Dead Sticking

[ProfessorLongArms]

I'm especially curious to hear from the LJ crowd on this one since the main event down there is pretty live bait focused. . .


How much do y'all opt to dead stick your live bait? (IE: rig up threeway/reverse dropper/carolina/whatever and set it in the rod holder)

Where I fish, we're typically doing drifts in deeper water, not so much specifically targeting Halibut/WSB/YT and definitely not fly-lining.

That said, my PB lingcod have all been on an 8 oz three way rigged mac. Always cracks me up.... My line peels for 3 seconds and dies.... Then it's just an elevator ride up.

I've noted when I have a live bait hanging:
1)how much I have to keep an eye on it,
2)how sometimes no amount of care will keep your dropper rig from wrapping it on a drift, and
3)how much time I've spent cleaning up messes instead of fishing because of it.

Last year I also was on a spot that was thick enough with salmon grouper that every time I'd get a spanish mac down, i'd feel them start in on the bait before I could put it in the rod holder, then manage to get a hook set by hand. That got me to thinking some people *just* fish that way.

This is my first winter fishing the shallows, and now I *am* targeting more Halibut/WSB.... I had one big heartbreak today when my drag started screaming, but the line had managed to double-wrap the rudder while I was tying a rig. (Quite possibly my only complaint with hobie... it's like they *designed* those rudders to catch and tangle spectra)

I realize a lot of that is just awareness of where and how you're drifting, but I'm curious how many people opt only to troll live bait in-hand, and with what kind of rig.

For me, it's always felt like having a bait in the water while dropping jigs over marks is a good way to increase odds... That said I'm always interested in hearing how other people do things.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Good questions.

Some people can seem to finesse two poles at once, which would be my only reason for a "dead stick" in the holder.

I tend to make a mess out of trying to do that. For me, it's much more peaceful and enjoyable to fish one pole at a time and keep it in my hands so I can focus my attention on what my bait's doing and feel whatever signals are coming back up the braid for me to process.

I will "dead stick" two poles in holders if I'm trout fishing. I don't care about that. I can make coffee on my camp stove or fiddle or something else while I'm waiting.

"Dead Sticking" sounds a little weird on this Valentine's Day weekend.

[ProfessorLongArms]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

"Dead Sticking" sounds a little weird on this Valentine's Day weekend.

Heh. To be fair, I’m borrowing the phrase.
Come to think of it it, it does sound like a prime candidate as a thinly veiled colloquialism for whatever the hell new thing it is the kids “do” these days. 😁

Thanks for the advice and the opinion!

[Finngo]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

Good questions.

Some people can seem to finesse two poles at once, which would be my only reason for a "dead stick" in the holder.

I tend to make a mess out of trying to do that. For me, it's much more peaceful and enjoyable to fish one pole at a time and keep it in my hands so I can focus my attention on what my bait's doing and feel whatever signals are coming back up the braid for me to process.

I will "dead stick" two poles in holders if I'm trout fishing. I don't care about that. I can make coffee on my camp stove or fiddle or something else while I'm waiting.

"Dead Sticking" sounds a little weird on this Valentine's Day weekend.

+1

[RK]

Match the hatch, time of year, water temp, bait concentration or a bunch of big colorful things on your FF. Sometimes dead sticking an iron works pretty well

[Ggiannig89]

I always try to “deadstick” and end up giving up. Just too much going on for my mind. I can’t keep up with the rod tips and tangles. Usually end up missing bites and frustrated.

[PapaDave]

I will have a dead stick and a setup I actively fish. The dead stick usually has the biggest bait and is heavier then the one I have in my hand. Both seem to work equally well on the drift.

[jorluivil]

Unless I'm rockfishing I dead stick 100% of the time, I've caught halibut, WSB and YT

[TheBentRod]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

Unless I'm rockfishing I dead stick 100% of the time, I've caught halibut, WSB and YT

and he is a master at dead stick!

all jokes aside, do you use same setups in shallow or up to 80 feet? do you try to stick to straight routes?

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by TheBentRod

and he is a master at dead stick!

all jokes aside, do you use same setups in shallow or up to 80 feet? do you try to stick to straight routes?

I am probably the most unorthodox fisherman you will ever meet...........40', 60', 150'............I have been fishing the same setup for many, and I mean many years, I fish 65# spectra, 40# mono or fluoro and an 8oz sinker.

If you were to look inside my kayak tackle box you'd find nothing more than a small roll of 40# fishing line, hooks (J, circle and treble) and a bunch of 8oz sinkers. Well, that and a snickers wrapper and some other items that I'd prefer to not mention. Every so often I might toss a mega bait or a flat fall jig or maybe even cast some iron but its rare. I've been pretty successful with the same setup so why change it?

I see a lot of guys get frustrated when they're not catching what they're looking for, they will throw every lure that they have in the water. When I'm not catching I take that as an opportunity to scout out other locations.

[ProfessorLongArms]

Huh.... Funny enough, the best luck I've had is on that exact setup.

Last time out I did 30# as I was out of 40, and a 6oz because I was fishing shallow, and I broke off twice. Went home and ordered a new roll of 40#.

Thanks for the input!

Originally Posted by jorluivil

I am probably the most unorthodox fisherman you will ever meet...........40', 60', 150'............I have been fishing the same setup for many, and I mean many years, I fish 65# spectra, 40# mono or fluoro and an 8oz sinker.

If you were to look inside my kayak tackle box you'd find nothing more than a small roll of 40# fishing line, hooks (J, circle and treble) and a bunch of 8oz sinkers. Well, that and a snickers wrapper and some other items that I'd prefer to not mention. Every so often I might toss a mega bait or a flat fall jig or maybe even cast some iron but its rare. I've been pretty successful with the same setup so why change it?

