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[Spawn Sack]

I primarily fly fish in still waters; however, I have some relatives coming to visit next week who wouldn't know a fly rod from a fly swatter! They want me to take them out fishing on some of the lake(s) around Chilliwack (where I live).

First, what lake to go to? Normally I fish up in the interior where my cabin is, but no time to drive way up there. It'll have to be local-ish. Also my boat is on a dinky trailer so 4x4 roads are off limits. I have a canoe I put on the roof racks for such lakes, but there is no way I'm taking my yo-yo relatives out in it, they'd dump it for sure! I'll be towing the aluminum boat on this one, and yes it is too big to go on the roof racks.

I'm thinking Chilliwack lake. I've head Ross lake and Jones Lake are better, but sounds like too rough to tow the boat + tralier on. Can anyone suggest another good lake for this trip? Not looking to drive too far. Roche Lake (one of my favs) near Kamloops would be nice but a bit too far for a day trip (3ish hours each way).

Now onto gear. I blew the dust off my old lake tackle box. It was actually pretty cool going through the old flat fish, wedding bands, apexs, etc. A few things I'm wondering...

1- Getting the gear down: I don't have down riggers. Just rod holders. I've seen weird looking products such as jet divers and dipsy divers etc in the store. I'm hoping I can get by without such gaudy looking things. I have lots of split shot and rubber-eared sinkers. Anyone have some words to the wise regarding how much weight to add on?

2- Gear set up: If using a spinning lure like a wedding band, can you use a small dodger for an attractor? Or are spinning lures meant to be used with spinning attractors like a willow leaf? Likewise, if using a spoon lure like a needle fish or apex, is it best to use a dodger as an attractor? Or can you fish a small spoon behind a spinning attractor like a willow leaf?

3- Leader length: I can't remember how long of a leader we used to use behind the attractor, and when you would want to shorten up a bit, or go longer. I know the closer a lure is to a dodger the more action it will have. I'm going to hazzard a guess that about 2 feet of leader behind the willow leaf or dodger etc is about right.

Any other gear trolling tips would be appreciated. I would really like to show the relatives a good time and get into some fish! I offerd to take them to the Vedder, but they have no interest in river fishing...

I remember when I was a kid we used to tip our flatfish and wedding bands etc with worm. Does anyone still do this? If there is an articical bait that works well for tipping such lures I'd be inclined to just go with that.

[troutbreath]

Chilliwack is not bad but usually need to go deep at this time. Although that's not chipped in granite. Hicks lake has good access for cartopper and is stocked. I use bouncing betties in differant weights to get down when not using a downrigger or slip weights. You may not need any weight with a willow leaf but would with a dodger (which work preety good). Fish finder is a good thing to have, but if you see fish rising then their on the surface. Wedding bands are my go to for Kokanee and they always get trout while doing that. Worm or power bait works as well. Leader lenght can very from 2 feet plus behind a dodger and from 6 inchs (bait) plus (lure) behind a willow leaf. I'd use a ford fender 50/50 instead of a willow leaf.

[zabber]

The one time I trolled around Jones I caught several rainbows in the span of a couple of hours. It was mid-summer, mid-day and I was running a #1 Mepps Black Fury (with the gold treble hook) on a spinning rod. No weights; just sub-surface. This was after an hour or two of bait + slip-float fishing with no luck... Fish weren't rising... Go figure...

The amount of weight you'll need to get your lure down and keep it at that depth will depend on how fast you're moving... You'll have to experiment. The most accurate system is downrigging and in absence of that I'd say DipsyDiver/JetDiver... They may look gaudy but apparently they work well.

Let us know how you make out!

[Spawn Sack]

Troutbreath and Zabber, thanks for the tips guys We went to Chilliwack lake yesterday and trolled around for a couple hours. Got a couple trout (not rainbows...Brook trout I think) on a small yellow flatfish with red dots. We weren't using an attractor; just a swivel on the mainline, a few feet of leader, then the flat fish.

On a side note, wow what a deep and cold lake! Even trolling right near shore the depth was often 50-100 feet. Avg temp was 58-60F. This is about 10 degrees colder than most other lakes we've fished lately.

