Winter Spring set up?

[Kildonan]

Thanks! This is very helpful. I think we were not deep enough down, for sure. And we only have 12lb cannonballs, so that was a problem for keeping things down when we were going against the current.

I use 10 pound cannon balls as I’m using manual riggers, I operate like a caveman still. Haha.
The current can be stronger near Brotchie ledge and the stretch between there and Clover Point, heavier cannon balls there may be useful. If you fish in front of Esquimalt where the freighters anchor and in tighter to shore the current is much lighter and you’ll have no trouble keeping near bottom with 12 pound balls.

 

[Rain City]

I use 10 pound cannon balls as I’m using manual riggers, I operate like a caveman still. Haha.
The current can be stronger near Brotchie ledge and the stretch between there and Clover Point, heavier cannon balls there may be useful. If you fish in front of Esquimalt where the freighters anchor and in tighter to shore the current is much lighter and you’ll have no trouble keeping near bottom with 12 pound balls.

I ran manuals for my first three seasons and used 12s. My heart goes out to you. Do you have one massive arm too?

 

[Kildonan]

I ran manuals for my first three seasons and used 12s. My heart goes out to you. Do you have one massive arm too?

I actually like the manuals. Lol. I’m a no nonsense fisher, I keep it simple. The less to maintain, the better. I rarely fish deeper than 130 feet and only in winter. My summer fishing is generally 35 to 70 feet. It’s not terrible cranking up 10 pound leads from those depths. If I have a fish on, and with the adrenaline, I don’t even remember winding them in.
It can get tricky fishing solo with two rods and manuals but, I make due just fine. I have my process down pretty good and rarely lose a fish when trying to control it all.

 

[ericl]

What size cannonball would you recommend? Can I double up the 12 pounders?

The 12's will be fine with gear that produces less drag: 150# spectra for DR cable & spoons w/o flashers. Going to spectra on your reels will also help. To mitigate breaking the light spectra cable, use a plastic snubber. It is a shock absorber & much easier on the hands when grabbing your DR terminal set-up. You will probably need 15's when fishing deeper. You could also troll slower by going to a plain cut-plug herring.

 

[eroyd]

I fish a manual with braid. 10 lbs seems to work just fine down to 100ft which is about as deep as I'll go. I go extra old style on the other side with an old Peetz set up and a 2# canon ball. Not a lot of fun playing a smaller fish but it keeps a small boat going in a straight line. Less chance of a mess in a narrow boat in a turn this way than with two riggers. When summer comes and there are more lines to cross I'll go back to jigging. Way more fun and productive enough.