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Posts: 177
| I don't currently troll at all and don't have trolling rods or linecounters. I don't plan on purchasing these things either but I'm wondering if it would be worth my time to give trolling a shot. I'm talking about just holding the rod and running the trolling motor. I wouldn't be able to determine the exact depth my bait is at but maybe by running over a point or other structure at a certain depth I could determine if I'm too deep. There aren't really large flats in the Vilas county lakes I fish so I can't let out line over those until I hit bottom.
My questions are is this worth my time to cast out and pull baits at an undetermined depth? Is trolling effective if I cant get a bait at exactly the correct depth the fish might be at? Would it be better to run baits on the shallower side to make it easier for fish to come up to them as opposed to baits being too deep? How deep would a jointed depthraider run at the end of a typical cast? |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | I think it would be fine. How do you know the exact depth the fish are at anyway? |
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| of course it worth a try,most biggest fish are caught trolling .you better buy mike trolling book if you want to the depth of the most popular lures .sometimes trolling is no good sometimes it's better than casting |
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Posts: 90
| We often troll and catch many fish. Nothing like the sound of the clicker going off. We are allowed two poles per person and I usually fish two in the boat. 4 lines times 3 - 4 mph equals a lot of water covered. |
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Posts: 2275
Location: Chisholm, MN | I used to troll without a all the equipmet. It's not essential. I sugest putting less line out than one would think. You don't want to go too deep and be under a fish. In MN, if you are trolling open water there isn't much of a need to get deeper than 10 feet. Most baits will get there in less than 50' of line. |
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Posts: 452
| If two lines are allowed, run a bulldawg on a rod at half the depth your fishing and cast off the front with the trolling motor. Almost like a live bait scenario with plastic. You might be surprised what you find. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | You can easily run near exact line lengths without a line counter. If your reels have a non-disengaging levelwind you can measure the amount of line let out in one pass of the level wind. The other option would be to mark your line with a permanent marker every ten feet. As far as depths the baits will run with a given amount of line and at specific speeds, most lure manufacturers are able to provide this information if it isn't available on their website.
Good advice above about keeping the baits higher in the water column. A common mistake is to put lures too far back and have them running too deep. If the fish are in 15' of water, suspended or on the bottom, and you have a bait running at 8-10' that's close enough. |
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Posts: 177
| Kirby Budrow - 2/28/2018 7:49 AM
I used to troll without a all the equipmet. It's not essential. I sugest putting less line out than one would think. You don't want to go too deep and be under a fish. In MN, if you are trolling open water there isn't much of a need to get deeper than 10 feet. Most baits will get there in less than 50' of line.
This is what I was thinking. I'll likely only do this in larger clearer lakes so I should be able to get away with being over the fishes head by more than a few feet with the good visibility. I've tried it before but I think was too concerned with getting enough line out and probably ended up too deep. |
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Posts: 177
| 14ledo81 - 2/27/2018 8:17 PM
I think it would be fine. How do you know the exact depth the fish are at anyway?
Good point. Only downside is it wouldn't be very reproducible if I get a fish since I don't know what depth I was at, but should have idea at least. |
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Posts: 2275
Location: Chisholm, MN | Vilas15 - 2/28/2018 10:45 AM
14ledo81 - 2/27/2018 8:17 PM
I think it would be fine. How do you know the exact depth the fish are at anyway?
Good point. Only downside is it wouldn't be very reproducible if I get a fish since I don't know what depth I was at, but should have idea at least.
Look at it this way...If a fish kicks it's tail it can move 20 feet in the blink of an eye. It will be very aware of your bait even it it's 20 feet away an active one will chase it down that far or even further. So if you are say 8 feet down in 40 feet of water a fish would likely be anywhere from 20' down to at the same depth as your bait. It will see it and react to is no mater what depth it is. So I wouldn't worry about trying to exactly replicate if you bait is at 10 or 8 or 12 or whatever it may be when you catch a fish. The difference of a few feet will not affect the fish's ability to see it and hunt it down. |
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Posts: 2275
Location: Chisholm, MN | Vilas15 - 2/28/2018 10:41 AM
Kirby Budrow - 2/28/2018 7:49 AM
I used to troll without a all the equipmet. It's not essential. I sugest putting less line out than one would think. You don't want to go too deep and be under a fish. In MN, if you are trolling open water there isn't much of a need to get deeper than 10 feet. Most baits will get there in less than 50' of line.
This is what I was thinking. I'll likely only do this in larger clearer lakes so I should be able to get away with being over the fishes head by more than a few feet with the good visibility. I've tried it before but I think was too concerned with getting enough line out and probably ended up too deep.
Deep clear lake - throw a headlock out 30' and run at 3.5 or so at the right time of year when lots of fish are in open water and I think it will work out for you. |
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Posts: 177
| Kirby Budrow - 2/28/2018 11:07 AM
Deep clear lake - throw a headlock out 30' and run at 3.5 or so at the right time of year when lots of fish are in open water and I think it will work out for you.
So what would be "the right time of year when lots of fish are in open water"? |
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Posts: 386
| So what would be "the right time of year when lots of fish are in open water"?
