Running Dipsy's or other divers?

[Coldfeet]

   I picked up a few Dipsy Divers for this up and coming Eyes season. Gonna run them off my big trolling rods out and away from the boat to get down to basin (30+ ft) of lakes I fish. I also use boards to get out and away from boat and had good success with that. Here is the question or questions. I notice the trip release on these are not as good as I expected. Not all that much adjustment it either seems too tight or loose and little to none for the midrange. When we would run cranks the Eyes seem to slam with a vengeance and the trip would seem to work ok I think. But we also know on Eire they run Harnesses off them with a lot of luck and we plan on doing the same on the inland lakes. If you run them this way do you have trouble with the trip release or do you find it hasn't been much a problem? I know at times you can tow a Eye for a mile as they sometimes just swim with the boat not really pulling against the movement of it. Another thing mentioned is leader length off the back swivel they advise 6ft of leader to lure. If you run a diffrent length what do you use?  Any other advise is more than welcome here.

Thanks
Coldfeet

[Lund sss]

You may want to look at Slide divers , they don't restrict the leader length and you can run 50' or more behind the diver if you want. As far as the trip I don't fish for eyes with divers so I can't tell you if there will be a problem. Set it heavier than you think is nessisary because it's a real pain to have to keep resetting your spread when a dipsy keeps tripping. Good luck you might want to visit a site called Lake Ontario United there's a ton of trolling tips for everything. http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishing/index.php


Tight Lines,
Steve

[snuffynra]

im a avid walleye troller myself,im gonna play with dipsys a little this year for walleyes. i use snaps and lead core and riggers ,but would like to play the dipsys a little. i have done lots of homework about it,there is many articles on it on the net.with the dipsys you cant get very long with leaders because you wouldnt be able net the fish.as far as the release goes,i have a couple of dipsys in 0 size cause i shouldnt have to go over 40 ft deep for eyes,also with walleyes i like to be the furthest away from the boat i can. i played with the release for a while snapping and unsnapping till it loosened up  . then i backed the screw almost all the way out and back again,it did help working it in a little. the dipsys are something you will have to just play with the first few times to get used to.

[fish_tko]

caught em on erie last may on dipseys. Scorpion spoons with a 6-7' leader down to about 4' off of bottom.  It was the only hot rod one day.

[jjflyrod]

I do most of my Erie trolling bottom bouncing with a three-way so can't help you much with the Dipsies.  I do, however, use a white plastic clevis on my leader rigs.  These are the ones in which you can remove a blade & replace with another.  I often play with blade shape to give resistance.  If I need to troll faster, I'll use a willow, which has a lot less resistance than a Colorado.  If I want the blade to run "higher" off the bottom at a slow speed, I'll switch to a Colorado.  The Indiana's are in-between.  I made up a small blade box with diff. colors & shapes.  Maybe playing around with different shapes will give you a resistance that will help your trip.  Lightly tripping = switch to a willow.   If you have a heavy trip set up, try a Colorado.  I don't know if this will help or not...good luck..jj   

[finlessbrown]

i've never seen a dipsey diver with a release before. i have no clue what your talking about. can someone please explain.

[Sluggo / NY]

I copied and pasted this from my trolling article.. a bit wordy, but may explain how a dipsy works. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Dipsy Divers / Jet Divers

These pain in the neck little gadgets are probably my least favorite of any device to use. They’re extremely hard pulling and difficult to adjust for different situations. That being said..we probably use them more than any other device since they’ve accounted for more fish than any other! The Dipsy Diver,I believe, is just the trade name for Luhr Jensen’s version of the directional diving disc. They come in several sizes, but we almost always use the largest which is about four inches in diameter. The disc has a weight on the bottom leading edge and an adjustable fin on the top rear. The release arm, to which your line’s connected, pivots from the front and latches towards the center of the disc. When latched, this causes the disc to be dragged from the center with the weight causing it to dive. The fin not only keeps it from spinning, but can be turned..making the disc work to the left or right as well as diving. The amount of line out is the main factor dictating how deep the dipsy will run. Speed and directional setting also have an effect. The lure is attached to the swivel on the rear of the dipsy. Because the dipsy stays on the line, you want your lure no more than a rod length behind the dipsy or netting becomes a real problem! Theoretically, when a fish hits, the release arm should pop free so that you’re pulling the diver from the leading edge. This creates far less resistance than when the arm is cocked. Setting the diver for the right pressure required to release it is a bit tricky, but with patience and practice, it can be mastered. The jet diver works by the same basic principle, but unlike the dipsy, has no release. It relies on the pressure of the fish pulling on the rear to cause it to level out and retrieve easily. They also have no directional adjustment. They work well with boards as they create far less pull than the big dipsys, which drag too hard to be run behind boards.

