Crawler harness problems

[JONO]

Just fishing for info on the best way to achieve varying depths for trolling harnesses...besides speed and bottom bouncers..how do you achieve the mid level depths?? Lets say keeping bait consistently at 18-20' when the bottom is 40'...I would appreciate any info and tips...

[steve]

I think snap-weights are the only way to go.Experiment with the amount of weight though.Probably around a ounce and-a-half to get down 18-20 ft.Keep your speed at 1.5 to 1.8 max. The Precision Trolling book might give more specifics.Steve.

[Bob]

Dipsy divers work real well. you can achieve various depths and can run multiple rods .You can set them to run out away from the boat L or R or straight back ect.They make 3 sizes that I know of.Check out Luhr jensen web site

[eyedoktr]

I rarely troll, but use worm harnesses while drifting quite often. I also prefer to use ultralight tackle. What I found to be effective was to use a harness with a 36" or longer leader and slide egg sinkers on to the leader. I then use a very small split shot to keep the egg sinker approx. 24" above the beads and spinner. I can vary the weight depending on depth with no problem . I add just enough weight to get to bottom in a certain depth , then record the weight/depth combo. I'm sure this would even be easier for trolling at a known speed. Pete

[sib]

I had some of the same questions as you. here are the replies I received, some good advice:

http://www.walleyecentral.com/dcf/generaldiscussion/10433.html

Roscoe and Jerry provided an excellent link on this subject:

http://www.winnebagowalleyes.com/45.htm

"go outside and play"
sib

[angle-eyes]

I've often wondered the same thing, so recently at the CWA Glendo tournament, I dropped my crawler harnesses down 22'-26' on my downriggers. Consistently caught fish. I'm sure I could drop them down 35' in 40' of water and catch eyes.

[RANGER]

Last year we caught Walleye at 65' to 75' off worm harnesses and downriggers in Lake Erie. Works really well! Walleye seem to like harnesses no matter where they turn up in the water column, not always but enough that it exceeds 50%!


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD"!

[Steve on/Mr Destiny]

First, I am not the expert here, but on my boat Tony is. We troll with Ski type planer boards and a mast. We use crawler harnesses with bottom bouncers. NOW UNDERSTAND WE FISH THE WATER COLUM WHERE THE WALLEYES ARE AT, not only just the bottom. That means maybe 20ft of line out before we hook the line up to the planer board line. We then put the next one 25', 30', 35', 40' and so on depending on how many guys fishing and how deep the water is. When we catch come eyes, then they DUPLICATE what ever depth is and target say that depth and 5' above & 5 ft below that depth.
The important thing is SPEED & DEPTH. Control that and you'll surprise yourself. About a week ago Tony & another guy went out & caught & released at least 80 Walleyes using this tecnique. Went thru 12 Dozen crawlers, but what is your goal here. They kept 12 fish to eat. If you ever read a posting from StormSearch, that is Tony.

[JONO]

Thanks for the info on the harnesses..I'm planning on playing tommorrow