I see a lot of guys get frustrated when they're not catching what they're looking for, they will throw every lure that they have in the water. When I'm not catching I take that as an opportunity to scout out other locations.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by ProfessorLongArms

Huh.... Funny enough, the best luck I've had is on that exact setup.

Last time out I did 30# as I was out of 40, and a 6oz because I was fishing shallow, and I broke off twice. Went home and ordered a new roll of 40#.

Thanks for the input!

I've had a few guys laugh or chuckle when I tell them about or show them my setup, as soon as they're done I mention that I have 6 halibut in the 40# range...........................from a kayak. That usually, I mean always shuts them up. I worry more about my rod breaking in half or pulling a hook before my line breaks.

Go with whatever works for you

[TheBentRod]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

I am probably the most unorthodox fisherman you will ever meet...........40', 60', 150'............I have been fishing the same setup for many, and I mean many years, I fish 65# spectra, 40# mono or fluoro and an 8oz sinker.

If you were to look inside my kayak tackle box you'd find nothing more than a small roll of 40# fishing line, hooks (J, circle and treble) and a bunch of 8oz sinkers. Well, that and a snickers wrapper and some other items that I'd prefer to not mention. Every so often I might toss a mega bait or a flat fall jig or maybe even cast some iron but its rare. I've been pretty successful with the same setup so why change it?

I see a lot of guys get frustrated when they're not catching what they're looking for, they will throw every lure that they have in the water. When I'm not catching I take that as an opportunity to scout out other locations.

I just hate dead sticking. When I have focused on deadsticking, nothing! When I just put one out there and just zigzag through an area, I have done okay, but the snags are frustrating as heck. Also, I can bust off 40# in the Hobie, but the Trident, I worry about taking a swim. lol So, I only dead stick in the Hobie with heavy line. Otherwise I just use 25# I have been thinking about 40# on the sinker and main line. With the leader at 25.

Here is one of my favorite Halibut string (http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...libut+question)

[chris138]

Here's two scenarios I would use in the 80-150' depth range. All these rigs would be 65# braid and 30-40# copolymer leader.

Say you've been seeing a school of big fish on the sonar, maybe on the bottom and/or suspended mid-column. Maybe there's a layer of bait in the upper column or puddling on the surface. I might deadstick a flylined jumbo greenback out the back, open drag clicker on. Jumbo GB is key for the WSB, just ask Johnny Ceviche. Then when I see the school on the sounder, I have my jig/iron ready to drop and fish actively. The key is knowing if you are headed uphill or downhill so that you don't drift back over your mack. So if your metering uphill, you have to do at least a 90 deg turn and a couple strokes to get you clear of your flyline. These positioning strokes you can do as your iron is dropping.

Scenario 2 say you are seeing bait clouds on the bottom or mid-column, getting pushed around or walled off. Maybe you haven't really seen the big marks, or only ones and twos. I would run a 3-4oz carolina rig dead sticked out the back at like 1/4 drag so that its suspended as your paddling, but hits the bottom when you stop moving. Keep that dragging/swimming mid to lower column. You want it so that when you stop paddling, it keeps some tension on your c-rig, with the line at like a 45 deg angle with the water. Then you have a heavy reverse dropper loop, say 10-12oz (16oz in heavy current) with a green back pinned on and swimming with you on the surface as you paddle/drift. When you drop that torpedo on the marks it will get down twice as fast as the iron will. A fresh GB will go bonkers down there and its usually and instant reaction bite that you will see on your sonar as it happens. Again if you go up hill you have to tack out to avoid tangling them.

If you get double bit put the deadstick to about 40-50% drag and leave it in the holder. Many people have been flipped this way hahaha always double check that your line isnt wrapped on your rod tip when you are deadsticking in the kayak!

[ProfessorLongArms]

Thanks for this share. This is great advice and is timely, as it squares with just about everything I saw in Nakada’s seminar today.

Originally Posted by chris138

Here's two scenarios I would use in the 80-150' depth range. All these rigs would be 65# braid and 30-40# copolymer leader.

Say you've been seeing a school of big fish on the sonar, maybe on the bottom and/or suspended mid-column. Maybe there's a layer of bait in the upper column or puddling on the surface. I might deadstick a flylined jumbo greenback out the back, open drag clicker on. Jumbo GB is key for the WSB, just ask Johnny Ceviche. Then when I see the school on the sounder, I have my jig/iron ready to drop and fish actively. The key is knowing if you are headed uphill or downhill so that you don't drift back over your mack. So if your metering uphill, you have to do at least a 90 deg turn and a couple strokes to get you clear of your flyline. These positioning strokes you can do as your iron is dropping.

Scenario 2 say you are seeing bait clouds on the bottom or mid-column, getting pushed around or walled off. Maybe you haven't really seen the big marks, or only ones and twos. I would run a 3-4oz carolina rig dead sticked out the back at like 1/4 drag so that its suspended as your paddling, but hits the bottom when you stop moving. Keep that dragging/swimming mid to lower column. You want it so that when you stop paddling, it keeps some tension on your c-rig, with the line at like a 45 deg angle with the water. Then you have a heavy reverse dropper loop, say 10-12oz (16oz in heavy current) with a green back pinned on and swimming with you on the surface as you paddle/drift. When you drop that torpedo on the marks it will get down twice as fast as the iron will. A fresh GB will go bonkers down there and its usually and instant reaction bite that you will see on your sonar as it happens. Again if you go up hill you have to tack out to avoid tangling them.

If you get double bit put the deadstick to about 40-50% drag and leave it in the holder. Many people have been flipped this way hahaha always double check that your line isnt wrapped on your rod tip when you are deadsticking in the kayak!