Downriggers....

A question: Aside from the trout trollers looking for light line fishing. Why are you using or wanting to use a downrigger?

Personally I was thinking about it because I am concerned about the dropping of lead specifically regarding salmon fishing. I know tungsten is available and is a safer option but too $$$$$$$ in my opinion.

I've been looking over previous discussions and I think in general I like kayak fishing for the KISS of it all. So I have chucked the idea of a downrigger, I might come back to it but I think for me I have a better solution.

Keeping in mind I prefer the KISS approach to fishing but also don't want to leave lead lying around I am thinking of working on making steel weights. I am still playing around with it currently.

Here is my idea: Take a weldable bar stock (easiest to acquire and cheap) and cut it down into a few trial lengths. Weigh these lengths to find a length to weight ratio on the bar stock so I can cut a bunch of them at the length (weight) that I am looking for then weld an attachment point to them or drill them and use them in place of lead sinkers. You are already dropping them so they don't need to be pretty or anything else and you have the added benefit of the steel simply rusting away and not piling up in the ocean. Since rusting is a natural process it should be more readilly dealt with by nature.

A couple question about this:

1. Does anyone have any experience using other than a ball style weight? Will a piece of bar stock (I guess similar to a torpedo weight) have a different effect in the water when trolling? I am thinking the stock would not be longer than say three inches. If I have to go to a bigger diameter stock to keep the 3" or so rule I will.


2. Will steel in salt water create a charge similar to a steel leader when fishing for sturgeon that will effect the fish?

Jeff

For some reason the term "dingle baring" comes to mind. I think that people use lengths of rebar as weights and to bounce the bottom for lingcod. I think it depends on how deep you are trying to fish.

-Brian G

Brian,

Well in my case I am thinking of them as a maybe cheaper, hopefully better for the environment and direct replacement for the lead weights. So I guess as deep as the fish are. I am thinking something in the 2 to 4 lbs range. You can see I have given this only some basic thoughts, mostly because I have yet to chase the salmon from the yak so no real need as yet. But I have access to used steel and a welder so I started kicking it around.

Jeff

You might want to try a Deep Six AKA Dipsy Diver AKA Pink Lady like Abking uses for salmon trolling.
I have had similar concerns about leaving pounds of lead at the bottom of the ocean...and I don't really want to complicate things too much by using a downrigger.

Obviously it works...check his last few reports!
PK

or you could limit yourself to 3 lead balls a trip, using a deep six or double deep six after the
first 3 balls hit the bottom.

with the steel, it is less dense, thus you need even more weight to get to the same depth.

or you could use an inline 8oz sinker and then a release with 16oz.

a lot of options if you really think you will drop that much lead on the ocean floor.

it doesn't have to be all or nothing, no lead or lots of lead.

and other folk have argued that the lead doesn't do much at all, there is already plenty of lead down
there, but I can see how the average person might not buy that argument.

J

Sin Coast,

Okay I just looked at the Dipsy Diver and I think I like it. I have in the past used the Deep Six but I don't like fighting it back up. The Dipsy sounds like it would not have the same issues. I never liked using dodgers for the same reason but I would like to test the sling blade someday.

I'm not giving up on the steel weights though - instead I'll make 1 and 2 oz weights for fishing off the three-way rig for striper and halibut. I lost a few weights this year to the delta striper fishing. My new 3way rig uses 1-4 lbs test (whatever I have on hand) for the sinkers so if hung up I am only losing the weight and not the rest of the rig. Once I switched to a very light line I lost much less tackle so I can only guess that it is more often than not the sinker getting hung up.

One side note: I get hung up less using the sliding sinker rig, but I still think the 3way is catching more fish.

Jeff

Deep sixes with bait
Pink Ladies whih Lures

Jeff-

There are other ways of catching salmon other than trolling if dropping lead is a problem for you. Personally, I rarely troll for salmon. I love mooching for them. I've even mooched DEEEEEEEP for them. You must be planning on doing a lot of salmon fishing to be so concerned.

Go get'em...

Freddie

Who is gonna teach me the ropes of Moss????????

Tote-

When the fish come in... I'm going out. You're always welcome to hang out with me bro.

Freddie

Freddie,

I actually prefer mooching myself. But I really like the idea of fighting a fish with as little resistance as possible espically the salmon. In fact once on a charter boat we were mooching with weight relesases and man that to me was the way to go.

As for the chasing the salmon, I intend to maybe not much this year because of time constraints but a whole lot more in the years to come.

Jeff

I used Deep 6's in the small and medium sizes last year yak trolling for trout on lakes. My experience was that they put a lot of drag on the boat and you never really know how deep they are. For that reason I switched to downriggers this year. So far, it seems the drag is a little less from a downrigger and depth placement is a lot more accurate. There is also the advantage of not having the plane on your line when fighting the fish. If you are in the east bay, I can lend you some Deep 6's and you can try them out before you buy them.

Scott

  Controlled depth fishing.  Trolling a normal troll, your lure may not get to the depth where the fish are holding.  Leadline can only get so deep (35' maybe) My little "Scoty", for each complete turn on the crank My lure went down 1 foot.  50 turns, 50feet down. (give or take).
  Thats why I've used downriggers (in the past)
Troy

Dropping large lead weights on the bottom isn't much of an environmental concern, they tend to sink in sand or mud and eventually sequester themselves against the bedrock (I find lead shot against the bedrock when goldpanning).  Then consider that much of the rock in the ocean contains naturally occuring lead...   The main problems with lead weights in the environment is when critters eat them for whatever reason (usually birds), but with 2lb salmon balls I don't think that'd happen very often.

Small lakes that are highly fished (like quarry lakes, ect) and involved in the water supply may have valid concerns about the accumulation of lead over generations of fishermen, but considering there's probably billions of tons of lead ore on the seafloor - the weights we lose out there are truely just a drop in the ocean.

For me, I'm not really concerned with the negative impact I might have on the ocean by leaving a bunch of lead balls on the seafloor.

I am concerned with the negative impact this may have on my wallet. I mean, its gonna cost me $1.50 to $2 each time a stupid blue hits my lure. That just plain sucks.

So I am planning to work with a 'rigger this season. However, I do see problems with trying to troll on the 'rigger. Like, for example, do I have to paddle a bunch to gain speed, then begin lowering my rig? Or can I lower it while just drifting? [I assume that I'll have to paddle, then lower the rig...but that may prove to be difficult in the middle of the ocean]

PK