Anytime of the year minus September. |
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Posts: 612
| Don't troll much, but some baits will troll at specific depths with reasonable amount of line out. I.E. Magnums, probably more out there, like I said don't troll much. |
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Posts: 1529
| before line counters we measured 1 pass across the reel spool..209 penns were 10 ft on a full spool..yes trolling from spot to spot will produce..trolling 4mph for 4 hours achieves 16 miles..if your in the zone/depth yep it works just fine. |
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| all my trolling reel have lc but if you want precision do like woodieb8 |
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Posts: 177
| Lotta great advice here. Thanks everybody! |
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Posts: 2275
Location: Chisholm, MN | Vilas15 - 2/28/2018 4:13 PM
Kirby Budrow - 2/28/2018 11:07 AM
Deep clear lake - throw a headlock out 30' and run at 3.5 or so at the right time of year when lots of fish are in open water and I think it will work out for you.
So what would be "the right time of year when lots of fish are in open water"?
For northern MN, it would be about a week after opener through the 4th of July. But they can be in open water all year as well. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | if you don't want to make the investment in a line counter reel, they make little line counters that clip right on the rod in front of the reel...
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Berkley-Clip-On-Line-Counter/32928052#rea... |
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Posts: 252
| I have caught a lot of muskies while trolling and not having the slightest clue about what I'm doing.
Picking up fish while trolling can also help you find highly productive spots, that you might not have found otherwise. |
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Posts: 77
| When I was a kid (I'm 35), so about 25 years ago we'd troll for walleye on Winnebago.
No fancy smancy SI, DI or all that. Just had to experiment. Let out a count of 5, one thousand one, etc, then 10, then 15, find out what works. Might help to write down where you are at on the rods so you can reproduce the presentation.
We sure have come a long way in 25 years. I still remember lining up landmarks on shore, just to find the different reefs. I can't imagine another 20 years. |
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Posts: 304
| "We sure have come a long way in 25 years. I still remember lining up landmarks on shore, just to find the different reefs. I can't imagine another 20 years."
Amen to this.Unfortunately my mind has stored hundreds(thousands?)of these.US and Canada.Fortunately senility is helping cleanse them. |
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Posts: 2275
Location: Chisholm, MN | dickP - 3/1/2018 11:35 AM
"We sure have come a long way in 25 years. I still remember lining up landmarks on shore, just to find the different reefs. I can't imagine another 20 years."
Amen to this.Unfortunately my mind has stored hundreds(thousands?)of these.US and Canada.Fortunately senility is helping cleanse them.
If you want, you can just unload them into my brain and I can help you remember them!  |
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Posts: 574
Location: Germantown, WI | Heck yeah u should do it! I grew up as a kid holding a rod with a Rapala on the end with 50 feet of line out, put catching tons of fish.
I now go to Canada every year for last 5 years, with my young son -12 now, and while we spend time jigging walleyes, casting for smallies, pike, musky, and bottom bouncing... some of the most satisfying fishing is when we troll shorelines in the 8-14 ft depths, holding a pole, old school.... that hit at 2 mph is awesome... my son loves the mixed bag we catch... it can be fast and furious too!
Edited by dward 3/1/2018 11:30 PM
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Posts: 1636
| It might not be dead accurate... but, a good way to gauge how much line you put out is to simply pull out about a foot of line at a time, over and over again, keeping a count of how many times you pull the line out. Very simple.
Not trying to be a smart-@#$... this is just what I do if I do not have reel with a line-counter.
All of the fish I have personally caught trolling have been on reels with no line-counter... while holding the rod. All the other times I have hooked fish trolling... rods were in a rod holder... and someone else has reeled them in. |
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Posts: 1636
| If you post which lures you will be trolling... somebody on here might be able to give you an estimate as far as how much line to put out to reach a certain depth. With that being said... the answers will depend on the speed in which you troll.
Edited by Reelwise 3/2/2018 2:10 AM
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Location: On the O | Reelwise - 3/2/2018 3:09 AM With that being said... the answers will depend on the speed in which you troll.
Anyone disagree with that?
It's always been my belief as well. But I have a good buddy that trolls a TON and would argue speed isn't a determining factor as far as depth goes. Not talking spinner baits or blades but lipped baits like Grandmas, Jakes, Plows, etc.
Now if your speeding up and slowing down that's different.
But he always points to Mike's trolling Secrets that lists no speed. But rather line type as more of a factor.
Thoughts?
Edited by BigC 3/2/2018 1:31 PM
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Posts: 1636
| Speed is definitely a factor when it comes to crankbaits that are very buoyant. |
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Posts: 479
Location: Northern Illinois | Speed matters. So does line diameter and length of line out. Mike McClelland, famous walleye fisherman, contributed to a crankbait trolling depth guide in the 90's which charted the depths different walleye size crankbaits ran with given line diameters, at optimum speed, and with 120' of line out. Optimum speed, that speed at which each lure reached its maximum depth, varied from 1.6 mph to 4.4 mph depending on the lure. Generally speaking, smaller diameter line and more line out = greater running depth within the limits of the lure to track. |
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Posts: 177
| Reelwise - 3/2/2018 2:09 AM
If you post which lures you will be trolling... somebody on here might be able to give you an estimate as far as how much line to put out to reach a certain depth. With that being said... the answers will depend on the speed in which you troll.
Off the top of my head:
Floating jointed depthraider
Straight depthraider countdown
Super shad rap
6" grandma |
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