Lots of factors involved, maybe be a little more specific. First off how deep, how many lines are you running, etc. There is a dive curve on each dipstick when purchased. If not familiar, go with someone who runs dips and you will cut learning curve in half! No fun when you have a "train wreck" (tangle) especially whe running braided line.

 

The No. 1 dipsy with the ring is probably the most common. A lot of people prefer black. I'm not sure color matters. I run 30# power pro as my main line with a snubber between the dipsy and my 20# fluorocarbon leader.

 

this is the best set up for running divers deep. you need to run braid as your main line to the dipsy so you can trip it from the boat. mono just has to much stretch to be a good line for divers.
I mostly run black but have run all colors and haven't really noticed one color being better than the other.

you want to run your front diver set on 3 and out about 20' in front of your next or middle diver set on 2 then run your back diver set on 1 with 20' less line out than on the middle diver.
sherman

 

If you run braided line (power pro or similar) I always run a 5-6 ft floro leader with a snubber, hopes that helps. Good luck, have caught a lot of nice fish when running this setup.

 

I run #1 dipseys on 30# power pro. I tie my own harnesses to be about 8' long (20# flouro) and connect to the dipsey without a snubber.

 

Thanks guys! I am running braided line and trying to run harnesses and spoons right now as that seems to be what's good at the moment. Picked up one 26" fish yesterday. First time using a dipsy lol. It was a number 0 and I had it about 50ft back. Do you run the braided main line right to the dipsy? How long of a leader behind the dipsy? Sorry I know, a lot of questions but I'd really like to dial in a working setup. Seeing that walleye come up yesterday got me all fired up!

 

Connect your braided main line to the dipsey with a good quality snap swivel. Most will run leaders from 6-8' long.

 

put a good cross-lok swivel at the end of your braid. Most guys run leaders from 6 to 8' long, longer on super clear water. If you don't use a snubber (I don't) make sure your drag is set to take the shock of a large fish smacking your lure and running. No.1 dipseys are the most commonly used on Erie.
Thundergut and I are on the same page....

 

you best bet would be to fill an open seat or two with someone who runs dipsies. the next best would be to go out on a charter that runs them.

I had never seen a dipsy in action. so I went out on a great charter that let us get involved with how to let them out. we went out 2 days and we were running 6 rods by ourselves. I still have a lot to learn. but now I'm pretty good at it and can run 6 divers without getting a lot of tangles. when we 1st started on our own we ended up with the wrong diver on the wrong side of the boat a couple of times, LOL. talk about a mess we had the grandmother of all messes. but with time we got better. its a lot of fun to run divers.
sherman

 

Keep some forward motion when dipsies are in the water or they will pinwheel to the bottom possibly fouling the release

 

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/index.php?threads/Lorain-6-21.300279/
Some good dipsy info in this thread.

 

Thanks! The ogf forums never cease to amaze me. The people and the willingness to help is unreal. I've been a member of another forum for steelheaders and I always feel like people are looking down their noses at me. I might not have everything totally figured out yet but I made it back out today for another run and picked up 2 more keepers. A 20" and a 27". I think werr sorta getting the hang of it! Thanks again!

 

just hang in there you'll get better as time goes on.
sherman

 

The 20' difference from one diver to the next is fine for deeper water and/or fishing various depths. But if you are in the western basin or wanting to run all 3 Dipsys at the same depth, the distance between them starts small and increases as the desired depth increases.

Hope this makes sense.

 

Your leader length should be 2 feet more than the water clarity. Personally I do not own a leader under 10'. some can say what they want but I am convinced it helps. I have literally seen long leaders out fish short leaders on the same day and exact conditions

 

When resetting them let them out slow and keep pressure so they dive into position and don't get tangled.

 

Always make sure the clicker on your reel is on when letting them out to prevent them spinning as they go out and tangling up.

 

your getting some great advice here. when I first let all my divers out in the morning I like to put the clickers on on the reels and speed up just a hair to about 2.2 to 2.4 then let the divers out slow to prevent tangles. once all my divers are out I slow back down to my preferred speed. most days I run 1.8 to 2.0 but last yr 1.6 was the magic number. if your marking fish and have your divers set accordingly and not getting bit then try some speed changes. just .2 to .4 speed changes can start getting fish. good luck out there and keep posting.
sherman

 

Make sure your setting your depths above your marks. I usually set 2-4 ft above where I'm marking fish and some set even higher. Try making slow s turns to trigger bite. If the outside lines get hit then speed up because they would be going faster the the inside and if the inside gets hit try slowing down or just keep doing slow s turns. Mix it up til you figure them out that day. Change depths , speed , and colors til something works. You'll get the hang of it in no time.

 

Here's a copy paste from a past mid winter seminar:

Speed setting Dipsy Divers:

Speed setting is a technique to quickly get a Dipsy back to depth, when 2 or more Dipsys are being used on each side.

Let's say we have 4 Dipsys on each side and the 3rd one out from the boat, on the starboard side, catches a walleye.

