Haven't been to FPH this year. Fished Millers Creek 3 times and got skunked the last 2 times. You are right that the wipers and whites are not in their pattern. I'm going to open another thread about MC to avoid highjacking this one and will try to post some sonar screenshots from MC.

I must be using the wrong terminology. What we used made the lures dive straight down behind the boat like a crank bait. Was thinking about investing in a couple of rods and trying them out on our stripers here.


Did a quick search, this is what we used:

http://www.seastriker.com/ss_files/planers.htm

Like dipsy divers or pink lady�s. They will take a lure down to the desired depth up to 60 or 80 ft deep. It takes some experimenting to figure out what depth they are and how to get deeper or shallower to get the bait where you want it. Downriggers are much more accurate. IMHO

I used dipsy divers for two years. They take lots of practice to use on a regular basis. That is why I went to manual downriggers. I still run one dipsy diver on my boat only because my boat is to small for any more than two downriggers. I only use the dipsy divers in deep water. In shallow water less tha 30 feet you stand a good chance of getting hung up and having more problems. Capt. Craig is correct in that the electric downriggers are so much easier, but I'm on a budget and can't afford them. Manual downriggers are easy to use with a little practice. I fish with a couple of buddies on a regular basis and it's easy when everyone knows how to operate the downriggers and we help each other out. I have learned from watching guides use them and trust me they make it look easy because they are doing it every day to earn a living. I was lucky enough one day to help an older gentleman out at PK that was having boat issues and was a retired guide and he gave me the in's and out's, what to buy and how to use the downriggers. With a little practice and patience they are a great tool and will help you catch a ton of fish.

Ahh, I see. You say tomato, I say tomahto. Attached photo is a pic of an Offshore brand side planer board that I ran up close to a brush line where I could see some hybrids were chasing Shad. ILook close, you can see the line pointing to the yellow board and orange flag out there.

I didn't want to put the boat on top of the fish so I tied on a Rapala minnow about 20 feet behind the board, ran the line out about prolly 100 feet, and then just made a few passes parallel to the brush line. It worked ok but I don't like reeling in a good fish with an attached planer board. It kinda deadens the action and definitely increases the drag. I don't have any pics using my big boards that run off a Big Jon tower. You rig these more like a downrigger so that when you get a strike, the line is completely released from the main line to the board..but takes one guy almost full time to watch the boards especially in close quarters. Or weekend crowds on Texoma

I just purchased a pair of Cannon Uni Trolls with swivel bases. Looking forward to trying them out. Thank you all of the input.

I used a set of Cannons like that before I bought my current boat. The Uni-Trolls are good rigs and will give you many years of service. Be sure to keep a set of diagonal cutters handy in case the ball hangs up and things get out of control

Thanks for the advice on the side cutters. I didn't think about what a mess that would be. Not to mention losing a $50 ball.

Troll long enough and you will loose a ball. Side cutters are a good idea so you don�t loose the downrigger also.

Like bobo said, you'll prolly lose a ball sooner or later. What I'm talking about is if the ball gets hung up and the cable gets tangled up in the downrigger spool or on a cleat...something's gonna give. Have some cutters ready and sacrifice the ball as a last resort

I made a short YouTube video of everything a guy would need to get started that would meet your budget. I absolutely love my downriggers and setup! Especially for the price.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pCeIxxMR2bk

- I have a question for you sir. I bought the churchtackle.com line releases that you showed in your youtube video but I either don't know how to use them (they look different than any other release clip I have seen) or either maybe they are for planer boards? Do you use the exact kind shown in your video and if so, how do you do so?

Thanks.