Setting out a Lake Ontario Trolling
Spread
By
Capt. James Samia
When first getting out onto the lake on a
charter, setting out a Lake Ontario trolling spread in an orderly fashion in
the least amount of time is of utmost importance. The sooner the lines are
placed in the water, the sooner your chances of catching fish go up. As a
charter captain, obviously I want my clients to have a great time and catch
fish. This article will discuss the methods that we use to get our lines in the
water as quickly as possible.
A lot of times I run my charters without a
first mate. So, this is the method that I use when I am alone and fishing with
clients who do not want to actively participate in putting out the lines. It
will work in calm or rough seas, at least for the first two thirds of deploying the
trolling spread. How many rods that are included in the trolling spread will
depend upon how rough the seas are as well as what species of fish we are
looking to catch.
The first two rods that go into the water
are the dipsey diver rods. With no other rods to get in the way, this is the
best time to let these typically long lines out without them getting tangled.
Here’s how I do it. Keep in mind that the dipseys are directional and are
supposed to be fished either on the port or starboard side depending on the
directional setting on the back of the diver. The rods are placed in their
appropriate holders and the lines are allowed to bleed out against the drags
which are set so that the line bleeds out slowly. Doing it this way allows me
to multitask. It will take several minutes for these lines to get out to the
desired amount which at this point, I don’t even know how far that needs to be yet. The next line that I put in
the water will tell me what I need to know.
The next line to go into the water is the
probe rigger. This will let me know where the desired temperature is that I want
to target. Once I know how deep the temperature is, I then can figure out how
many feet of line I need to let out on the dipseys to get to the desired depth.
Remember that the dipseys are bleeding out against the drags. If the
temperature is reel deep, I may loosen the drag settings to let the dipsey
lines bleed out faster. There is a feeling to this that comes with experience.
Knowing where the temperature is located, is paramount to fishing success.
Depending on how far the dipseys have left
to go to get to the desired depth, I will either stop and set the drags on them, or continue on and set the second or third downriggers. Again, this will be
dictated by how deep in the water column that you need to fish. Once the
dipseys and riggers are set, the last lines to be put into the trolling spread
are the long lines off the boards. What gets put out here, and the how and when, depends on where
the temperature is in the column and if you know in advance before heading out
onto the lake where the temperature is.
If I know in advance where the temps are
either through local contact with other charters or coming back out on the lake
from a previous trip, I will modify how I go about setting out my trolling
spread. The lake conditions will also play a part in this decision. If I am
planning on running my Big Jon Otter Boats, I will let them begin to bleed out
manually against a loose clutch on the planning board reels. They get put in
the water after I find temperature with the probe rigger and if I am in search
mode looking for fish. If I’m on fish and I know I’m going to get bit, I will
wait on putting out the big boards as I can usually generate enough action with
the riggers and the dipseys.
If it’s rough out, I will forgo the big boards
and run a long line off the transom or “down the chute” as we call it. If the
big boards have been deployed, the long lines, just by their nature, have to be
let out one at a time. My method of deploying copper rods can be found here. Note that deploying long lines takes time and so doesn't fighting the fish that bite on them. For that reason, when at all
possible, if I can catch fish without using long lines or using very few of
them, all the better.
Being able to multitask when setting out a
Lake Ontario trolling spread enables us
to get our lines into the water that much quicker and gets us fishing that much
sooner. If I’m running with a first mate or have clients that want to be
actively involved in deploying the spread, that can make things go faster,too. We usually
incorporate the additional help by sectioning off the boat either port or
starboard, or by putting each person on an individual rod based upon their
skill level.
If you would like more information or tips on lake Ontario Fishing, please check out our website at www.acecharters.com. We also have a fishing info and tips section your welcome to view,too.
