How slow do you troll?

[ChpkeBeachBum]

Off Rose Haven trolling CrankenBucks in ~15 ft of water near the droppoff to ~25. Nothing on the FF, just making the slow circle back to the drop where there are clouds of contacts.



Cell phone rings, stop rowing to answer (after all, there's nothing on the FF) and *BLAM* pulldowns on both rods.... 12" stiper and a tiny croaker, both hit the crankbaits. Deal with the call on and the fish... get moving again, think I see a pull down on one rod, stop rowing to deal with it ...BLAM, pulldown on the other rod, another tiny croaker on the crankbait.

At this point, I'm out of time and one of the bucktails has become tangled with the crankbait in the crankenbuck, so I head in. Never was able to get a pulldown when there were fish on the FF, just when there weren't.


What I'm taking from this is that I must be trolling too fast. ~1 stoke/sec.

So, how fast to you all go when you troll?


Thanks,

[Shady]

Off Rose Haven trolling CrankenBucks in ~15 ft of water near the droppoff to ~25. Nothing on the FF, just making the slow circle back to the drop where there are clouds of contacts.



Cell phone rings, stop rowing to answer (after all, there's nothing on the FF) and *BLAM* pulldowns on both rods.... 12" stiper and a tiny croaker, both hit the crankbaits. Deal with the call on and the fish... get moving again, think I see a pull down on one rod, stop rowing to deal with it ...BLAM, pulldown on the other rod, another tiny croaker on the crankbait.

At this point, I'm out of time and one of the bucktails has become tangled with the crankbait in the crankenbuck, so I head in. Never was able to get a pulldown when there were fish on the FF, just when there weren't.


What I'm taking from this is that I must be trolling too fast. ~1 stoke/sec.

So, how fast to you all go when you troll?


Thanks,

First of all, what the heck is a crankenbuck? sounds interesting...

I like to troll at about 2.5 mph, seems to be a good speed for me.

[echo5oscar]

You also gotta remember that the baits you are pulling are behind you a good ways. So, when you have a fish nail it, it's highly possible that there won't be anything on the screen.

[ChpkeBeachBum]

First of all, what the heck is a crankenbuck? sounds interesting...

I like to troll at about 2.5 mph, seems to be a good speed for me.

Crank'n'buck = Crankbait and bucktail with leaders on a tri-swivel. This version was a 1/2 white bucktail on 2' of lead, and 3" rattling crankbait on 3' of lead. One setup had a green crank, and the other white/silver. All the catches were on the Crankbaits, pretty much evenly distributed - didn't seem the color mattered.

[gkreps]

That sounds like a set up a friend of mine uses on lake Ana. He uses the Cotton Cordell Cd9, removes the middle hook and attaches about 30" of mono tied to a 1/4 oz white Bucktail. The CD9 is a deep diving crank that pulls the Bucktail down to about 20 ft. He catches a lot of stripers with this.

[AbuMasgouf]

That sounds like a set up a friend of mine uses on lake Ana. He uses the Cotton Cordell Cd9, removes the middle hook and attaches about 30" of mono tied to a 1/4 oz white Bucktail. The CD9 is a deep diving crank that pulls the Bucktail down to about 20 ft. He catches a lot of stripers with this.

Now that's an interesting set-up!

[ronaultmtd]

Depends- when I am pulling stretch 30's I troll about 2.8 mph with 150 feet of 30# braid out that puts the lures about 40 feet deep- if I am pulling XRaps, I usually troll about 2.5 mph- same for gulp-

If I am fishing for spanish mackerel with spoons, I am trolling 3- 3.5 mph- they like fast moving lures- same for false albacore-

[dsiekman]

How do you slow troll? Don't paddle so fast! Sorry, couldn't resist.

I have been having luck at 1.8-2.0 knts. I occasionally will slow down, speed up, zigzag, etc. just to add variety. I think of it like giving the rod a twitch on retrieve. I know a lot of guys who will bump their boats in and out of gear if nothing is happening.

[frettr00]

I don't know because my cheap fish finder doesn't measure speed.

[DOGFISH]

It sounds like it may not be your trolling speed but the depth of your lures. Both times you slowed down. Possibly the baits dropped deeper. Croaker are generally bottom fish. You may want to check the depth your lures are running. I like to troll at 3.3 mph. However, sometimes the fish will dictate the speed. If not catching fish, and you are marking fish on the FF, try changing your trolling speed. When fishing nothing seems to be etched in stone.

[Memory Maker]

You got the hits on a slow drop ........ probably less the speed or depth than the action ......... a slow falling bait after a faster troll make it look like a dying baitfish ............

[J.A. Veil]

When I was catching stripers in the Severn a few weeks ago, I tried to troll at 2.3 to 2.8 mph. It was hard keeping a constant speed with wind, current, and the pacing of my paddle strokes. My actual speed ranged from 1.5 to 3.2 mph. Part of trolling success is putting the lures at the depth where the fish are and part is moving the lure at a speed that makes it look at least somewhat like a food item. On a good day when the fish are abundant and hungry, this does not need to be precise -- the fish will hear or sense the lure coming and will seek it out. On other days when the bite is slower, you must do your best to get a realistic-looking lure in their faces. I am far from expert at the trolling game, but here are some thoughts on how to have more success.

1. Before setting a long trolling line, hold the lure in the water next to the boat and see how it swims at different speeds (i.e. stroke rate). That can help a lot in making the lure look realistic. A GPS is very helpful in monitoring your speed.

2. Try deploying a series of lures in different sizes, shapes, and colors until you find the one or two that are being hit most often. I often troll three lines, and this week was able to troll 4 lines from my kayak without many tangles. I used a different lure on each rod.

3. The weight of the lure and the amount of line let out will determine how deep the lure runs. If you are fishing in relatively shallow water, you will want to adjust those factors so that you are not scraping bottom.

4. If you do bump bottom, or if there is grass or other debris in the water, your lures are likely to get junk trailing from the hook or the knot that makes the lure look unrealistic. Under those conditions, either stop trolling or be prepared to check your lures frequently to keep them clean.

[perchy]

How deep are you able to get the X-raps to go?

[DOGFISH]

X-raps are generally rated, which is printed on the box. However, this is just a starting point. The depth will differ depending on which type of line you are using, mono vs braid, and on how much line you have out. For instance, I troll a 15' depth X-rap with 20lb braid. The lure generally runs about 13' deep with about 120' of line out. I test the depth a lure is running, by running from deep to shallow until I see the rod tip bounce. That way I know the lure is hitting bottom. Look at the FF and thus generally the depth of the lure.

All of this is also affected by the speed you are trolling. With an X-Rap the depth is determined by the size of the lip and the water pressure on the lip of the lure. So the greater the speed, the greater the pressure on the lip, the greater depth. It is sort of like when casting a crankbait. Just keep all of those factors in mind. If you feel you are a long way off. You can go to a deeper rated X-Rap. As with my example: go to a 20' lure.

[perchy]

Ah I thought you were talking about the regular X-rap freshwater lures. I ordered some X-rap 15s and 20s for trolling for larger strikers at the gorge. Do these X rap magnums suspend like the freshwater ones?