salmon in the big rivers.    You might want to give them a try.

I worry about any deep diving thing (which is what a kwikfish is basically, right?) behind the sinker cause it might dive and hit the bottom and get snagged.

how do they prevent that from happening?

I have used a fasttrac jointed 4.5" rebel with one hook removed or all three trebles removed and a single hook in the middle (with some lead tape to counter act the missing hooks). works great!

Perhaps you already know the answer?     How do you keep it from snagging?

-Allen

Quickfish and Flatfish don't technically "dive". They are wide wobblers and need to be fished SLOW or they run out of true.

Sure they dive.  And wobble too.  And yes, you can run them too fast.

-Allen

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"Flatfish is generally considered a slow speed crankbait that runs shallow" from some trolling website.

But what the heck to I know..........

rob
jrsyboy

My flat fish and quickfish will dive from 8-15 ft depending on the lure type, while anchored or trolling in the river.  The faster the troll the deeper they go...to an extent without loosing the action. I think 8-10 ft is considered shallow to medium running by most crankbait standards.  The X series will go to around 12-15 ft.

Matt