Downrigger question

[mnfitc]

I'm running three downriggers , Should I always run each one at a different depth?
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[obifishkenobi]

If you stagger them by 5 feet you will be less likely to tangle up, and help you to prospect and find where the fish are biting, but I will some times run mine on the left and right side of the boat at the same depth If I’m dialed in and catching fish. If you have more than one on a side then yes you have to stagger the depths and set backs with the front one the deepest and farthest back.
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[mnfitc]

Thanks for the info . I have one on each corner of my boat and one about two feet up the rail from the back one. you said that the rail one should be deeper and the set back more than the others. About how far should my set backs be from the others?
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[liketrolling]

[quote obifishkenobi] If you have more than one on a side then yes you have to stagger the depths and set backs with the front one the deepest and farthest back.[/quote]

I use to do it this way

but found out I catch more kokanee doing it the other way
with the front one the deepest and closer to the ball, the back one up 5' to 10' (depending on the fish) above the front one and back 10' feet father,

my thinking and what I have seen on under water cameras is sometimes fish will see the bottom lure first, if they miss that one they will go up and another lure is right there

that is why having four lines out is a lot better than two.

I have seen a kokanee stay on (following) the bottom lure for 10 min. then leave and go up and hit that top lure
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[mnfitc]

thank you I'm going to try it out this weekend at strawberry. wondering if I should go out in the main bay or start out in SC. any suggestions?
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[Elkslayer1]

We run two out the sides and two off each corner pointed just off the motors. We run the two out the backs deep with shorter set backs and the two out the sides more shallow and farther set backs. Fishes well this way and less tangles in turns
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[POk3s]

To the first question of SHOULD you fish them at different depths? My opinion is yes. With pods of kokanee you’re not worried about one fish, you’re wanting fish stacked up on each other. When I stack, I’m 10 feet different in depth on the same side. So for example on the left side of the boat I would run 30 and 20. On the right side of the boat I’ll be at 25 and 35. If you’re trying to learn where the fish are on a new body of water then run everything 10 feet apart. Example 20,30,40,50 and then zero in from there. Another benefit to never having set ups at exactly the same depth is you’ll figure out when these fish start to move deeper throughout the day. When your deepest line starts to get hit more frequently than top lines you know it’s time to slide your presentations down the water column.

For the second question it appears I fish differently than everybody else....or maybe we’re all saying the same thing in a different way. The down riggers toward the front of your boat should be set deeper AND farther back than the lines toward the back of your boat. I know this sounds counter intuitive as far as getting presentations away from boat noise but it works far better. If a fish hits the deeper line and your shallower line is set farther back it will tangle far more frequently. When a fish hits your deep line and it’s set back farther than your top line, it takes your presentation back and straight up. I think of it as a big “L” on bottom and a small “L” on top. I’ve put over 100 kokanee in the boat so far this year, and had exactly one tangle. Pretty good odds!!
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[mnfitc]

This is great information Thank you
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[dubob]

[#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]There is no right/wrong answer as to how deep to run multiple DRs. I fished all 4 of mine at 15 feet deep and all set 30 feet back on Saturday & Sunday at Hyrum this past weekend. Caught a ton of rainbows anywhere from 12" to 17". Kept about 8 for the weekend. Did not have a single tangle all weekend long.If your marking a lot of fish at a specific depth +/- a couple of feet, then run them all at that depth and use the same set back on all of them.[/size][/font][/#800000]
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[#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]If the fish are dispersed over 40 feet of water column, then by all means stagger your depths.[/size][/font][/#800000]
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[#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]I would also recommend the the longer set back line on either side of the boat should always be the lower line on that side of the boat. I honestly don't think it makes any difference whether its the outside or inside line on that side of the boat. But that's just my opinion based on my own experiences.[/size][/font][/#800000]
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[#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]When I am forced to stack lines on one downrigger, I use the same setback distance for all lines on the same cable.
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