Trolling depth

[Kokanee Katcher]

Is there a chart available that gives an estimate of lure depth with inputs of speed, sinker weight and line diameter? It seems like I heard that there was a book published that had that information but I can find no reference to it. I choose not to use a downrigger and do it the easy way!

[onlychild]

im am not aware of one but im sure there is some thing out there. my question is way not a downrigger ? if your looking to use weight - pink ladys -or dipsys to get to a certain depth way not use a figger it allows you to feel the fish and not have all that junk on your line also allowing you to use lighter tackle and as the water temp rises they go deeper so you could depending on your lake be fishing in 70-80 ft. h2o latter in the season just wondering?

[SuperD]

I choose not to use a downrigger and do it the easy way!

Downrigger = both accurate and easy

Inline lead = all guess work and inaccurate

One of the things I've heard from some old timers is they'd troll different weights in the shallows at their standard trolling speed / set back and see what depth that set up begins to bump the bottom. One part of the equation is set back distance. Findind a matrix that had speed, weight, line diameter and set back distance would be incredibly cumbersome. Once you field tested a few different weights and speeds, you could probably do some interpilating.

[Kokanee Katcher]

I tried the downrigger route and I don't like it. The 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 ounce weight I use is not that big a drag but it takes a lot of experimenting to catch the fish that show up on my fishfinder.

[268bull]

KK, I have a book, "Trolling Truths for Trout,Kokanee, and landlocked King Salmon". It was written by Sep & Marilyn Hendrickson, published by, "Frank Amato Publications",www.amatobooks.com. It's an interesting read but leans toward relying on the downrigger. Personally, I'm a long liner like yourself. I'm currently using 3oz. of banana weight on a 110 ft.of line. At 1 to 11/4 mph trolling, I'm estimating I'm at 35' to 40' deep. There's another pub. out which better references long lining but the title escapes my mind at the moment. It's out of publication and copies are very expensive if and when you find them. When my memory works a little better and I get the name I'll drop a line about it.

[Kokanee Katcher]

Downrigger = both accurate and easy

Inline lead = all guess work and inaccurate

One of the things I've heard from some old timers is they'd troll different weights in the shallows at their standard trolling speed / set back and see what depth that set up begins to bump the bottom. One part of the equation is set back distance. Findind a matrix that had speed, weight, line diameter and set back distance would be incredibly cumbersome. Once you field tested a few different weights and speeds, you could probably do some interpilating.

SuperD

That's interesting because that was just what I was planning to do tomorrow. The lakes I fish usually have Kokanee down to 45 feet at the most, so with my depth finder I can check line length against speed and weight to get a rough chart for future use.

[trollmonkey]

Like SuperD said riggers are easy and accurate.With a short setback you can quickly turn and get back on fish without a hundred yard turn or leadcore in the prop on a too tight turn.Also most of the lakes in Western North Carolina aren't very big so downrigging allows you to manuever(sp?) better in tight coves.My brother-in law fishes leadcore and a dipsey off one side and I downrig on the other ,most days I get more hits.Plus when you see fish on sonar under the boat you can work them by speeding up, stopping, cranking the wt up then back down etc. and Bro-in-law is still 70-80 yards from the fish I see.But there have been way too many days when he wore me out,like last trip he got a 2.75 pound koke and my best one was 1.25 lbs. So who knows

[SilverBullets]

If your set on trolling with the in-line weight check out the book "Kokanee" on page 45. It talks about a device called the Depth-O-Troll. This is a device that will give you an estimate on the depth based on the amount of line out and the angle of which the line enters the water. The draw back to this is your line doesn't lie perfectly straight (it curves) and you need an accurate way of knowing how much line is out.
Another device that works similar is the TROLL-EZE Depth Marker System. This is a chart that shows 16 different angles that you line up your fishing line against while holding the card level to see which angle best lines up. On the back of the chart is a table that shows how many pulls it takes to get to a desired depth depending on the angle of the line.
If you want my honest opinion a dowrigger is alot less work and is way more accurate.

[Kokanee Katcher]

"Who knows" is really what makes fishing interesting. If I were able to hit the lake and catch my limit with no effort, I'd probably have an inflated ego and then get bored after awhile. Outsmarting a fish is fun when it happens and just when it is going good the fish changes the rules and the chase is on again. Life is more interesting with challenges!

[DWT]

Downriggers allow you to fish in crowded surroundings which we are seeing more of and are quicker at getting your lure to the depth you are looking for.

[SilverBullets]

Here is what the TROLL-EZE Depth Marker System looks like that I mentioned in my above post. Also, check out the depth charts in "The Trollers Handbook" by Ray Rychnovsky.

[KOK head]

Hmmmmm thats kinda of a good chart to have around ! thanks thats cool.

[Kokanee Katcher]

Well I did the "Bump the bottom" test and I now have a reference for my fishing. Once I found out what the fish were having for lunch today, it was only a short time until my dinner for tomorrow ended up in my boat. Thanks for all the input and ideas.