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| What speed would you recommend for different ranges of water temps? For example, how fast from ice out to 50, 50 to 60, et cetera? |
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | Not to be a smart@ss... but I'd recommend the speed that get's bit most.
Mix things up and let the fish tell you what they want.
There are no set rules. Sometimes they prefer it fast, sometimes they prefer it slow. Regardless of water temp.
In general, however, I'll start fast and slow down as needed in warm water.... and start slow(er) and speed up in cold water periods. |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | Always mix it up!...You have all day out there, there never seems to be any given or perfect speed per water temp. As a general rule though; I tend to go a little slower when I know the fish will be lathargic and speed it up when I know their metabolism is high. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | ever watch a musky chase down a sucker with 40 degree water temps????..just cuz the water is cold doesn't mean they can't or won't swim fast to eat something..ie.. as the 2 previous posters said, let the fish tell you what they want, not some clown on a musky board...don't let water temps necessarily dictate how fast or slow you reel....it is always changing...ice out to ice up.
Edited by BNelson 2/17/2011 1:03 PM
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Posts: 8824
| Watch the fish |
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| Lure speed can also be faster or slower because of many other factors,current,no current,gin clear water,tea stained water,night time darkness new moon,night time darkness full moon,bluebird day,overcast day,algee bloom and water temprature.
Then there are bodies of water where fish will hit lures trolled at speeds up to 7 mph and others never much over 4.0 mph.Chautauqua Lake is one where the average lure speed is 5.0 mph,going as high speed as 7.0 mph in shallow warm water over 75 degree conditions.But as the water temps drop the lure speed will also drop,the fish will tell you the speed by trial.When the water gets below 45 degrees in the Buffalo Harbor I usualy get most of the bigger fish going only 2.0 mph with bigger straight lures like Legend Plow's.That brings the other part of the Lure Speed process to be considered,the speed that works best for a specific crankbait.For Wiley Jtd. 5 1/2" Jtd crankbaits the speed I catch most fish at is 5.2 mph.For Hi-Fin Trophy Divers Jtd with Big Niagara Lip its 3.0 mph. Legend Perchbaits at peak summer temps of 70 to 75 degree water,4.8 mph,late fall water temps below 45 degrees,1.8 mph.So now after you find the different speeds for those different water temps and other conditions the homework is just starting.Lure Depth along with those Lure Actions (at different speeds)are a big part of success.Will not do you any good going 5.0 mph if the fish are feeding 25 ft down and your only down 10 foot down.So each and every lure must be tested for depth along with speed and believe me even two of the same lures will have somewhat different actions and dive curves.Wood is not always consistant in density and molds ware out so plastic lures are not all the same either.Also there are alternative line options for getting depth.At very slow speeds of 2.0 mph and under Leadcore will take those lures to depths of 30 ft +,when you will not get there with Powerbraid.Then at 5.0 mph Leadcore line will allow you to be further from the boat and down twice as much in depth.Last year I took Wiley 5 1/2" Jtd crankbaits down to 25 foot,normal depth is 9-11 ft tops,along with distance from the kicker motor sound I caught clients 187 muskies doing so.So I guess a better aproach on how fast to go is by trial and by keeping good records of what worked under the same water temp and outside conditions in the past,90% of the hunt is repeatability.Knowing food shelves where fish feed over bedding area's is another big part of success.
Capt. Larry D. Jones
www.mostlymuskies.com |
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Posts: 8824
| BNelson - 2/17/2011 1:01 PM
ever watch a musky chase down a sucker with 40 degree water temps????..just cuz the water is cold doesn't mean they can't or won't swim fast to eat something..ie.. as the 2 previous posters said, let the fish tell you what they want, not some clown on a musky board...don't let water temps necessarily dictate how fast or slow you reel....it is always changing...ice out to ice up.
Seen 'em do lots of stuff that doesn't make sense: Chasing down a lure at full speed from 30 yards away in 40 degree water, and just sitting there watching a lure go by in 75 degree water. Suckers? Hmph. Why does one fish just sit there staring at it, when another one comes flying up 10 minutes later, eats it and takes off like a bat out of hell? |
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| I figured the best bet would be to mix it up. But I thought that maybe a slower presentation in the spring is more effective than a medium or fast one. I guess it really depends upon the situation and the individual fish. It's ashame there isn't a clear answer as to how fast to fish at different water temps.
At what temperature do you start throwing topwaters and/or burning bucktails? I realize this doesn't really apply to everyone that well as some states only open in June. I can be fishing as soon as I can make a cast, which looks to be pretty soon on the lakes and rivers in my area. |
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Posts: 1220
| It's certainly true that there is not a reel that can outrun a fish that wishes to eat. That said, there clearly are times, like the middle of summer, when "burning" or even "bulging" your bait is the total deal. There are traditional other colder water times in the Spring and Fall where most guys are going to slooooow things down, even stop for fairly long pauses during a retrieve. Sure, you should experiment and try new things to beat the odds and the crowd, but sometimes it just makes most sense to go where everybody else is and do what they are all doing because whoever they are copying knows what the heck he is trying to do. Marty Forman |
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Posts: 1106
Location: Muskegon Michigan | Larry Jones - 2/17/2011 2:07 PM
Lure speed can also be faster or slower because of many other factors,current,no current,gin clear water,tea stained water,night time darkness new moon,night time darkness full moon,bluebird day,overcast day,algee bloom and water temprature.
