How Deep Is My Lure When Trolling?

First, a disclaimer: As with everything in fishing this is not an exact science, but a rule of thumb you can used when setting your lines to help make a better judgment as to where those lures are running is the “Rule of Fives.” When trolling at five mph, with 50 pound test line and five ounces of weight, set to 50

What depth do you troll in?

Try deep-, medium- and shallow-runners, so that you have a lure or two that will run at every depth from 5 to 20 feet deep (or more, depending on how deep fish will hold in your local waters).

Does trolling speed affect lure depth?

Speed (at normal trolling speeds) isn’t supposed to noticeably affect the depths of cranks when long lining and that’s why you see no depth compensation curves for different speeds.

How much line should I let out for a troll?

Downriggers. Downriggers allow for extra long length between the downrigger ball and the lure. Let out 50 feet of line and clip into the release. If that’s not enough distance to prevent your lake’s wary walleyes from seeing the ball…then let out 150 feet of line!

How do you know what depth to fish?

Attach a float to your line and a weight where you would normally put the hook. Let it sink and the bobber will give you an idea of how deep the water is. If it’s too deep, it will pull the bobber under and you will need to put more line between the float and the weight.

How do you make a lure deeper?

By sticking your rod into the water while you crank, the bait dives deeper and stays on the bottom longer. That’s why a longer rod is so important. By kneeling and putting the end of my 7-10 Quantum KVD cranking rod in the water, I can get the bait another 4-5 feet deeper.

How fast do you troll with a Rapala?

Troll worm harnesses behind bottom bouncers or floating Rapalas on a three way rig as slow as 0.8 mph. These same tactics work on lethargic post spawn walleye as well. Trolling really kicks into high gear for summer walleye. Start trolling at speeds of 2.0 mph and adjust as necessary to encourage strikes.

How deep do Thunderstick JR dive?

6 – 15 ft
The injured baitfish swimming action of this lure attracts fish of all species. Depth: 6 – 15 ft.

How do you control crankbait depth?

Move your crankbait too slow or too fast and it’ll run too shallow. The bill has to bite into the water at the correct angle for the lure to run as deep as possible. The length of your cast is the next thing that affects running depth. A longer cast will let the bait get down deeper.

How deep do you troll for walleye?

Depth. Crankbaits are an effective way to fish both in shallow areas and at depth. Deep running crankbaits for walleye go down to 12 feet or deeper. Smaller bills and shallow divers cover depths of zero to eight feet deep.

Can you use braid for trolling?

Braid is great for trolling but since it has very little stretch we recommend using a wind-on-leader or mono tophsot. We recommend using 30-130Lb braid as backing for trolling reels. Make sure any reel you spool on your trolling reels is spooled on tight!

How deep do fishing lures go?

Most crankbaits will dive 3 feet and deeper, fishing low water can easily get you snagged on vegetation, branches or rocks.

What depth do fish feed at?

Fish at the proper depth.
Thermocline-level fish dwell approximately 20 to 35 feet below the surface, and include trout, walleye, and smallmouth bass. They are attracted to hot spots such as drop-offs and sunken reefs. Once you’ve found them, fish natural baits within inches of the bottom.

How deep do Bandit Lures run?

The Bandit Walleye Deep dives all the way to 27 feet and trolls even deeper than that. Walleye, zander and other predator fish love this slender minnow jerkbait. Measuring 4-3/4-inches and weighing 5/8-ounce, the Bandit Walleye Deep is a go-to fishing lure for anglers around the world.

Can you troll stick baits?

Senior Member. I have never trolled with stick baits, but have teased and switched marlin onto stick baits, Which is an option if you can get the guys to pay attention to the spread.

Can you troll with a jig lure?

Originally designed as a casting search lure, the 360 GT Swimmer is also ideally suited to trolling applications. Jigs can be long-line trolled directly behind the boat, but these lures are also ideally suited to trolling in combination with in-line boards.

Can you troll soft plastics?

Trolling plastics is best done in very shallow water of less than 1m, or 1.2m at most. In shallow water of 60-90cm where the propeller is just clearing the sand, you can troll soft plastics on light jig heads of about 1/8 to 1/6oz behind your boat, and as short as only 10m from the boat.

What fish can you catch trolling?

Trolling is used to catch pelagic fish such as salmon, mackerel and kingfish. Trolling can be phonetically confused with trawling, a different method of fishing where a net (trawl) is drawn through the water instead of lines.

What speed do you pull crankbaits?

Determine a depth – Like Whitehead, using 90 to 110 feet of line is a good starting point. At 1.5 mph this will put the 8- to 12-foot crankbaits between 12-16 feet, depending on wind on waves. Choose a speed – 1.5 to 1.7 mph is where Whitehead stays and is a common speed for pulling cranks.

How deep does a scatter rap go?

Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerks can reach depths of nearly 20 feet when trolled and will run as deep as 10 feet when cast and retrieved thanks to its oversized, diving lip.