toerag Posted October 9, 2006 Report Share Posted October 9, 2006 Has anyone used paravanes? More specifically, the delta ones. We tried using one the other week and found that it would dive, then surface almost straight away. I suspect it was the big rapala on the end (CD18 magnum) putting up too much resistance and causing the paravane to trip and surface as if it had a fish on, however we didn't have any other 'bassy' lures to try, and no bait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swainiac Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 Toerag, get yourself a deep diving plug, Ive got a bucketfull I bought in the states for 90c each! They dive to 25 feet and 35 feet respectively, far less hassle than paravanes! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Fox Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Toerag, I have used paravanes for trolling for about 18 years, almost exclusively for mackerel, though have caught bass, pollack and one sea trout (returned). I have handlines made up with paravanes attached, a 6' trace of 15lb mono, and use a variety of spinners, bars, small plugs, and plastic lures - with small shads being particularly good. I rig these from the stern cleats and troll at 3-5 knots, with the paravanes about 30 yards astern, and set the paravanes to dive to "medium" depth, which I suspect is about 15' deep. By rigging the trace from off-centre points on the back edge of the paravane, I deliberately set the two lines to splay apart in a V-shape from the stern. As you noticed, if there is a load on them, such as a fish, or a large plug fitted, the load makes them flip over, and kite to the surface. The way you can overcome this is to set the paravane to dive deeper. The additional downward pressure will hold quite a large fish (or lure) down. The drawback of this is that the load increases, and the main line is much harder to haul in to check for weed etc. Hope this helps, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toerag Posted October 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Rich, what make of plugs are they? They sound like just the job, assuming they're up to the rigours of saltwater fishing. Mike - I think smaller lures are the way to go on the paravane, although when it comes to bass the bigger the lure the better, especially for big bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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