trolling lure depth?

[dtandrade]

What methods do you guys use for figuring out the depth of the lures you are trolling. The question arised in another forum about the depth I was trolling and I couldnt give an answer. I just eye it up behind the kayak but other then that I have no clue how deep the lures are actually running. I will note that I use spinning gear and not sure if that makes a difference. When I would troll on my buddies boat we always used baitcasters and would count the line using the guide but as far as spinning I have no clue what would be a good method. I just cast, put the rods in the holder and start paddling.

[DOGFISH]

With spinning that is pretty much it. It is experience and guess work. With kayak fishing, one way is to set your lure to the depth you think it should be. Then go from deep to shallow, until your lure hits and starts to bump bottom. Check that against your depth finder. If you do that, you will find that most lures, rated for a certain depth, do not run at that depth. There are so many factors. Such as line diameter. That is the reason so many old timers would use steel line, due to it cutting through the water and getting deeper. Now a days it is braid. Even the guys that think they have the depth equation figured out, probably do not. They have simply found out what works for them. You try to get your lures in the strike zone.

What most people do wrong is to not troll their lines long enough out behind the boat or kayak. Also, keep in mind that there are many ways to get a lure down to depth, planers, more lead, deep diving baits, etc. For instance, I have learned that a YoZuri Hardcore drum trolled at about 3.5mph runs at about 5.5'. That is from going from deep to shallow. You will gain that experience. Also, using the level wind method to count out times across the spool. That means nothing unless you have pulled out the line for one time across the spool and then measured it. Then you know how much line you have out and possible depth. Most have not done that sort of thing. They simply know how far they let their line out, to work for them. Different reels let out line at different rates.

There are many ways to help set out a lure depth. Such as, old timers, as a way to start with lead, would let their trolling lines out, at a controlled rate, when the lead hits bottom they would set the reel. That way the line would be near bottom. However, with experience, you will find that is really not right at the bottom. However, most fish, such as rockfish, have their eyes on top of their head. So they generally feed on bait fish that pass over them, where the bait is silhouetted by the surface light. So, if you then think about it, that method actually makes sense. If all of this does not have you confused enough, just try some of what you hear until you find what works for you.

[J.A. Veil]

I met George Pieper many years ago. George was a retired engineering professor at the Naval Academy, and he loved to fish. He did a series of experiments in the test tanks in his lab to see how deep different lures would run when towed at different speeds. Here is a link to an article he wrote. http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/cont...-on-the-Market.

From a very practical perspective, if you troll a lot in shallow water as I do, you will quickly learn whether different lures hit bottom and get snagged as you paddle at different speeds. If you try trolling deep-diving plugs, you can get them deeper -- don't use them in shallow water.