We would like to try out Jones but have heard it's not a great road for towing in a boat + trailer. Hicks like is nice, I think we'll try it sometime this summer.

I'll have to check out these dipsy divers/jet divers. T/B I like the bouncing betty idea, but I think to get down deep more may be needed. True I could clip on a 2oz betty but foor our lightish gear not the best idea.

Still hoping someone has some advice under my original "gear setup" paragraph. For example, flat fish and a small 4/0 dodger - doable? Or are flatfish best used behind a spinning attractor, like a wilowleaf?

[Spawn Sack]

So I'm in Canadian Tire today getting some stuff for my car, when I decided to wander through the fishing section. I noticed the Jet Divers and Deep Sixs that I had heard about (both made by Luhr Jensen). I decided I was going to buy one and started reading the backs of the packages.

For the Deep Six you can get a "000" model that will dive to a max of 80 feet, a "001" model that will dive to a max of 100 feet, and a "002" model that will dive to a max of 170 feet (no "007" model...pause for laughter...).

The Deep Six is neat in that it "pops" when a fish strikes so the device does not have so much drag in the water when you're reeling it in. But then I got to thinking...am I EVER going to be trying to get down to 80 feet?! Probably not. Plus the Deep Six is such a big gaudy device. Here is a link to one: http://www.luhrjensen.com/Deep-Six/Deep%20Six,default,pd.html

Then the Jet Divers caught my eye. The are much smaller. They do not "pop" like the Deep Six. You can a #10, #20, #30, and #40. The #10 is meant to dive to 10ish feet, the #20 20ish feet, and so on. I'm not sure which would have more drag in the water when reeling in: a "poped" Deep Six or a smaller Jet Diver that doesn't pop. Has anyone tried them both? Here's a picture of the Jet Diver. http://www.luhrjensen.com/Jet-Diver/Jet%20Diver,default,pd.html

I ended up buying a J/D #20 and #30. I think these are the depths I'm likely going to be trying to get down to. If I like them, I can always pick up the other models to get to the other desired depths.

If anyone is famaliar with the J/D's I have 2 questions:

1- The duo-lock that goes to the mailine does not come with a barrel swivel. Should I tie my mainline right to the duo-lock, or should I slip a barrel swivel onto the smaller end?

2- From the bottom of the J/D (which DOES come with an attached barrel swivel...hmm...) I believe you need a leader which then connects to your dodger, or whatever your're using. What is a good length of leader between the J/D and the next part of your tackle?

[zabber]

My understanding was that those JDs "pop" (apparently they are buoyant when not moving), but maybe not in the same way... I imagine that they might dive a bit if you're reeling in a fish too? Lol...

I don't really do a lot of gear trolling, mostly just fly fish or bait fish these days. In fact, I bought a Scotty clamp-on downrigger + 3 or 5lb cannon ball a couple years back and it's still sitting in the garage in the packaging. I've read good things about the JDs, though, and my father's buddy saw 'em on a fishing show and was trying to talk us into buying a few and trolling some of the bigger local lakes. I saw the #10 (or was it #20?) at WalMart and was gonna pick one up but then I remembered that downrigger I never use, haha.

Anyways, I think you bought the right ones for your purpose(s); once you're marking fish, tie on the right one. There's a "manual" on how to hook it up on the page that you linked: http://demandware.edgesuite.net/aagv_prd/on/demandware.static/Sites-rapala-Site/Sites-rapala-Library/default/v1373368640561/downloads/531JetDiver.pdf?id=5

As for FlatFish, my guess would be they'd be best hooked up to a Willow Leaf or Ford Fender; something without it's own action... In fact, you can probably fish the FlatFish alone (w/ just the JD)... The "optional free diving JetDiver trolling rig" would be the first set-up I'd try; you can attach a Willow Leaf + FlatFish to that if you feel so inclined...

Let us know how those JDs work for ya.

[troutbreath]

80 feet down is about where you want to be on deeper lakes like Chilliwack, Stave birkenhead etc at this time of year. Using big Flatfish or plugs or salmon gear. That is if you want to catch big fish.

