Dipsy Divers...

[Hookset]

Hi All:

Vacation starts on July 9th (thank God) and I'll be heading up to Upper Saranac Lake for a week.  I have been bound and determined to take advantage of the waning Lake Trout fishery in the lake.  From what I've been reading, the water quality is declining rapidly due to runoff from farm land and other fertilizers/pesticides, so the fishery may be changing in a very negative manner in the near future.

Anyway, I am NOT drilling holes in my boat to mount downriggers, but I do need to get down to between 80-100 fow.  I settled on a cache of Dispsy's.  I have two #0 and two #3 (I'll figure out which to deploy when I can find the fish or the thermocline, my new Garmin Echomap Plus 73SV should help with that).  I have the snubbers, new line counter reels, new long-as-hell Bass Pro trolling rods, braid, floro, high-end swivels and a host of varied spoons and cranks.  I have never used these before, but I plan to have them in the water at least 6 hours/day.

So, with that said, does anyone have any valuable insight for a Dipsy newbie?  I cant wait to drag these things around for a week.  I really hope to hook up with at least a couple of cooperative Lakers.  Any info is greatly appreciated.  Thanks everyone and tight lines!

[Adkiceman1]

I can’t say I agree that the lake quality is waning.   There aren’t many farms around here.  I live 5 minutes from the lake.  No shortage of lakers and they are breeding well.   

[Hookset]

This is brief excerpt from one of the many articles I have read:

Upper Saranac Lake is one example of a lake plagued by an excess of phosphorus and nitrogen and algae blooms as a result of runoff, according to the conservancy report. The lake once contained a self-sustaining lake trout population that was used to stock other Adirondack waters, but that is no longer the case. The lake’s north basin has “de-oxygenated entirely,” the report says, while the south basin’s oxygen has been diminished. Scientists speculate that these changes have forced lake trout to seek out shallow waters where the smaller ones are preyed on by invasive warm-water fish such as smallmouth bass and northern pike introduced in the early twentieth century.

Rob Fiorentino, an aquatic biologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, said Upper Saranac is a lake where a number of factors have come together to harm the lake-trout population. “As you keep piling these stressors on, sooner or later bad things will start to happen,” he said.

Here is the link to the entire article:

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/lake-trout-risk

However, I'm not here to debate the health of the lake, merely trying to gain some insight as the the ins-and-outs of dipsy fishing.  If the lake has seen no declination of overall health or fish habitat, that is great to hear, and I hope I can be the beneficiary of some of its inhabitants.  Good luck up there!

[steelie1975]

only way your getting a dipsy down 100 ft is with a wire set up and a Mag Dipsy with upgraded weight and dive ring. go to luhr jenson website and you can see the dive charts. good luck. you may have been better off with torpedo divers. check them out also.

[reeleyz]

I don’t know that lake but personally I would jig for them. It is much more fun than trolling and sometimes more effective.

6’-6.5’ baitcaster, 10lb. Fire line, a few feet leader of 10lb fluorocarbon.

Heavy jig heads like 3/4 oz with a 4” white plastic like a fluke, gulp minnow, or twister tail.

Locate some fish on the graph and jig to them.

Have a great vacation!

[boondox]

Look up precision trolling and troller bible etc I think they sell these as stickers or a app for phones now.. all they are is a quick reference graph.. for how fAR out like 175 to 200 feet back equals x amout down.. I think it's the prescion trolling you want the prescion trolling bible is all lures and dive depth..  but if looking at app you can slect wich dipseys etc and only pay like 10 for those and a few lure you plan to use??  Better then paying 80 for all the lure ans etc and 4 /5 you don't use.. so the app or stickers save time and money if app is avaible??



Also enjoy the Vaca

[boondox]

In line trolling sinkers ot dive bombs can reach 100 foot easily like a 8 ounce or 12 ounce inline see what you can find on those??  the way we do it is use down rigger clips or snap swivel so it stop on a small bead on a barell swivel let out 30 foot on a leader out  then drop the weight in on the line attached to a swivel just be ready to uncle it while fighting a fish even canon ball weight work if used like a mooching set up so google mooching for salmon.. any how might need prescion trolling for this too??

[Rugburn]

All wise advise above. You have a good setup, your graph will tell you target depth. For wire dipseys (no stretch) we always set the drag as light as possible, then attached a rubber band from the line to the line counter, so the reel didn't creep. This is for Kings on lake "O" where the hits can be violent. To get deep you will have to pull it there, and that takes force, hence reel creep.
You never know when the Lake will turn over. I've seen days when everyone is fishing at yesterdays depth. Best of luck. Trust the graph. Another great tool...

[lowaccord66]

All wise advise above. You have a good setup, your graph will tell you target depth. For wire dipseys (no stretch) we always set the drag as light as possible, then attached a rubber band from the line to the line counter, so the reel didn't creep. This is for Kings on lake "O" where the hits can be violent. To get deep you will have to pull it there, and that takes force, hence reel creep.
You never know when the Lake will turn over. I've seen days when everyone is fishing at yesterdays depth. Best of luck. Trust the graph. Another great tool...

Nothing worse than click click click every wave....thank god for rubber bands...

[trapper2000]

100 foot and  you  don't   troll a lot  get a  pair  of  clamp on   portable down riggers   in the  long run   you'll be less frustrated and  catch  more  fish  ....just a  opinion....

you  can  always  put  a  board  across the  back of  your  boar  strap it  down  with rachett binders  and  put down riggers on

[Mac Attack]

Go over to you tube and search on dipsey diver if you haven’t already.

One tip is to use a rod holder that easily ratchets up to pull out the rod.  Or a holder that allows easy release of the rod when pulling dipseys.

Good luck.

[Hookset]

Thanks everyone, some good insight out here.  I appreciate all of your offerings and information.  Looking forward to rigging up the gear and exploring the deepest haunts of the lake for Lakers.  Tight lines!

[Mr.Esox]

Jig with tubes.