Irvine Lake report

[ful-rac]

Went out to irvine again today lookn for some more of those pesky trout! Day started out with super thick fog, thank god for gps...and the crowd today was relatively light. Weather today was in the low 70s, with a little light breeze making it an awsome day to be out on the water.



I just bought a downrigger this week and was really excited to try it out. I was worried that it might turn into a cluster fuck...but actually depolying and retriving the whole setup is pretty simple, the only time i needed to use 2 hands while deploying was to attach the line to the release clip. Heres a picture of the setup...



Ive been trolling for hours and hours and hours, without a single bite....so I yell out loud "this fkn sucks!!!!" with emphasis on sucks. Finally about 11:30 I get bit, first trout of the day. Usually im done by now, so im a little frustrated...ok back to trolling....soon after I caught the first one I get bit again, I get that sucker close, he starts acting like a dorado and going nuts, he ends up shaking the hook....of course....man im having a bad day...so i end up hangn another one soon after, this time hes in the net, i unhook this bad boy and try to throw him into my bait tank...and he goes over the side...this is gettn better and better! So at this point all 3 of my hookups have come on the surface and none on the downrigger, obviously they are on top, i should troll both lines on top but im hell bent on catching something on this downrigger! So after another hour of limits of nothing...i see a little tap tap on the downrigger line....


Oh its just about the biggest crappie ive ever caught!


So now its about 1:30 still no trout on the downrigger....im really dissapointed. I get another bite and its on the surface troll line, ok fish in the boat. After I unhook the fish tap tap on the downrigger line...the fish couldnt pull the line off of the release...could it be? Yep, first trout on the downrigger. Deployed the rigger again, about 15 feet deep, bang another bite this time i got the release dialed in and it releases perfect, fish in the boat. So now im stoked! Gotta take another pass! Drop the troll rigs out after awhile no bite, checked the downrigger line out, and its twisted all to hell! Well looks like that rods done...so i grab the other rod on the surface snap it on the release clip...and send it down, i couldnt have gone 20 feet before it got inhaled! Fish in the boat, thats my limit finally!

[steveooo]

That downriver setup on the yak-attack gear trac is pretty clean. Nice trout limit

[StinkyMatt]

Nice limit Tony. What the hell took you soo long?



That down rigger set up looks pretty tight.

[ericko]

I have one of those thingy now i just need to set it up.... thanks tony

[Biggameaddict]

Trout makes some good eating. Great report.

[roby]

The downrigger looks clean and easy to use. Hmmmm, maybe on the Outfitter....

Good job sticking with the plan. There's nothing like getting bit trying a new method with some new gear.

[mtnbykr2]

Originally Posted by ericko

I have one of those thingy now i just need to set it up.... thanks tony

It's always people who say things like this who end up killin' em...lol...usually while he is napping....

[fishingfiend]

Thanks for the report and THANK YOU for the downrigger inspiration. Your setup is awesome, added to my todo list!

[blitzburgh]

Nice work

[kobra]

Nice job Tony! Next time maybe start out lowering your rig down about 3 feet.

[typksn]

Noticed pic looks like you were on a Hobie PA at Irvine Lake. I thought they don't allow sit on top kayaks. Has this changed?

Thanks for sharing report and downrigger setup. Pretty cool!

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by typksn

Noticed pic looks like you were on a Hobie PA at Irvine Lake. I thought they don't allow sit on top kayaks. Has this changed?

Thanks for sharing report and downrigger setup. Pretty cool!

You must be confused with another lake...as far as I know they have always allowed sit on tops.

[JeffB]

I love the set up, that would be perfect to pick up some striper as well.

[BMAC]

I use the same downrigger setup for salmon on Lake Ontario. If you ever need to run that setup deeper its best to swap out that 150 lb cable. ( They spool it with the same cable they do on the big downriggers where they run 15 lb weights).

With a 6 lb ball I could get down about 70 feet with the original cable (100 feet long) while trolling at 2.5mph.. Only issue is I had to keep up a really fast cadence to keep moving at that speed due to the drag.

I would recommend a 6 lb ball and spool the thing with either power pro or 7 strand fishing wire. This will reduce the drag and blowback a lot. I prefer wire because the hum of the wire seems to attract salmon but the powerpro is more stealthy depending on what your target species wants.

Cheers

[ful-rac]

Yeah your not kidding about that huuuummmmmmmmmmm almost sounds like a motor at low idle

[BMAC]

Another trick ( depending on regs where you are) is to run another lure with a 6 foot length of flouro to a snap swivel.

When you have your first lure all set up and before you put your rod in the rodholder clip the 2nd setup to your line and it will sink to the apex in your fishing line. This works great just be sure not to have too long a lead off the cannonball otherwise when it gets hit you have a lot of slack to take up before catching up to the fish.

Cheers

[OutdoorAdvntr]

i know this late but.. hey, Tony thanks a lot for helping me out cleaning the fish!