06-13-2020, 08:20 PM
To avoid tangles Joe, never run your setback more than 15 feet. I try to set my lures at the same distance behind the boat. Which means the setback on my outside DR (the forward one) is about 4 feet longer than the back corner DR. The old myth about 100 feet total (depth + setback) is just that - a myth. And like Robert said, with more than one fish at a time being played, tangles can happen.
Depth separation is a matter of personal preference. Most folks seem to use 10 feet, which is probably good if stacking. But if you're running one line on each DR, then any separation depth can and does work. There is nothing magic about 10 feet. Kokanee schools tend to run in a narrow band of water that is close to a specific temperature spread of about 2 or 3 degrees. In most of the summer, that band is 10 feet or less in depth. So why would I need to cover 20 to 30 feet of water depth? I don't. I just cover the 10 foot band that most of the fish are in with 4 DRs. YMMV!
If the fish are working the surface 10 feet, then DRs aren't needed at all. Run two lines off the back of the boat and two lines on boards 30 to 50 feet off both sides. Use 50 foot or more setback when working the surface (I generally use 75). The length of your boat is irrelevant to the number of DRs used. You can run 4 DRs off a 12 foot boat just as easily as you can off a 30 foot boat.
I normally don't stack lines. But on those rare occasions I do, I use Shuttle Hawks and keep the high line shorter than the bottom line and at least 10 feet apart. You don't really need stops on the DR cable for the Hawks, just set their depth using the return on your sonar.
I'll leave you with one last recommendation Joe. Put swivel bases on ALL you DRs. Constantly removing and installing DRs while on the water to avoid hitting the dock or another boat while launching or retrieving your boat is going to get old real fast.
Depth separation is a matter of personal preference. Most folks seem to use 10 feet, which is probably good if stacking. But if you're running one line on each DR, then any separation depth can and does work. There is nothing magic about 10 feet. Kokanee schools tend to run in a narrow band of water that is close to a specific temperature spread of about 2 or 3 degrees. In most of the summer, that band is 10 feet or less in depth. So why would I need to cover 20 to 30 feet of water depth? I don't. I just cover the 10 foot band that most of the fish are in with 4 DRs. YMMV!
If the fish are working the surface 10 feet, then DRs aren't needed at all. Run two lines off the back of the boat and two lines on boards 30 to 50 feet off both sides. Use 50 foot or more setback when working the surface (I generally use 75). The length of your boat is irrelevant to the number of DRs used. You can run 4 DRs off a 12 foot boat just as easily as you can off a 30 foot boat.
I normally don't stack lines. But on those rare occasions I do, I use Shuttle Hawks and keep the high line shorter than the bottom line and at least 10 feet apart. You don't really need stops on the DR cable for the Hawks, just set their depth using the return on your sonar.
I'll leave you with one last recommendation Joe. Put swivel bases on ALL you DRs. Constantly removing and installing DRs while on the water to avoid hitting the dock or another boat while launching or retrieving your boat is going to get old real fast.