[becauseian]

I used to do a fair bit of gear trolling too, but been mostly fly fishing the last few years. First off for local lakes, Alloette is a good place for Kokanee and rainbows, although it is quite busy with boats and skiiers/ wakeboarders these days. Hicks is always a good bet, with lots of smaller fish, same as Weaver Lake, guaranteed to catch fish there. I like to use a medium sized willow leaf setup, with about 12" leader and a red or black wedding band tipped with worm, we call this the "meat gear" standard lake trolling setup. Usually we dont use any weight unless we arent catching much, then I put on a small weight, 1/2 oz or so. Down riggers arent really needed unless you are targeting the big Bull trout that lurk in the deep. Ford fenders work well too, but they are usually quite big and can be a work out for small light rods. Black sparkle flat fish are my go to for bigger trout. If I troll its always with a willow leaf or ford fender, I havent tried much with just the wedding band or small spinner, as the "meat gear" just works too good. We used to use the Deep six when trolling  for salmon in the ocean, they work ok, but again it pulls on the rod pretty good, so you will need a heavier / stiffer rod.....well this should get you going, have Fun!!

[Spawn Sack]

80 feet down is about where you want to be on deeper lakes like Chilliwack, Stave birkenhead etc at this time of year. Using big Flatfish or plugs or salmon gear. That is if you want to catch big fish.

Wow...good to know! The biggest Jet Diver is rated to reach a max depth of 50 feet. Maybe I'll pick up a Deep Six 000, rated to dive to 80 feet max, or an 001 rated to 100 feet max. It would suck to be marking fish at, say, 80 feet and only have a selection of Jet Divers, the biggest (#50) capable of reaqching a max of 50 feet. In other words, I'd like to have a Deep Six or two and not use them than need one and not have it on board. Thanks for the tips!

[Spawn Sack]

I used to do a fair bit of gear trolling too, but been mostly fly fishing the last few years. First off for local lakes, Alloette is a good place for Kokanee and rainbows, although it is quite busy with boats and skiiers/ wakeboarders these days. Hicks is always a good bet, with lots of smaller fish, same as Weaver Lake, guaranteed to catch fish there. I like to use a medium sized willow leaf setup, with about 12" leader and a red or black wedding band tipped with worm, we call this the "meat gear" standard lake trolling setup. Usually we dont use any weight unless we arent catching much, then I put on a small weight, 1/2 oz or so. Down riggers arent really needed unless you are targeting the big Bull trout that lurk in the deep. Ford fenders work well too, but they are usually quite big and can be a work out for small light rods. Black sparkle flat fish are my go to for bigger trout. If I troll its always with a willow leaf or ford fender, I havent tried much with just the wedding band or small spinner, as the "meat gear" just works too good. We used to use the Deep six when trolling  for salmon in the ocean, they work ok, but again it pulls on the rod pretty good, so you will need a heavier / stiffer rod.....well this should get you going, have Fun!!

Excellent advice! All that gear trolling when I was a kid is starting to come back to me now.

One question: regarding the 12 inch leader from the willow leaf to the wedding band, or flatfish, etc. To me that seems like a pretty short leader. No? I'm just thinking that the lure being that close to the attractor...won't it frighten the fish away?
I don't really know what I'm talking about, just curious.

I know on the fishing shows I watch on TV when they're trolling for salmon etc with big dodgers, I think their leaders are more like 2-3 feet (?)

Maybe it's different with a willow leaf/ford fender, etc.

Clairification would be appreciated.

[zabber]

FYI, you can get a manual Scotty downrigger that clamps onto your boat for $79.99 @ Outdoor Wholesale Sports; comes with 100ft of steel cable and a clip... Just something to think about if you're going to be buying >4 divers

[rootbeer]

Nobody has mentioned Dipsy Divers (at least I couldn't find it in the posts if they did).  These have seemed tempting when I have looked at not having to use a downrigger.  I like the option that these have to angle the fin so that they act like a planer board taking the gear out and away from the sides of the boat.  They come in different sizes like the Jet Divers and Deep Six.