How deep???

[rawburt]

How deep are you fishing when trolling or drifting a spinner rig and worm behind a 3 oz. bottom bouncer? Does it make a difference using Fireline instead of mono ? Thanks for your answers. rawburt

[Gunga Din]

Fish them just off the bottom. You want them ticking bottom occasionally.Line type and diameter affect the amount of line out needed to reach bottom. Fish this slow and maintain bottom contact.

[stewart]

Weights added to lines are trickier to predict in terms of how deep they'll run then,say, floating crankbaits. At a dead stop your three onces will be at the bottom. Go real fast and the same weight could be made to skim the surface.

As for fireline vs. mone the thinner the line, the less water resistance, the deeper you can get it with the same amount of line and speed.

Really good explanations and charts in the Precision Trolling handbook.

[stingerND]

try this at about 1.5 mph 10' or less 3/4 oz. 15' 1 oz. 20' 1.5 oz. 25' 2 oz. 30' 2.5 oz. 30'+ 3 oz.
Try to fish this at about a 45 degree angle while trolling , if to much line is let out you lose the effect of the bottom bouncer.
I like to pull them with 10 lb. mono. or 10 lb. fireline which has a 4lb. dia. it's amazing how sensitive the fireline is. If you haven't tried it I suggest you do it's great stuff. But remember there is basically know line stretch to speak of. A sweeping hook set seems to be the way to set the hook with this stuff And practice, practice, practice..................

[Stormsearch]

When trolling, I follow stringerND's recommendations on the size of weight versus depth of water. The only time I would not follow those guidelines is if I put out an inside line say right off the corner of the boat. At the corners, I will put on a heavier weight, say 1/2 or another ounce. This will keep this line digging deeper and will not interfere with the reeling in an outside line. And I only due this if I am not running Dipsey Divers because I will not connect this line onto a in-line or planar board.

When pulling crawler harnesses, I love Fireline. I can pick up a rod that is attached to the far outside board and feel whether or not the blade is spinning. Additionally, I use rubber bands and with Fireline, they stretch immediately as soon as weed, small or larger fish hits/strikes or whatever. Plus, I think I get better hook setting power with the no stretch trolling slower speeds. Good luck.

[rawburt]

So if I follow you, if I want to fish deeper than 35 or 40 feet and keep contact with bottom it would better to use a 3-way rig and a heavy weight. Right???

[Fin Addict]

Use whatever weight you need to get to the bottom with less than a 45 degree angle to the water. Thinner line = less weight. Whether you use a 3 way, bottom bouncer, egg sinker, lead core etc. Its all the same: more depth, more speed, more water resistance (line and bait) will all require more weight. Often a diving planer,downrigger or dogwhistle is a better option once weights start to become onerous.