When Someone Tells Me They Were Trolling At 20 30 Or 15 Ft Deep
How Do They Know How Deep They Were? Need Info On How To Get Your Lure To A Certain Depth. I Had A Guy Tell Me He Was Trolling At 35 Ft. Does He Mean 35 Behind The Boat Or 35 Deep?
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When Someone Tells Me They Were Trolling At 20 30 Or 15 Ft Deep
How Do They Know How Deep They Were? Need Info On How To Get Your Lure To A Certain Depth. I Had A Guy Tell Me He Was Trolling At 35 Ft. Does He Mean 35 Behind The Boat Or 35 Deep?
Yaknow that's a good question. The only way I know for sure is if I'm using a downrigger, otherwise it's a bit of a guess. I suppose if you're seeing fish on the fishfinder at a certian depth, and you let out line trolling untill you start catching those fish, then you know. But the amount of line out and the trolling speed must be the same to repeat that depth. Also the lure type and/or weight must be the same. I'm sure there's somebody out there that's formulated the recipe for all the variants of speed/line length/lure weight to know the depth you're trolling at. Just can't remember seeing any graphs or tables about it before.
A lot of members of this forum are trolling crank baits and either by experience or using a chart provided by Precision Angling they know that with so many feet of line out that their crank bait will be so deep. For example, in the chart below, if I have 50' of line out with 10lb test line, my 300 series Bandit crank bait should run around 11.5' deep.
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Depth remains one of the most key variables in trolling, I don`t use charts just trial and error. Find a clean(no debris) point, underwater island,etc,on your locator, run over it with a gps (I use Lowrance h20) marking a track at what ever depth you choose. Put on your favorite crank and run the track varying speed and amount of line out until the crank just bumps. You may have to change crank sizes (series) to get the right depth. Write down your findings, example a Norman middle n will run a maximum of 16` no matter how much line (12lb.) I let out or speed I go. If you do not have a gps bouy markers can be used. Makes it a bit harder, but that is what I used for years. Hope this helps. PM me if you have any questionsI can help you with. possum1