How to setup a cheater/slider line

[paolotca]

Hi All,

Fishing withdrawals has set in and all I can think about is getting out there.  So, I heard some guys chatting about using cheater lines (although I think they could also be called slider line?) while I was at the fishing and boat show this weekend.  Can anyone explain the basic setup?

Cheers,
P

[GeorgianBay MessageBoard]

[Canuck]

Hi All,

Fishing withdrawals has set in and all I can think about is getting out there.  So, I heard some guys chatting about using cheater lines (although I think they could also be called slider line?) while I was at the fishing and boat show this weekend.  Can anyone explain the basic setup?

Cheers,
P

Simple. 


1. Tie your self a 5 to 6 foot  piece of mono to two medium swivels, one at each end.  Put the cheater lure on that line/leader.  Should be a spoon.  Set it aside.


2. Set up your normal downrigger rod/lure and drop it down almost all the way to target depth.  Leave a bit more "bow" in the line than usual.


3. Then clip your cheater line swivel over the line on the rod and toss it back and it will sink/slide down the line to roughly half the depth of your cannon ball.


4. Drop the ball down to target depth and then tighten up the slack line as usual.


The cheater will run about 1/2 depth.


Because of the bow in the line, you will have to watch for strikes closely.  Keep in mind to set the hook you may have to yank the rod to release the clip on the ball, then reel up the slack till you hit the fish.  Missed strikes are more common on the cheater.

[paolotca]

Great, thanks so much.  Sounds easy enough to setup.

[Krawler]

Never put a cheater line when using a flasher/fly or flasher/meat combo.  Otherwise Canuck provided a perfect deatiled way of rigging.

[Tom McCutcheon]

Never put a cheater line when using a flasher/fly or flasher/meat combo.  Otherwise Canuck provided a perfect deatiled way of rigging.

Might be a dumb question, but if I don't ask it, I won't have my answer.
Other than the obvious tangled mess if a fish hits either line, what is the reason for not using a cheater with a flasher fly or meat rig?

[Krawler]

The tangle gets really bad, your cheater line and lead from flasher to bait will become intertwined. 

[Canuck]

The tangle gets really bad, your cheater line and lead from flasher to bait will become intertwined.

Yup. It makes a major mess and twists your line up and you will spend more time untangling than fishing.

[Tom McCutcheon]

Thanks guys. That's what I thought but wasn't sure if there was a legal, (OMNRF) reason for not doing it.

[Canuck]

Thanks guys. That's what I thought but wasn't sure if there was a legal, (OMNRF) reason for not doing it.

You do need to be careful to not have more hooks on a single line than are permitted and both lures on a line with a cheater have to be included.

[paolotca]

Max is 6 hooks right? 2 spoons with a treble each is legal but a body bait with two trebles plus a spoon with one treble is not?

[Grandpa Jim]

A single fishing line is restricted to four hooks. A treble hook or multiple-pointed hook on a common shaft is defined as one hook. Don't count the points, count the hooks!
The position of a slider attached to the main line is affected by a variety of factors which includes the weight of the lure, the speed at which you are trolling and the amount of tension you employ from the rod tip to the release. A "taut" main line will have less bow than a loosely set line which can result in the slider lure being relatively close to the main lure. The half way between the rod tip to the slider line is actually quite commonly used but can be significantly inaccurate. The comment concerning keeping a close eye on the rod tip when running a slider is also incorrect. Even a small fish hitting a slider rig can cause a great deal of activity on the rod tip. This doesn't mean the release will let go of the main line and, as mentioned, you may have to pop the release by giving the main line a sharp jerk.
Anglers lose a fair percentage of fish hitting their sliders because it can take a while for the slider swivel to work its way down to the main line lure. If you notice a hit on your slider (violent rod tip activity) grab the rod and wind like hell! This greatly reduces the time lag for the slider to catch up to the main line lure and limits the length of time where the fish having hit the slider is completely free of a tight line set-up.

[Slammer]

Great info.  but my question is, how can you tell for sure it's a hit on the slider and to reel like crazy, or if it's actually a hit on the main line and to set the hook instead of reeling fast?  Can you really tell the difference because of the rod tip action?

[Tom McCutcheon]

Generally, if it's a hit on the main line, your rod tip will bounce up and then go down immediately, and your reel will be screaming.....

If on the slider, you should notice the tip bouncing, or the bow in the line getting tighter, or your rod tip up and then down again (similar to a main line release), or your reel screaming …..or all of the above....LOL

[Grandpa Jim]

With experience, it is relatively easy to see the difference between a strike on the mainline lure compared with that on a slider set-up. If this topic is limited specifically to Owen Sound trolling for salmon in the early spring, most successful anglers will be working deep water between 75 and 160 feet. With that amount of line out (plus whatever length of lead you prefer behind the ball), I'd recommend you get to your rod as quickly as possible and wind as fast as you can regardless of whether or not it is a main line lure strike or your slider rig. The reason is that chinook salmon will often pop your mainline release and head as fast as they can for the surface. It is very common for a salmon to make it to the surface (due to the amount of line you have out) before you can actually tighten up the line sufficiently to properly set the hook. As Tom Mac suggests, salmon can occasionally rip the main line free of the release and bury the road tip by scooting along near the bottom but this is definitely not commonplace in the early spring. Inexperienced anglers will often get quickly to the rod and feel nothing which leads to them assuming they have missed the fish completely. They leisurely wind the line in to reset it only to discover part way that the rod bucks and the reel is "screaming" while the fish is running wildly across the surface away from the boat.
Fishing deep water only a few feet from the bottom sounds somewhat ridiculous when the ice has just gone out but that is where the water is a few degrees warmer than the higher layers. The bait fish will be in this "warmer" water as will the salmon and trout. Chinook have an unbelievable ability of coping with the rapid pressure change without suffering any apparent damage.
As an aside, I have found that a four foot fluorocarbon leader with a medium sized swivel attached to the main line between the rod tip and the rigger release (with a small Sampo or Spro ball bearing swivel for the flutter spoon slider lure) is more than long enough to be successful. The shorter leader length simply reduces the chances of having loose line snarl up your rig.

[Laughin.Loon.Fishin]

Great info in here gentlemen.  Thank you


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