[jjflyrod]

finless..the dipsy doesn't have the same type of release as a downrigger or planer board.  As you probably already know, the downrigger & planers clip your fishing line to the main using a release.  When a fish hits, the line is pulled out from the release, which separates your line from the planer board or downrigger & you fight the fish unemcumbered.

The dipsey, when set up, dives down to some depth because of its angle in the water (down).  If you tried to reel in the dipsey to check your lure, you'd find it almost impossible to do because you'd be fighting the downward angle of the dipsey & the dipsey would try to dive against your reeling in.  Within the dipsey, itself, is a mechanism that will "unsnap" & cause the angle of the dipsey to point upward instead of downward.  This will cause the dipsey to go to the surface where you can fight the fish.  Your line is never disengaged from the dipsey like it is in a downrigger rig or planer boards.  The dipsey is tied in-line with the line from your rod & the line & dipsey never become separated.  

The release that Coldfeet was referring to was the mechanism within the dipsey & not the relase of the line from the dipsey.

If I haven't confused you, please explain to me what I just said.  I think I confused myself in the explanation (ha! ha!).  Anyway, good luck on the water this year.  It's been a long winter & I'm ready for some 'eyes!..jj  

[Cast Away]

Couple things...run braided (my pref is 30# Power Pro) it helps trip those releases vs stretchy mono.

I prefer the Walker Deeper Divers, basically same as dipsy but smoother release, better hardware, and no adding a ring that is always coming undone. That said, you can remove the origional bolt used to work the release, remove the threaded insert and replace the whole works with a small stainless machine screw backed with a teflon nut. Much smoother to adjust the release with.

[Gump]

Couple things...run braided (my pref is 30# Power Pro) it helps trip those releases vs stretchy mono.

Not in the Great lakes you don't want to.  The spiny fleas will stick to the braid pretty bad.  Wire or 30# mono to avoid the fleas in these parts....

[Cast Away]

Not in the Great lakes you don't want to.  The spiny fleas will stick to the braid pretty bad.  Wire or 30# mono to avoid the fleas in these parts....

Ah, I forgot!! Dreaded Ontario fleas!!

But I'm on Erie, not a problem.

[Coldfeet]

To everyone Thanks!!  I will look into the walkers divers. I like the idea of changing the bolt that hold the tension of the release and the ones on the dipseys are a corse thread. Useing a fine thread will allow a finer tuning. Great tip there Cast away! I wont be useing these on the big lakes just inland waters. After all I read I need to switch the line to a super braid. I can see where this will be the smartest thing to do as the no stretch will keep the releases working consistantly.

Thanks for the help and kep it gong here I will post in a week or so about results of running them. Also I do plan on running 3 way rigs too I saw that posted here and at times I can see them working just fine as I used them before.

[Sluggo / NY]

One more thing... as long as you're fishing for walleye you won't need one, but if you go for any hard hitters.. like salmon or steelhead.. you may want to put a "snubber" behind your dipsy to absorb the initial hit. I know Castaway doesn't, but I use them on Erie for those hog walleye...  Plus we get those pesky steelies bothering us as well! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

[Cast Away]

One more thing... as long as you're fishing for walleye you won't need one, but if you go for any hard hitters.. like salmon or steelhead.. you may want to put a "snubber" behind your dipsy to absorb the initial hit. I know Castaway doesn't, but I use them on Erie for those hog walleye...  Plus we get those pesky steelies bothering us as well! Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

Sluggo...after a triple dipsie break off when we hit a school of steelies, I've learned my lesson.

[eyedoktr]

Sluggo...after a triple dipsie break off when we hit a school of steelies, I've learned my lesson.

and who said you can't teach an old dog a new trick ?