Fishing MacDeep: how to tie it up?

[oronito]

I'm trying to catch a spring off my kayak or SUP: summer goal!
Have had good luck with lings/rockfish with simple swimbait tie up directly to line, and feel good about fishing buzz bombs with plenty of success.

But how do I run the MacDeep?
Can i clip it directly on to a snap swivel at the end of my mono leader (Alberto knot mono leader to braid mainline)
Or clip directly to snap swivel tied directly onto my mono line setup?

Do I need a swivel then a leader tied directly to the lure with no hardware between the leader the lure? Will that make a big difference?

Many thanks to you all!!!

 

[Macdeep]

It's a pretty basic jig. You can tie directly or use a snap swivel. I usually use a snap swivel and I usually remove the treble from the bottom and put on a single, or a top rigged assist hook.

 

[Doug]

We always used Mac deep for fishing springs in the big Q area and Mistaken island point area. We would get into 40 to 80 ft of water off the creek mouth area and jig and always catch spring and some over 20lb. We would us a 4 ft long 40lb leader, and then a swivel to your main line. We would usually jig at 15 pulls off the reel which was around 35-40 ft deep. We would use stiffer rods but not stiff like a halibut and not as soft as 9ft trolling rod.

Catching spring on that set up is the best action you can have fishing springs

Good luck.

 

[adanac]

I'm trying to catch a spring off my kayak or SUP: summer goal!
Have had good luck with lings/rockfish with simple swimbait tie up directly to line, and feel good about fishing buzz bombs with plenty of success.

But how do I run the MacDeep?
Can i clip it directly on to a snap swivel at the end of my mono leader (Alberto knot mono leader to braid mainline)
Or clip directly to snap swivel tied directly onto my mono line setup?

Do I need a swivel then a leader tied directly to the lure with no hardware between the leader the lure? Will that make a big difference?

Many thanks to you all!!!

snap swivel makes for a really clunky presentation. sounds like you have it right with the alberto knot to your mono topshot, just tie directly to your jig .

 

[RiverBoy]

8’ of fluoro carbon leader attached to braid with FG knot. i tie to jig using uni knot. nice and clean, goes thru the eyes; no clunky swivels or hardware

 

[Deepaaaar]

8’ of fluoro carbon leader attached to braid with FG knot. i tie to jig using uni knot. nice and clean, goes thru the eyes; no clunky swivels or hardware

This is what I do, too. If I have an extra stiff rod, I'll throw a 30-50' topshot of mono on there. When I'm fishing for summer chinook, the mono will be 20 lb, but in the winter (fishing deep) and for bottom fish, I'll use 10 lb mono for the topshot so it's easy to break off if I need to (I'm also in a kayak).

 

[RiverBoy]

This is what I do, too. If I have an extra stiff rod, I'll throw a 30-50' topshot of mono on there. When I'm fishing for summer chinook, the mono will be 20 lb, but in the winter (fishing deep) and for bottom fish, I'll use 10 lb mono for the topshot so it's easy to break off if I need to (I'm also in a kayak).

i’m seriously considering going back to mono. fluoro is abrasion resistant but it’s so stiff ive actually lost two expensive jigs this week trying to gaff release chinooks. not cool

sorry derail

 

[NikNak]

I jig and run with the depth pro line that has the depth indications on it, then about three feet of 20 pound fluoro, then a swivel and then about 2 feet of fluoro line that is directly tied to my lures. I tie this on so that I am at a five foot increment on the line. I used to run without any swivels at all, and never really experience any line twisting that I noticed. I put the swivel in place thinking that I would keep more fish on, and give me a reasonable way of changing lures without a lot of hassle. I am not sure if that has any merit though.

MacDeep lures come in 40, 70 and 150 gram versions. Which weight are people using and why? Are you trying to get to the upper limit of your rods recommended lure weight? I have a medium light rod, and a couple of medium heavy rods, and I was always trying to fish the lightest lure I could get away with considering the current, but now I am trying to load up the rod by using the heaviest lure that the rod is rated for. Sort of like trying to mimic the slo pitch videos I have seen on YouTube where the rod and reel are doing the work. The reel I am using has a 7 to 1 ratio, so one crank is about 40 inches of change.

I tend to use Shimano butterfly jigs but have some MacDeeps I haven't used yet. Also I am discarding the original hook and replacing it with the double swimming hook set up tied on the top.

I got in to jigging some years ago after going to Uke and fishing on the Oak Bay puker boats. They jigged with 20 or 30 guests on one boat, had a half dozen boats, and only provided one setup for every fisher, and lime green Point Wilson dart on a **** rod with a cheap shimano level wind reel. We were there in June, and everyone on the boat limited on feeder springs and halibut. It was insanely basic. Sometimes I think I am putting a way too much focus on what lure, size/color/configuration to use.

