Long line trolling?

[311Hemi]

Is long line trolling basically trolling raps at the appropriate line lengths to reach the desired depths, or is it specifically trolling cranks a longer distance from the boat than may be required to reach the max depth for a particular lure? Example you may have a lure that runs a max depth of 5' at 80 ft of line, but you are long lineing so now you run that same lure out 200' to get it far away from the boat. Or possibly both depending on who you are talking to?

Is this the same as flat line trolling?

[PerchJerker]

Flatline trolling is running your baits behind the boat with nothing attached to the line ------ no planer boards or outriggers or snap weights or anything like that connected to the line.

Longline trolling is what you said, letting out more line to get farther away from the boat. It came about from clear lakes with suspended fish, where the boat spooked the fish --- guys would longline their baits to get farther away from the boat and reduce the spooking factor.

[311Hemi]

So with long lining would you run a longer distance that what the trolling bible actually says to run, and decide on what lure to use based on it's max running depth? Because otherwise if your targeting a certain depth with a certain lure you would only be able to let out so much line based on how deep that lure runs. So, with one lure I might not be able to let our more than 70 feet to reach the desired depth....this example would not be long lining?

Whats the difference between flat and long lining then, because from what I understand long lining is different that running planer boards or out/down rigging. Both your running a lure a good distance from the boat.

[PerchJerker]

So with long lining would you run a longer distance that what the trolling bible actually says to run, and decide on what lure to use based on it's max running depth?

[311Hemi]

PJ, thanks for the info on this and the Diawa. This helps my understanding a lot!!

[beaver11]

from my understanding if you let your line out to much your lure will start to run higher in the water column

[PerchJerker]

from my understanding if you let your line out to much your lure will start to run higher in the water column

Not true. The bait will dive to its maximum depth as long as you have enough line out ---- if you have more than enough line the "excess line" will ride high in the water column but the bait will still dive to its maxiumum depth.

[muddpuppy]

It's my understanding that the more line you let out the deeper the lure goes? Lets take a (Deep Tail Dancer) They dive to 30' with 100' of line or something like that. If you let out 200' of line there is no real telling how deep it's going but only makes sence that it would continue to dive. Boat speed also plays a factor. Have I been wrongly mistaken in my thinking?

[311Hemi]

Looking at the trolling bible at any given speed the dive curve for line out vs running depth levels off greatly as you let out more line. With a #7 shad rap the line gets fairly level past 120 ft meaning your getting towards the max depth at that speed.

I don't have the book as of yet and haven't looked at the dive curves for deep running lures but I would assume the same principle applies?

From an article online:

Quote:

The amount of line let out is a strong influence on how deep a crankbait will dive. McClelland's book states that crankbaits will reach 90% or more of their maximum diving depth when 120 feet of lead is used. McClelland also claims that if too much line is let out the lure will actually lose depth because of excessive line drag in the water. The authors of Precision Trolling came to a different conclusion.

"Every crankbait is an individual that has its own distinctive diving curve," says Holt. "Some lures reach their maximum diving depth with 120 foot leads, but many lures, especially deep divers are just getting warmed up at 120 feet."

Holt, and Romanack experimented with lead lengths much longer than tested by McClelland. "In some cases we saw lures continuing to dive even after letting out 260 feet of line," claims Romanack. "The Luhr Jensen Powerdive Minnow is an excellent example. A lure with an extra large diving lip, the Powerdive achieved a depth of 25 feet with a 120 foot lead and 35 feet when trolled on a 260 foot lead."

"The Powerdive minnow picks up an additional 10 feet of diving depth when run on very long leads," adds Holt. "A significant depth improvement, this lure and other super deep divers are capable of reaching greater depths than we ever dreamed possible."

Ironically, not all big lipped lures turn out to be the deep divers they appear to be. The body size and buoyancy appears to have a major impact on how deep a lure will dive.

"The Rebel D-30 Spoonbill is a good example of a lure I expected to be a super deep diver," comments Romanack. "After testing the Spoonbill D-30 and learning that it only dives to 18 feet, I was sure the lure tested had to be out of tune. After testing several other D-30 Spoonbills, I finally came to the conclusion that this bait which appears to be a deep diver is actually a medium depth diving lure."

Large crankbaits with wide buoyant bodies tend to run slightly shallower than you might expect. Other big lipped lures that don't dive as deep asyou might think include the Rapala No. 9 Shad Rap and Poe's Deadeye. Although each of these lures are excellent fish producers, they don't dive as deep as other lures with similar lip sizes.

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[PerchJerker]

It's my understanding that the more line you let out the deeper the lure goes?

[Muddog]

I didn't read all of this but one thing to remember when doing this type of trolling is Do not keep going in a strate line use "S" turns the lure will cut the corners and fish areas not behind the boat.