Then there are bodies of water where fish will hit lures trolled at speeds up to 7 mph and others never much over 4.0 mph.Chautauqua Lake is one where the average lure speed is 5.0 mph,going as high speed as 7.0 mph in shallow warm water over 75 degree conditions.But as the water temps drop the lure speed will also drop,the fish will tell you the speed by trial.When the water gets below 45 degrees in the Buffalo Harbor I usualy get most of the bigger fish going only 2.0 mph with bigger straight lures like Legend Plow's.That brings the other part of the Lure Speed process to be considered,the speed that works best for a specific crankbait.For Wiley Jtd. 5 1/2" Jtd crankbaits the speed I catch most fish at is 5.2 mph.For Hi-Fin Trophy Divers Jtd with Big Niagara Lip its 3.0 mph. Legend Perchbaits at peak summer temps of 70 to 75 degree water,4.8 mph,late fall water temps below 45 degrees,1.8 mph.So now after you find the different speeds for those different water temps and other conditions the homework is just starting.Lure Depth along with those Lure Actions (at different speeds)are a big part of success.Will not do you any good going 5.0 mph if the fish are feeding 25 ft down and your only down 10 foot down.So each and every lure must be tested for depth along with speed and believe me even two of the same lures will have somewhat different actions and dive curves.Wood is not always consistant in density and molds ware out so plastic lures are not all the same either.Also there are alternative line options for getting depth.At very slow speeds of 2.0 mph and under Leadcore will take those lures to depths of 30 ft +,when you will not get there with Powerbraid.Then at 5.0 mph Leadcore line will allow you to be further from the boat and down twice as much in depth.Last year I took Wiley 5 1/2" Jtd crankbaits down to 25 foot,normal depth is 9-11 ft tops,along with distance from the kicker motor sound I caught clients 187 muskies doing so.So I guess a better aproach on how fast to go is by trial and by keeping good records of what worked under the same water temp and outside conditions in the past,90% of the hunt is repeatability.Knowing food shelves where fish feed over bedding area's is another big part of success.
Capt. Larry D. Jones
www.mostlymuskies.com
Well said Larry. Mike |
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Posts: 184
| We troll a lot up here and Larry knows his stuff very well. I have got 2x as good since I starting listening to him and have 2x the pictures to prove it. There are lots of people that just zing around the lake aimlessly dragging baits and then their are those with plans and knowledge to make make it work time after time instead of just a fish here and there. Bty- over the summer in most lakes I troll. I start out around 4.75-5mph and if I am not getting fish I speed up instead of slowing down looking for a reaction strike instead of a feeding strike. It's just what work's for me through trial and error and talking with Cpt Larry. Good luck. |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | In general, lure speed and fishing success are not related to water temperature. It's more related to lure type and depth that the lure runs. Doug Johnson
Edited by dougj 2/17/2011 8:15 PM
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Posts: 2361
| dougj - 2/17/2011 8:14 PM In general, lure speed and fishing success are not related to water temperature. It's more related to lure type and depth that the lure runs. Doug Johnson
Does this mean we DON'T have to have our masters in biophysics to troll? Hey, for a minute there, Capn Jones had me thinkin it WAS rocket science... |
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Posts: 305
| watch the fish...agreed. also, watch other fisherman. mimic success, 180 failure. I don't spend enough time on the water to use the rest of the often contradictory advice. maybe someday. |
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Posts: 32922
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | One can achieve the benefit of speed while taking quite a lot of time to complete a cast. It's pretty rare I move any lure really slow any time of year; even just before ice up. I don't slow down a creature at all throughout the year, just move it along in short bursts. Same with many of the erratic gliders I like to use, with the Wabull leading that pack. I move big 8/10 spinnerbaits in the thick stuff fast up to ice up, too, unless the fish flat are not going. Then I slow down just enough to get it in their face.
The idea for me is making the bait work hard and effectively. What Doug said.
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | I try to match the speed to the lure's needs as mentioned before. That said, I first choose a lure that does what I want a lure to do at that time, meaning running at the depth I want with the action I want, and the visibility I want.
For the same temperature water: In darker water I tend to fish slower. In gin clear water I tend to fish much faster. If you are getting a bunch of follows, more speed will often get you a few bites instead of more follows.
It all boils down to experience. After you've been successful under different conditions, you start to get a gut feeling what to do speedwise. It's hard to explain completely other than that it's just what you think will work more often than not does. |
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| dougj - 2/17/2011 8:14 PM
In general, lure speed and fishing success are not related to water temperature. It's more related to lure type and depth that the lure runs. Doug Johnson
Along with using a lure that has the right action that will get more strikes under different water temps and sometimes using alternate methods to get those lures at deeper depths at speeds below 2.0 mph. Other times durring bluebird days with high barometric pressure, in the summer,with fish down 25 ft a smaller crankbait trolled at 5.0 mph + that would normaly only dive to 9-11 ft,will be more effective taken down to the 25 ft depth using leadcore or wire line.
Capt. Larry |
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