I've always been told that you cant get very deep without a downrigger when trolling a flasher...Maybe 30 feet or so...Balogna!!!...I fished Sekiu over the weekend and trolled with the current, with a 10 oz weight and flasher and was going deeper than 50 % of the line being let out...All weekend!!! At one point i was running 60 feet down with 100 feet out...I was using power pro line, which definitely trolls deeper than mono....My guess would be 25 % or so deeper.

I used to fish with banana weights and was able to get pretty deep. the problem was the amount of line you have to let out to get their. The nice thing about down rigger is it takes the guess work out of it . Their still is a little bit even with a downrigger but not much. I remember looking at my line when i had just a lead weight on it trying to figure out now is that 45 or 50 degrees?? Not anymore 15 lbs. of weight a quick look at the line counter , look at the fishfinder yep I am their. Of course back the old days we didnt have a fishfinder either so who new where the fish were. We would just count pulls

They have those weighted dipsy divers now that claim you can go down 100+ plus. Anyone have any feedback about those?

Nevertheless, there is no substitute for a downrigger.

I've used dipsy divers and deep sixes with success in the south sound. I don't know if they go as deep as they claim, but we caught fish with them. Mostly trolling off beaches in a hundred feet of water. We never hit bottom, so I doubt they go as deep as they claim, unless...... you let out a certain amount of line to achieve that depth? Oh well. Guess I'm gonna have to do some more on the water testing this summer.

There are several ways to get deep without a downrigger, but I also agree with the statement that there is no substitute for a downrigger. In my opinion, the biggest benefits of using DRs are depth control, depth control while cover lots of water and elimination of drag associated with divers and/or weights.

The new dipseys are nice especially with the added weight in the dipsey it self. It really helps get those spooky fish that are deep, out of the 25 fish we caught today 2/3 came on those dipseys. The key to get them down deep is to use something like power pro or braided wire. I don't know how wire would work in salt water, but here wire is the only thing going some days. We keep a log on how deep the dipseys can go out with certain amounts of line, just let out a certain amount and keep going shallower until it scraps bottom, and that can give you a general guestimate on how deep you are runing your bait.

according to "precision trolling the 6th edtion(great book) a size 1 dipsy diver will go down to 68 ft max with 150 of 20 lb mono. at 2.5 mph. this book is great. did you know that a 1/2 oz. hot shot will get down to 23 ft with 220 ft of line out. but a hot 'n tot ( which many are using for divers) WILL MAX OUT AT ONLY 15 FT DEEP WITH 180 FT OF LINE.

that was the 1/4 hot n tot. the magnum 3/4 will get down to 34 ft with 230 ft of line.

A downrigger allows control with nothing more than you and the fish. I prefer not to hang onto a 10 oz. weight too.

Posted on this subject about a year ago,still using divers but IMHO downriggers are the way to go.

Used a small cabela's depth and temp.guage tied in line to get the results,2.5 to 3 mph in 3 to 4ft. swells.

Power pro 60# test main line.

Deep six #2, 50ft. out about 23ft. down
100ft.out about 43ft.down, Double deep six,150 out about 88ft. down

Keeps me in the silvers and near shore chinook. Have been looking at the scotty 1090 strongarm downriggers.

Save your $$$$ and buy a DR. It is the only way!

The big difference I've found, this being my first year with my own downriggers, is that you can troll however slow or fast you want, and still be confident in your depth.

It will sure be nice to troll down 100' this summer for those deep silvers over 10 pounds along the west side of Whidbey.

I'll still do those early morning 1 oz trolls though with a cut plug. That's a blast

Jeff, you mean Coho like this one taken off Scatchet head last year? I hear you there buddy, one of the best spots for coho on the sound. I can't wait for that to start up.

Whatever happened, is mooching a lost art in the sea of downriggers?

d-haul. i know how to use downriggers and it is a art in its own right. but I have not been able to figure out the detials of mooching. I would love for you or some one top show me . my boat or yours?

Sky,
That's exactly what I'm talking about. Great photo.

Don't want to wish the summer away, but last year's coho run was pretty darn good all in all, and I can't wait for more! Plenty of big fish. I saw a guy land what had to be a nice 15 pounder from the beach last October. And it was definatly not a Chum.

I know Mutiney Bay, Bush and Lagoon Points are a bit farther to run, but if Possession is cold, head North (or west?) NW.

Double Haul: I enjoy mooching, and learned it from my grandfather and dad in Port Townsend off Mid Channel bank, but I have to admit, this "new invention" called downriggers seems pretty cool!

There's always motor mooching...

You can always use the old timey trick of running a #4 or #5 Colorado blade 12" from the herring..

One thing I wanted to mention earlier... drop the banana weight- to much friction. Go with a ball.. Instead of the flasher try the Fish Flash.

thats excatly how I have been catching them lately, 4-5 oz bannana weight with the small white glow fish flash dual snapped to the weight then my cut plug, seems to fish all right when I got herring. gonna try the cannon ball weight, sounds like a good idea tomorrow at southworth or might launch in gig harbor and give that a shot.

the avatar is my 5 year old son holding a nice 15-16 lb silver taken last fall from hood canal, biggest silver I ever caught.

early morning 1 oz herring trolls along the shoreline for silvers kick a$$

Not hardly.

By the way JK I'm not doubting what you say but what makes you sure you were really down at 60' and not just catching kings higher up? I only ask because most folk don't realize just how common it is to catch kings shallow up there. I for one have learned the hard way that at times you can actually fish too deep for CQ and Flattery fish.

That's where they were. I just returned from round two at CQ. Over all I averaged about eight kings a day, with Friday morning being the slowest at four, and none of them were deeper than 25 feet. I never put out my DR's once.