dive curve accuracy

Does the spool have to be filled to capacity for the Pre. Troll. dive curve tables to be accurate? I use 30# power pro @.011 in. dia. It is thinner than the .013 dia. that the tests were conducted with. I'll troll the required distance behind the boat for say 15 ft. I'll be trolling in 20 feet figuring that my bait is at 15, then I'll troll over a point for example and my bait won't hit bottom until I'm at maybe 10 or 11 feet. I use a brand new Daiwa line counter and the baits are tuned. This scenario happens all the time. I was marking fish at 20 feet so I let out 180 feet to get down to them just like the chart says. No bites. I wandered into some shallower water and the bait did'nt start to hit bottom until I was in 14 feet! What gives?

[ScottL]

Yes, amount of line on the spool has to be taken into consideration, Most line counters measure line by spool revolutions, thus the less line you have on the spool, the less amount of line per spool revolution there will be. The best solution is to fill your spool to the full rated capacity,zero out your counter and manually measure 100 feet off your spool and compare that to your reading on the line counter. That will give you a basis for your running depth.In my opinion the most important function of line counters is the ability to repeat a presentation.As for the depth curves, other factors, most importantly speed come in to play, the chart is written with a speed of 2 MPH (I assume GPS speed) any slower and the crank won't reach that depth, and faster it will reach that depth with less line out.

regards,

Scott Lee

Since there is six times as much water as dry land on earth, any fool
can plainly see the good Lord meant for man to fish six times as much as he works.

You need to be fully spooled and use the conversion table for 8# dia.

Some of the curves may be more dependent on matching the speed used to establish the curve for a particular bait. If your running way slower, some baits may run higher. Probably not an issue.

Is offset on depthfinder set?

Rod tip 2 ft off surface?

One of or combination of above.

I believe the counter is mechanical and measures rotations of the spool. Full spool = more line released per rotation. If your not full, there is less line released to obtain the same number on the counter.

[srj]

The dive curve charts and books are a great starting point. But you will most likely have to establish your own true depths. Generally, the publishers seem to get deeper than I can by 1 to 3 feet. The only cranks that I found to run at published depths are shadraps. In a couple hours time you can have your own repeatable dive curves established. Tuning your cranks is vital--even a little bit off will cause you to loose a good bit of depth. Try running your cranks with a 1, 2 and 3 ounce keelweight or inline sinker--a whole new set of depths awaits. Good luck.

The different curves are meant to get you into the ball park depth-wise for the different lures and devices that you are pulling. The variable list is long, right down to how many fleas are hanging off your line. Greater accuracy comes with time on the water and experience in understanding what the variables do to the curve for your personal program.

[Chairman]

The readings are taken with the line out and put on an Off Shore board. This assures consistency of the readings. I have found them pretty close on almost all of my lures.
Chairman
NPAA #6