Opener Technique

[Prescott Rob]

How do people like to attack the river for opener? I generally drag lindy's with a red hook and a worm near the shallows(8-12ft)but I know trolling can be affective as well. When you guys pull 3 ways rigs, is there any technique or depth/structure i should be looking for when trolling these. How many ounces of weight do i need on the bottom of my three way. should i be bangin bottom?

[tunrevir]

Down to 20' you don't need much for lead and can pull straight cranks longlined on mono. You can troll them even deeper on fireline or power pro without going to bouncers or 3 ways. I would say that most of your fish are going to come from shallower water then 20'. I know that most of the fish I catch on opener come out of water less then 12' with many taken right off shore in the 2-4' range. I fish the upper reaches though so the deeper water might be key for you but I'd be willing to bet you could pull some early fish from the shallows. As a rule of thumb use about a 1/2 oz for every fifteen feet of water you are looking to troll. Current can dictate whether you need more or less weight as well as speed and dropper length on the 3 way. I like a 12-18" dropper with a shorter lead of 6 feet. TrollerX, Croixeyes and Turk are much more of an authority on this subject then I. Don't be afraid to cast the riprap areas and look to the areas where the current sweeps towards the shore. Hope this helps.

Tunrevir~

[ChompChomp_YANK]

I have always done good around the opener pulling shad raps in 5-7' of water. Alot of people stay away from the timber probably worried about loosing lures I guess. I run fire line & get as close to the timber as I can. 9 out of 10 times you will bend the hooks before loosing your lure! I usually pull in a couple of big snags with somebodys crankbait & broken mono! Heck pullin in a $7.00 shad rap is almost as good as catchen a eye I did say almost!! See ya on the river black alumacraft 185 W/ 150 Yamaha & T-8 kicker I hope !!(if Nelson marine gets her on before sat.)