 

[RiverBoy]

i personally don’t use anything less than 130 gram jigs due to the currents where i fish. so the 5 oz ( approx 150-160 gram) jigs get down to the bottom faster and with less scope on the line. they simply are not as effective with the lines scoped, or angled out. i am constantly backtrolling to keep the lines vertical. find the bait and work either the top of the baitball ( i also use depthhunter braid to accurately find the top of bait ) or the bottom of the bait; especially if the bait appears broken up or suspended off bottom. nothing like getting lings, springs and coho all on the same jig.

 

[Deepaaaar]

The 2.5 oz jigs are my goto for the most part (fishing 70-130'). If I need to get down faster or go deeper, I'll switch to a different profile at 3.5 oz and up. The 5oz Mac Deeps are a bit too bulky and I've lost a lot of fish with them. I'd rather use a 3.5 or 4.5 oz needlefish or candlefish. If I'm fishing shallow (<70'), I'll move down to 1.5oz.

I've tried the depth hunter braid, but my brain just doesn't want to keep track as it goes down. I might try the larger resolution (30' marks). I have line counter reels, though they break constantly.

 

[RiverBoy]

The 2.5 oz jigs are my goto for the most part (fishing 70-130'). If I need to get down faster or go deeper, I'll switch to a different profile at 3.5 oz and up. The 5oz Mac Deeps are a bit too bulky and I've lost a lot of fish with them. I'd rather use a 3.5 or 4.5 oz needlefish or candlefish. If I'm fishing shallow (<70'), I'll move down to 1.5oz.

I've tried the depth hunter braid, but my brain just doesn't want to keep track as it goes down. I might try the larger resolution (30' marks). I have line counter reels, though they break constantly.

i hear you about keeping track of the color’s. what i do is start with the dark blue. so the next time i see the blue color i know i have 100’ out; and so on

 

[NikNak]

That is exactly what I do. I just say in my head when the blue disappears 25, 50 and so on. It is easy after a while to see the 5 foot markers. Its kinda like my Wife's Yoga chanting, except I never fish nearly that deep. 200 feet is my limit.

Which gets me on to how deep do you guys/girls fish with jigging lures for Salmon?

 

[RiverBoy]

That is exactly what I do. I just say in my head when the blue disappears 25, 50 and so on. It is easy after a while to see the 5 foot markers. Its kinda like my Wife's Yoga chanting, except I never fish nearly that deep. 200 feet is my limit.

Which gets me on to how deep do you guys/girls fish with jigging lures for Salmon?

we were fishing a while back and couldn’t find bait anywhere. eventually found bait in over 300’ in dogfish bay. we sent the jigs down and had an instant double header. i usually only jig 100-150’ though

 

[Deepaaaar]

Holy. 300' is wild. I'm mostly between 30-150'. I've had a couple of occasions where the action was down below 200' and we got into them successfully, but that's been rare. I fish mostly down in Sooke.

 

[RiverBoy]

Holy. 300' is wild. I'm mostly between 30-150'. I've had a couple of occasions where the action was down below 200' and we got into them successfully, but that's been rare. I fish mostly down in Sooke.

yeah it was wild. so hard to keep lines vertical at that depth. second half of the double header was one latching on to my jig as i was trying to clear my side to help my much less experienced partner with his fish

 

[Deepaaaar]

Interesting. It's possible that with the lower light down there, the fish are more aggressive. The only time I had a decent amount of success down below 200', the move was to drop to the bottom and reel up fast. The fish would usually hit as I was reeling up, as opposed to the normal order of them hitting on the drop. It's a different world way down there, ha.

 

[Sharphooks]

i’m seriously considering going back to mono. fluoro is abrasion resistant but it’s so stiff ive actually lost two expensive jigs this week trying to gaff release chinooks. not cool

sorry derail

Another derail:
Do a YT search for a test that compares the abrasion resistance between monofilament and fluoro … it’s not even close… mono cleans fluoro’s clock
I think it’s slick marketing that has so many people thinking it’s the opposite
I permanently got fluoro off my boat several years ago…… not for abrasion reasons but I just dont trust the knots… I’ve lost too many springs with fluoro, always due to parting at the knot
I use 40 lb Maxima Green now ( top shot to my braid and also as leader material) …I never break fish off any more (unless they wrap me on my transducer)

Based on my success rate this summer (I bumped up from 30 lb test to 40 lb test because of a dogfish plague) springs don’t seem to care about the thick diameter

 

[Northdogboy]

I use a Trilene knot. And about a 10ft top shot of 20lb floro. Above my 20lb countdown braid.
I fish from a kayak or small inflatable so i dont tend to end up super deep. And the fish can pull me around with the boat. Nothing like being towed by a big spring. I love the count down line.
I see bait or marks on my sonar and try and drop right in there face i just count the colors plus the 10' leader.