Precision Trolling Questions - NEED HELP!!

[PTocko]

Okay, I spent this weekend fine tuning my fall trolling technique (felt like fall, what can I say..) Bought the Precision Trolling Handbook - per the handbook (using a Diawa Sealine line counter with 10 lb mono - accurate I believe) I let a reefrunner little something or nother (I forget) out 60 feet which should have equaled 12 feet. Ran over some 10 foot humps, did not tick bottom, over some 8 foot humps, did not tick bottom, huh?? Only thing I can think of is I was not going fast enough. Read handbook again and I did not see any mention of speed used for the dive charts so maybe I was going too slow (about 1.5 - 1.6 mph by GPS). If I missed something, please let me know. Thanks for the help - I do appreciate it. Paul

[fiskyknut]

Deep Lil' Rippers maybe?? They can be waaay hard to tune just right to get them to dive right. I've had a few that just won't run right no matter what ya do to them.

I'd guess you was running a tad slow for max depth. try 2-2.2 as a minimum.

fiskyknut

[solbes]

Were your rods in a holder that had them angled upwards? I frequently use rod holders now that I troll with younger kids. I've had to let more line out to adjust for the fact that the line is in air for the first 20-30 feet. Even so, it seems if you have your rods flat or angled towards the water they get deeper.

Also, are you using a thicker fluoro leader? I have about a 5 foot leader made from 15lb Berkley 100% Fluoro, which I believe makes the lures ride a foot higher than if I used straight 10# Fireline.

Speed should not matter that much. 1.5 - 2.5 should give you very similar depths.

BTW, with all of the factors listed above, I let more line out to reach 2 feet deeper than advertised to get to my target depth. Also unless the water is really stained, they will come up to get your lures at least 2 feet.

[PerchJerker]

Good points made already.

Most likely is that your crankbait wasn't fully in tune and wasn't getting its maximum depth --- next most likely is that your line counter is not all that accurate (although at 60 feet it shouldn't be too far off, but check to be sure). The point about having your rod tips up high , especially on a short lead like 60 feet, is a good point too.

Speed shouldn't do much to affect the dive depth but you could kick it up to the 2.0-2.2 range to be sure.

Couple more points -- make sure you're looking at the right dive curve (not sure a little ripper will get down 10 feet unless is was a deep little ripper???), and that you're using the graph line for the line you're using (ie. don't use the fireline curve if you're running mono, etc).

Good luck getting it all dialed in together.

[PTocko]

All -

Thanks for the tips - will try to clarify.

1) Yes, had rod in a holder with tip angeled slightly upward, will take this into account.

2) Yes, it was a little deep ripper, according to depth chart, no issue getting to 12 feet (actually had it out 60 feet which should have been 14 feet, my bad)

3) No leader, tying 10 lb mono direct to lure using a rapala knot.

4) Will increase speed to 2 - 2.2 mph

Thanks for the suggestions, will keep "practicing". Paul

[kfk]

I'd look at the actual feet of line you had out. Depending upon how much line you have on your reel, you may not actually have 60 feet of line out. None of my line counters are exactly accurate.

[TruthWalleyes]

+1

[slurpie]

Tuning can be a pain in the butt. I got the same book and seems like it could be off by a couple of feet from the depth point of view.

[JohnMickish]

It's not that Reef Runners are known to be true out of the box. They catch fish for sure but it takes some effort to get them to run right.

[Tom7227]

The transducer likely is at least 6 inches below the surface so you're off by at least a half a foot right from the start.

I haven't read the book and have never tried to tune a lure but I am pretty sure that speed makes a difference. Hold your hand out the window of the car and tilt it up and down at 5 mph and then at 30 mph and you clearly can see the difference. There's probably even some fancy name for the phenomena.

[Borch]

Lots of factors come into play. Is the reel filled properly. If not it will affect the accuracy. The tuning as many have mentioned. Reef runners are the toughest baits to tune for sure. Although their erractic action will trigger fish. Speed has more to do with how fast a lure gets to max depth rather than how deep they'll dive. Although you've got to be going fast enough to over come the bouyancy for the lure.

[shorefisher]

I have been reading ton's of info on trolling depth of lure and there are some many factors that come into play I just went out and tested the baits I use on the rod, line and speed I troll at and made a few note's and I know have a good idea what depth I am running at. Just got boat up to trolling speed let out X amount of line over deep water and moved shallow until I felt bait hit bottom. Used a few markers so I could tell bait to boat relation. Not right on but I feel I can troll my bait in a 2 to 3 foot window with this info. It was also more fun then reading as all I got from that was that every lure,line,leader rod angle,etc etc had a effect on how deep your bait will run. Will thats my two cents on this but it was cheep and i now have confidence in what I am doing and I think that is the most important part confidence in what you are doing.

[riverrat56]

I take every single lure I buy a tune it next to the boat, usually at about 4-5mph, that way I know it will run true at trolling speed.

[fishermatt]

As others have mentioned, it's really important to "calibrate" your reel by having the right amount of line on it to make it match the line counter. These reels don't actually measure the amount of line, they measure the number of revolutions that the spool makes. So if you have too little line on the reel, you'll have less actual line out than what the counter says, and if you have too much line on the reel, you'll have more line out than what the counter says. This can make a big difference, especially if you have more than 1 reel and are trying to duplicate a specific distance back. Test the reel at home by pulling line off the reel until the counter says 60 feet for example, then actually measure the amount of line that came off. The results may surprise you.

[PerchJerker]

Good point. I usually measure the line at 100 to 120 feet back, as those are the distances I usually troll at. And having an underfilled spool on the reel is a big problem, but if you have the spool filled to near capacity your line counter should be close. Good luck.

[WallyWalter]

Rapala makes a clip on line counter that I think works much better than the reels that come with the counter as part of the reel. No need to worry about having too much or too little line on the reel. Mine are very accurate. Under $20.

[Northlander]

Sorry Wally but those add on line counters are junk, in my opinion, compared to a good line counter reel. I have tried about every add on counter made and never found one that worked nearly as well as a good line counter reel like a Diawa Sealine or even the Acudepths.

[solbes]

Yeah, I bought a Shakespear add on counter. Works OK for 12 mono and up, but doesn't even read the 10# Fireline that's on all of my rods. Oh well, chalk up another $10 to fishing...

[TruthWalleyes]

I purchased one of those line counters from the bargin cave. Used it once, and probably won't use it again. It works if you have a LOT of weight on the line, otherwise it won't pull line through the counter...Line counter reels definetly better IMO.

[toddb]

Try the Rapala TD7 or 9 deep Taildancers. Similar style bait that will run tru. Not in the book(at least the edition I have) but should run close to the Deep little Ripper.