Two baits on the same line, worth the trouble?

NomarsFool · #1 08-23-2011, 10:49 PM

I read about one person who sets up a rig for two baits/lures on the same line. The basic setup is to have a 3-way swivel. On one line you have your deep bait. You put a 15' to 20' leader with a heavier torpedo weight. On the other line, you have another 15' to 20' leader with your shallower bait which would have no weight at all. I was thinking you could even put some kind of float on there to help give you more separation.

The idea behind this setup is that you have a chance to cover more depth (and potentially double your baits/lures in the water). My main questions would be:

1) Does it actually work? Do you really get separation in depth in the water, or does the trolling action pull them closer together.

2) How much trouble does it cause? Do you end up with tangles and problems when you actually get a fish on.

Anyone tried this?

JakeF · #2 08-24-2011, 10:32 AM

Sounds like a major pain in the ass. Keep it simple

G-Daddy · #3 08-24-2011, 01:14 PM

It is a rather common practice to troll with tandem rigs on Chesapeake Bay. Not very complicated and I have not experienced tangles during hookups.

NomarsFool · #4 08-24-2011, 06:27 PM

How do you do it? Only put a weight on one line? Have you tried a float on the other to maximize the spread?

StarsNstriperS · #5 08-25-2011, 08:22 AM

I run double live bait on 1 line. But I dont and wont use 15 ~ 20 Ft. of line each. I only use 2' on the upper hook and 6' on the lower with a 2 oz trolling sinker 2' in front of the lower hook. I mainly only use doubles downlining. when live baiting, I am moving less than 1 MPH on the GPS.
Jim

G-Daddy · #6 08-26-2011, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NomarsFool

How do you do it? Only put a weight on one line? Have you tried a float on the other to maximize the spread?

In the spring we run a heavier lure (4 oz bucktail or parachute with a 6" shad body) on a short (3 - 6 foot) leader and then the other lighter lure (2 or 3 oz) on a longer leader (8 - 12 feet). The other presentation I use in the fall is doing bottom bouncing where you use a 16 oz sinker as a dropper on a three or four foot leader tied off to a three way. Then start with a 20' piece of heavy mono - 80 lb minimum. Crimp a loop into one drop of the three way. About 6' back crimp a 3/4 ox bucktail into a loop that is three feet long. Then on the other end crimp another 3/4 oz bucktail. Then use 3 or 4 inch grubs on the hook of your lures. Drop your setup to the bottom and bounce it a couple of times. Keep separation in your setups by varying the number of bounces on each rod - 1st rod 2 bounces, second rod 3 bounces etc.