We try to get all the Dipsys on either side at the same depth. Lets say our target depth on the starboard side is 36'. So the #1 would at 60'of line out, the #2 at 70', the #3 at 79, and the #4 at 100' of line out. From my own depth chart.

To speed set that Dipsy, we take the rod to the Port side (the opposite side)of the boat and set the Dipsy in the water just inside the #1 Dipsy line, being careful not to tangle the lure on that line. With the clicker on and the reel in free spool, we let the line come off the reel at a smooth fast pace, using the clicker to slow it enough to prevent a rotation, and making sure the study even clicking indicates no slack given.

Hold the rod off the port quarter, until you reach 1/2 the drop length, (62') then with the rod tip high (and line still peeling off the reel) bring the rod to the starboard side, and get in position next to the appropriate rod holder. When the line counter reaches 79' engage the reel and quickly slide the rod into the holder.

The Dipsy will fly up and over the inside lines, and settle neatly into position.

This works great so long as the boat is going straight (NO TURNS), and so long as none of the other starboard Dipsys fire.

If you get a hook up on one of the other starboard Dipsys while the Dipsy you are setting is swinging into position you must trip the Dipsy being set and start over. The hooked fish will bring that Dipsy back & up into the space needed for clearance.

If the inside Dipsy (#1) catches it can be reset without all this hubbub, because it has nothing to get around.

This is tedious to describe and seems complicated, but if I could show you, it's not all that big a deal.

Done properly it works great. We do it all the time with only 2 or 3 out of 100 problems. Currents can mess it up.


Here's a couple other tips to minimize tangles:
If you suspect 2 Dipsys are tangled, trip them both at once and bring them in together. This minimizes the spinning and wrapping.

When a Dipsy hooks up, take the rod to the opposite side of the boat before tripping the Dipsy, and stay on that side to bring the fish in. This causes the Dipsy to more quickly come up and away from the others. The same holds true for board rods also.

I'd add that this works best at speeds of 2.2 or higher. Slower speeds or turns can be troublesome.

 

that's some good stuff jim. maybe you could fill an open seat on his boat and teach him the right way to run divers. I'm no expert myself but I have learned a lot from going out on a charter a couple of times and I'm a better fisherman for joining ogf. I learned so much from guys like you who are willing to share your knowledge. I still have lots and lots to learn. but I've learned enough that I can run 6 divers with very few tangles.

one other thing to remember when you find a school of fish don't leave it. if your trolling along and catch a few fish don't just keep going hoping to get more fish. turn around and go back and forth through the school. if the bite stops then its time to move on. but as long as your getting fish work the school hard.
sherman

 

Yea sure I'd go on his boat, and bring my stuff to show him or anyone else how we go about it, so long as the boat is sea worthy, reliable and safe.

Couple other tips; set the trip tension on the #1 Dipsy at around 2-1/2#s for a calm lake and a speed of 2.2. As lake conditions get rougher and speeds increase the trip tension should be increased to eliminate false releases.

Keep your rod holders fairly close together ( 11-16" apart) this makes it easy to read small fish or weeds by allowing you to read one rod tip against the others. And run the rods as flat and low or as nearly horizontal as possible. We even use the line splits from rod tip to the water to help determine what's happening.

Realize that every turn requires a speed adjustment to maintain a constant lure speed at depth. Into the wind speed up....down wind slow down. And if you change your speed say from 2.4 to 2.0 mph your lures will be running deeper or visa versa.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Wow I really appreciate the help guys! As far as filling an open seat, I think it would be easier if myself could fill a seat on someone's boat. I'm currently dealing with sub par rod holders that i dont really trust. Hate to see someone lose their gear. Have to upgrade soon. Also thought it may be beneficial to see how you walleye fishermen set up your rides. This is a lot to take in at once but I think I'm starting to understand! Again, thanks everybody!!

 

just look for open seat postings. or start your own post looking for open seat. you can learn more in one day fishing with someone who knows what there doing than you'll learn on your own in yrs.
sherman

 

When I first joined this sight, it seemed most guys were tying harnesses about two feet long. Then you would attach the harness to a leader(whatever length you determined best for your boat), then attach leader to the dipsey. I still do it this way, but it appears to me that most of you guys just make your harnesses longer, 6-8ft, and just attach that to the dipsey. I guess that makes sense....one less connection point. I use these small s-pro swivels on the end of my harnesses. What do most of you guys use to attach to the dipsey?

 

This is what we do. We run all black dipsy first off. Run 8-10 ft leaders. Always run dipsys with the ring. I write on top of my dipsy with paint. #3 R. #2R #1R. Then repeat for left side. I then mark the rod holder and rod with same color tape. That way me or customers know where they belong on the boat. Not a fan of snubber but if you run them the pilgram ones seem to be best. Guarantee black dipsys out catch color ones. Now if your salmon fishing. Go with flash.

 

I second the black dipsys. I've tried color one one side and black on the other numerous times and black always seemed to out produce color so I painted all mine black and never looked back.