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 Fishing Diving
Planers
By Capt. Jim Hirt
 Captain
Jim Hirt operates his fishing business out of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin as
Blue Max Charters.
Now
is the time to think about changes to make your trips
more productive next season. There are many ways to go
on this subject. Over the next several articles, I will
try to cover topics like rigging, tackle and
presentation. My goal is to provide information, which
should lead to more fish and less slow fishing.
In the last article we
covered some of the many ways to use a downrigger. Let
us continue with rigging presentation. The tools out
there are endless. It is a fisherman with a full arsenal
of presentations that finds action when fishing gets
tough. It is my experience that on any given day one
presentation or other will produce better than the
other.
Most boats run diving
planers like Dipsy Divers, Slide Divers, Deep Sixes and
similar divers. This is a very simple tool that is not
run to its full potential by most fishermen.
Start with a clear mono or
fluorocarbon 25-pound line one and a half times the
length of the rod you are using. On one end tie a size 5
cross lock snap to attach the lure. Tie the other end to
a snubber. They come in many colors. I prefer a clear
product made by Opti-Dodger. The snubber will absorb the
shock of the strike and set the hook.
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The snubber is then
attached to the diver. On the release side of the
diver, tie your line from the rod. You can use a
variety of different lines. The standard set up is
20 to 30 pound mono. Some other options are 20-pound
Micro-filament, Uni-filament and stranded wire.
The benefits of these
options are the smaller diameter of this product
allows the diver to reach greater depths. An 8 to 10
foot medium heavy action rod with a line counter
reel completes this rig. They are often called poor
man's downrigger. |
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When asked by beginning
trollers on what to buy, I always recommend two diver
rigs. They will take lures to a prescribed depth and
repeat it over and over again. The disadvantage to this
rig is it does not have a release and offers some
resistance when reeling in fish.
All divers come with a
sheet of paper to tell you how many feet of line to let
out to attain the depth you wish to fish. There is also
a base plate adjustment to make the diver go to the side
of the boat out of the boat’s path.
When fishing calm days in
clear water, divers offer a stealth presentation. Line
counter reels give you total control of depth for
repeatability. For those who do not have line counters I
would measure the distance from the reel to the first
eye on your rod. When setting lines pull line from the
reel to the first eye. If it is 2 feet multiply the
number of pulls by 2 to calculate your amount of line
out. Then refer to diver depth chart to figure diver
depth.
To finish this article I
will discuss flat lining. In this presentation you troll
free lines off the back of the stern with little or no
weight. You are restricted to one or two lines to avoid
tangles.
The advantage is to spot
lures far from the boat 50 to 300 feet back. This is
deadly when temperature of the water for your target is
right on the surface. Spooky fish like Rainbows and
Brown Trout will hit midday on flat lines.
My flat line rods are
spooled with 12-pound test line or you may use a small
barrel swivel and a 12-pound leader to your heavier
downrigger line. Use a good quality size 7 cross lock
snap swivel to attach your lure.
To add a little depth to
this presentation, use a bead chain keel sinker from 3/8
to 2 ounces eight feet ahead of the snap.
Good Luck
Captain Jim.
Let's go fishing!! Jim
charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters.
He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site
at
http://www.bluemaxcharters.com
Copyright© 2006, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
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