Tips on stacking downrigger lines

[Fishermanpaul]

I had never tried before but the other night I tried stacking two lines on the downrigger and I found that I got my bottom line snagged on the top line a couple times... are there any tips and tricks for stacking these lines? Maybe next time I'll try a slider instead.

 

[fishin fool]

I had never tried before but the other night I tried stacking two lines on the downrigger and I found that I got my bottom line snagged on the top line a couple times... are there any tips and tricks for stacking these lines? Maybe next time I'll try a slider instead.

I personally have never tried stacker lines but run sliders whenever I legally can and find they work quite well

 

[Octavius Brine]

I am not the expert but I bet it helps others if you mention how long your leads were, what depths you had on the two lines and which baits.

We had a small one on the slider the last time out and couldn't tell. Till I raised the ball a couple feet and you could see the fish follow it up on the graph!

 

[scrimmy]

If you use scotty releases both on the main and a scotty stacker release that you can put anywhere on the cable then use a body bait or spoon on the mainline. When you put on your stacker keep it 10' above your mainline and only use a spoon or shallow diver body bait. This should eliminate any foul ups. When I used to run Charters I had 4 downriggers and would run 8 rods off them and never had a problem with them getting snagged up with one another.

 

[Fishermanpaul]

If you use scotty releases both on the main and a scotty stacker release that you can put anywhere on the cable then use a body bait or spoon on the mainline. When you put on your stacker keep it 10' above your mainline and only use a spoon or shallow diver body bait. This should eliminate any foul ups. When I used to run Charters I had 4 downriggers and would run 8 rods off them and never had a problem with them getting snagged up with one another.

I have a scotty release, and a Scotty stacker release but I found it was snagging still… at least bottom on the top line, I was running the bottom one 35-40 feet back, and running the higher one about 10-20 feet back … spacing them out 25 feet, I was trying to run one at 50 and one at 25 feet down …. I was running a spoon on the bottom and a shallow body bait on the top

Everyone online was saying a longer higher line and a shorter bottom line but that was because kings dive when they take the bait… but walleye come up when they get hooked so I figured having a longer bottom lead would be better

 

[scrimmy]

I have a scotty release, and a Scotty stacker release but I found it was snagging still… at least bottom on the top line, I was running the bottom one 35-40 feet back, and running the higher one about 10-20 feet back … spacing them out 25 feet, I was trying to run one at 50 and one at 25 feet down …. I was running a spoon on the bottom and a shallow body bait on the top

Everyone online was saying a longer higher line and a shorter bottom line but that was because kings dive when they take the bait… but walleye come up when they get hooked so I figured having a longer bottom lead would be better

For Walleye fishing this year you do not need a long lead. My lead on the main line this year is a maximum 20 feet. Try running your body bait on the main at 20 feet and your spoon on the stacker at 20 feet max or shorter. I have not run any stackers this year but do run sliders and they are only 6 feet long and have produced a good number of Walleye as well as the main line at 20 feet max.

 

[SonsofFishes]

What I've seen on the inline camera Scrimmy is right running body baits on the lower and spoons on the top . Spoons will run a few feet higher than the body baits . If your boat speed drops from wave action or on an inside turn the spoon will rise quite a bit where the body baits pretty much stays low . I can see why you were having the issue there .
I'll look for a clip tomorrow showing how your spoon behaves going from fast to slow and post it .

 

[Fisherboy]

Never had a problem with sliders. Great for rainbows on Ontario when fishing for kings

 

[SonsofFishes]

Not an extreme case here but does show the spoon go to the top of the screen when a slow down occurs .

 

[Fishermanpaul]

I should clarify that I was getting snagged when fish came on and the line came up... but I will definitely try a shorter lead and do the body bait low and the spoon higher and see how that works, I'm sure that will fix my problem. Also going to make up some sliders for sure too and try them out.

Thanks everyone for the advice and @SonsofFishes that's an awesome video... For sure going to look through your YouTube videos later aha

 

[Fish Farmer]

You see the fish miss the spoon because of the wobble, You'd think you get more hook-ups with a Worm Harness.