Leads off Dwn Riggers East End Lake Erie Walleye

C

Cuttin Bait

Active Member
How long of a leads are you running for Body baits and how long for spoons off the cannon balls . How do they change for the course of the day , also thru out the season
 
wow that's close..I was running 100 to 120ft..maybe that is too long, I thought that it would get the bait far back from boat kinda like lead core..next outing gonna try closer to the ball..when fish are shallow, say 25ish ft do you still run shallow.? Yesterday they were deeper than I'm used to should have tried shorter leads..
 
Agreed hvyhaul. two weeks ago we only caught 2 fish off the riggers and both were on Cheater lines with only 3' lines. Last year I was running 100ft back off the riggers. Got tangled with lead core so I shorten it to 30 ft. Still caught fish. Now I run 30ft off the ball.
 
Now I have another excuse to go fishing again..gonna try a shorter lead..I have not run sliders when I have long leads, hard to reel in that much line to get tight..seems the older I get the more lazy I get..
 
I run the in the same range 20' to 25' max and I find at 50' I catch less fish and have a better opportunity for tangles into the lead core. I also find I get better releases on the small fish when I run shorter.
 
I have been fishing with down riggers for over 50 years. If you are fishing for trout or salmon short leads work best 10 feet. Walleye longer leads 25 to 30 feet. Shorter leads work better in choppy water. I was out of Bruce yesterday and had a great day. Caught some very big fish. 90% of the fish were caught off of the riggers with small spoons. 60 feet of water riggers down 40 feet. When fishing with down riggers you should try different things and you will find what works best for you.
 
Good to see them hitting riggers. going to Bruce tomorrow. Did you use cooper back or chartreuse back spoons. 2 weeks ago it was chartreuse back spoons they wanted
 
I run 6' to 10' off the ball. Was a recommendation from a charter captain and he said you might be pleasantly surprised, so I gave it a try. Has worked for many years now. Tried longer leads and caught less fish. Maybe just my experience, but give it a shot. Make sure to check your riggers regularly as sometimes a light biting surprise is on the other end.
 
I run 10-15 ft behind the downrigger weight (POW casting fish shape style) without the sliders, and then I stack a 2nd downrigger rod very close to the bottom rod, and I have it at about 50-60 ft behind the weight. In such fashion, 4x rods are dragging on the bottom (if bottom is the goal that is).
 
I started using 15 ft leads off the ball this year and it has been producing very well. Never caught a walleye with long leads. So the theory that the motor noise scares walleye can't be true. Lol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
✖
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Advertising is what keeps Channel 6-8 on the air. To this end, please take a moment to disable your AdBlocker. If you would prefer an ad-free experience, but would still like to help support site operations, please consider making a donation.

I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks