trolling question

[pedad]

if i buy a bait that will troll
15ft. what is the mfg. baseing that
on. is there a standard that they go by
based on line dia. boat speed dist. back
or what???
read all the dive charts.
i find #5 shad rap runs 6-7 ft period
pedad

[JimH]

If you really want to know where your crankbaits are when trolling, I would invest $25 in the Precision Trolling book that others on this site consider a bible for trolling. I did and I'm still kicking myself for not buying it sooner. The section alone on using snap weights and what they do to depth is worth the money itself. It's kind of nice to mark fish, pull out a lure, look up the depth chart in the book, let out x amount of line, and wham...hit the fish. I know I'm over-simplifying it, but it has been a tremondous help to me.

[fshrman-r72]

The precision trolling book is a great value however look one over and make sure that you use the type lures that are outlined in the book. This may sound like overkill but here is what I did. I bought the book and realized that of all the lures mentioned I did not have alot of those in the book. So as I purchased lures I referred to my book and bought what was in the book. I happen to keep my lures in the box so then I took each lure and marked the page number it was listed on in the book on the box. I also marked an x on the lure in the book to indicate that I have that lure. Talk about making it easier to use, now I have cut my time figuring out what I use and if I have it and where it is in the book. Yes it took some time to do this but I now have more fishing time available. Yes it helped my catch also.

My Dad always said
"When everything fails read the directions"

[perchjerker]

thats a good idea.

What I did was to copy the page of the book that had the lures I had in my plano box, since I have pretty much have 1 type and size of lure per box. Then I used wide clear tape and taped the page to the inside lid of the plano box. So every time I reach for a lure out of that box, the chart is right there. No need to even bring the book along.

Perchjerker why don't you just admit it. You marked every crankbait in Precision trolling that you didn't have, and went out and bought 4 of each so you could be complete! :)

[perchjerker]

LOL

dont tell the war dept.

maybe it shoud be the commerce dept!!


;)

[Western Walleye Editor]

PJ - How is the plan coming with loading up your cranks with Radio Frequency chips passing the depth chart directly to your spy watch?

Honsie :0

Did the taping a copy of the PT page in the plano box lid thing after reading about it here. Added the dive curve conversion chart to a few of the boxes. My thanks to those who shared. Way faster than flipping around the book and having to spread it out to dry after the wet trips.

But back to the question:

--------------

if i buy a bait that will troll
15ft. what is the mfg. baseing that
on. is there a standard that they go by
based on line dia. boat speed dist. back
or what???
read all the dive charts.
i find #5 shad rap runs 6-7 ft period
pedad
-----------------

At least some manufacturers mention the line diameter and/or lb test w/brand, type of line with their depth information. It is not consistent between the different manufacturers that do provide some information. If they don't mention it, you should be able to contact the manufacturer.

It amazes me that manufacturer's do not provide better information. It sometimes costs them my business, I'll just buy what I'm familiar with rather than try their new product and have to develop my own curve from scratch. Maybe I'll try it in a few years if I buy the next updated PT book, maybe I'll be focused on another bait by then...

Speed is not a consideration except it affects how quickly the bait reaches maximum depth. Assume the max depth will be reached at any designed speed for the bait. Obviously, exxxtremely slow can affect sinkers or floaters.

If you have to guess at distance back for what the manufacturer indicates for max depth, I'd go with 120 ft and assume the info is + or - 2 ft but probably + 1 or 2 ft (I likely use smaller dia line)

If your talking about getting 6-7 ft max long lead trolling the deep diver SR5 and think you should get more depth, I'll speculate:

1. Your flatlining with rods a few feet above water.
2. Your using 12 to 15 lb test mono off boards
3. You might not have entered the offset on your depthfinder to account for how deep the transducer is below the water:).
4. Lead length measurement (ie: you think your further back than you are).
5. Some combination of above.

You should be nearly at 9 ft using in-line boards w/a 120 ft lead if using 10 lb dia, 10 ft w/8 lb dia, 11 ft w/6 lb dia. You can add 6 more inches of depth if you go out to 180 ft. PT book is the way to go if it includes your lure. If it doesn't, the PT line conversion chart coupled with the manufacturers info will get you started.

Hope this helps,
GU

------------If you have to guess at distance back for what the manufacturer indicates for max depth, I'd go with 120 ft and assume the info is + or - 2 ft but probably + 1 or 2 ft (I likely use smaller dia line)-----------

I stated that wrong, I'd expect to get maybe an extra ft or 2 of depth because I probably use smaller dia line.

[pedad]

i normally run 100ft 6lb mono or 10lb fire line
directly behind boat at appx 2mph.
pulling #5 shad raps in 10ft water. bumping humps
in 6-7ft.
seems to work but mark fish in 12-15ft. want to
get #5 down to 10-12 ft.
any ideas.
#7 rap seems to be to big a bait for fish here.
pedad