I guess you could rent a boat and fish them with jigs, but it isn't even remotely as productive as downrigger fishing them. And if the sonar isn't dialed in to the point you can see the fish on the bottom in 160ft + of water, I think it would be a waste of time. You might find them up on the very top of Mack Bar in 110ft, but if not - you gotta go deeper.
It is a relatively easy fishery, but takes some special equipment you never typically find on a rental boat.
On a positive note - when I first started fishing these guys, I had a hand-held GPS and an Eagle fishfinder in my tiller fishing boat. I would run around until I found a pile of the fish on the bottom - then stop and send the jig down. Caught a few doing that, but probably 1/4 of the troller's production.
The other way to do it is run a deep long line. Get a downrigger rod with a line counter reel on it. And a lot of line (braid is a must for this). Set up an Ace Hi Fly or or similar glow bait on a salmon mooching leader and bait it with pikeminnow strip.
Let out at least 50 feet of line, then attach a sliding sinker that you can clamp to the line and is easy to release. I use a a four ounce cannonball hooked to a version of these snaps. These are Offshore brand and have one very important feature over downrigger releases - they have a pin molded into the jaw that will not allow the line to slip out. If you try to use downrigger releases you will lose them...
Get to your trolling speed, from .75 to 1.5mph, let out about 50 feet of line, attach your snap weight and then let the rest out until you get to bottom and stay there. With 40# power pro main line a 4 oz cannonball, moving at 1.2 mph and fishing in 180 feet of water, I have to let out right at of 500 feet of line after I snap on the weight. If you up your cannonball size, it will shorten the amount of line you need to get to bottom. If you fish slower, it will shorten the amount also.
We call this the "workout rod", since it is actual work to haul in a fish on this vs a downrigger rod. We run it between our downrigger setups and usually catches at twice the rate the downriggers do (I typically run flatfish on the downriggers). It will bounce along the bottom, and you'll get to know the rhythmic way it moves. It will be obvious when a fish takes it - and that's when the work begins. You'll need to reel up to where the snap weight is attached and your partner will have to smoothly unsnap it without causing the line to go slack. When the weight is in you'll have the last 50 feet or so to reel in and net your fish. It is work, but it works well.
Good luck, let us know how you do.
