# Trolling question?????????



## leapccad (Mar 25, 2008)

Went to clearfork on friday (5/2). For most of the day, we were one of only about 4 boats on the lake. trolled 90% of the time. Question for CF veterans : What is your typical trolling speed, depth and distance (behind the boat.)???? According to my handheld GPS we were @ approx. 3-3.5 mph. we varied our depth and distance throughout the day. Is that speed too slow for CF??? 



side note: Woman in bait and tackle shop said the ODNR was out on the lake the day before (Thurs. 5/1) "milking" the muskie for eggs.


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

3 mph is a good speed for muskie trolling. And distance of line trolled behind the boat is all dependent on what types of lures you're trolling. For example, Super Shad Raps will only troll down to 8 feet, whether there is 50 feet of line out or 500. Depth is also dependent on what time or year/conditions involved during the time you're fishing. You can never go wrong trolling points, sharp contour lines, etc. Stick around prime structure and you will find muskies sooner or later.


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

I would say your speed was good especially for this time of year. Might bump it up a notch in mid June through July. I think it was bad timing to be there the day after the DNR went around the lake eletroshocking and milking the fish for eggs.

CG


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## Muskie_Guy (Mar 14, 2007)

3.5 is my avereage but I do kick it up and vary till I'm finding out what speed they like on that day ( I've caught them over 6 mph in the fall ). And line length depends on how deep you want you lure to run.. and what kind of structure you are targeting ( or suspended fish )... I use 10 , 21, 30, 55 , 69 or 90 ft of line depending on lure, time of year and depth.
How deep is the lure running ?
Find a hump at a desired depth , let line out and repeat going over the structure until you lure ticks it, then you know how much line gets that lure to that depth, then adjust from there ....


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

I guess I'm going against the grain here a bit, but its also good to hear varying opinions. Although I've only fished CF a few times years ago, I think most common trolling principals will apply in most waters in the Mid to Northeast. 

I, myself, am a speed troller. A method that I learned from my trolling mentor, Dale Wiley. I typically NEVER troll under 4 or 4.5 mph and sometimes as fast as 6 to 6.5 mph..BUT the best average speed, that I have found, is to be 5 mph. ANYTIME of the year. The fish I caught the other day at Pymy, hit after I bumped up my speed to around 5.1 mph. Bottom line is that it takes experimentation while you're out there doing it. If you're trolling at 3.5 mph for an hour with no results, then try bumping it up a bit and vise versa. I also like to change direction often and sometimes erratically which will change the speeds of your baits according to what side of the boat they are on. Outside speeds up and inside slows down. Trolling is a true art that finds you often staring at and even studying your depth finder. It is also one of the most effective ways to learn a lake and it's contours. My wife often complains when I take her muskie trolling because she says I pay way more attention to the Lowrance than I do to her! Your line distances should vary according to the lake and the structure that you intend to troll over....don't be afraid to troll shallow in the spring and shorten up your lines to less than 5' behind the boat! Trust me, they WILL bite that close to your boat and its a lot of fun! I also often troll deep edges and drops and go into shallower water and thats why I like the adjustability of the Fish-On rod holders....you can quickly reel in some line and push the rod butt down to immediately lift the rod tip which brings the bait up.... Hope all this helps...Tight Lines!


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

ShutUpNFish said:


> I guess I'm going against the grain here a bit, but its also good to hear varying opinions. Although I've only fished CF a few times years ago, I think most common trolling principals will apply in most waters in the Mid to Northeast.
> 
> I, myself, am a speed troller. A method that I learned from my trolling mentor, Dale Wiley. I typically NEVER troll under 4 or 4.5 mph and sometimes as fast as 6 to 6.5 mph..BUT the best average speed, that I have found, is to be 5 mph. ANYTIME of the year. The fish I caught the other day at Pymy, hit after I bumped up my speed to around 5.1 mph. Bottom line is that it takes experimentation while you're out there doing it. If you're trolling at 3.5 mph for an hour with no results, then try bumping it up a bit and vise versa. I also like to change direction often and sometimes erratically which will change the speeds of your baits according to what side of the boat they are on. Outside speeds up and inside slows down. Trolling is a true art that finds you often staring at and even studying your depth finder. It is also one of the most effective ways to learn a lake and it's contours. My wife often complains when I take her muskie trolling because she says I pay way more attention to the Lowrance than I do to her! Your line distances should vary according to the lake and the structure that you intend to troll over....don't be afraid to troll shallow in the spring and shorten up your lines to less than 5' behind the boat! Trust me, they WILL bite that close to your boat and its a lot of fun! I also often troll deep edges and drops and go into shallower water and thats why I like the adjustability of the Fish-On rod holders....you can quickly reel in some line and push the rod butt down to immediately lift the rod tip which brings the bait up.... Hope all this helps...Tight Lines!


Well ya could have gift wrapped it for him and put a bow on it! lol

j/king

 

CG


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Or better yet just taken him out and showed him how its done....


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## Muskie_Guy (Mar 14, 2007)

Good points ! .. I like speed too but some of the lakes I fish I think the fish get lazy .. heh heh heh .. It does vary.. and expiermenting is the key


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## obrien040362 (Oct 11, 2005)

What is the best drag setting when trolling. Should it be the same as you would use casting?

Should you set the hook after you get it out of the rod holder or does the boat forward movement accomplish the setting?


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Different lines demand different drag settings for me. Mono can stand a little more drag since it stretches and braid should be set lighter because of the "no stretch factor". I also use Musky Master by Cortland which is a Dacron braid which has some stretch to it and a different drag setting. I don't typically have a set setting or number.....I just go by feel and the longer you experiment with it, the more you'll know. I'd say that I like to be able to pull the drag out with my hand fairly easy, but not so easy that the tension is pulling line out while trolling. Never too tight to where it is hard to pull out line either...as I said before, its all in the "feel".

I do not typically set the hook after taking the rod out of the rod holder. I figure that if I'm trolling at 5mph, using razor sharp hooks, dragging a lure behind a 17 1/2' foot boat and when a fish slams the bait, doesn't hook 'em...me yanking on the rod won't help matters much. JMO and I have never really had an issue losing too many fish after the fish has been hooked and boat in nuetral. Rippers while trolling, are another thing. I think its ALL up to the fish...they pretty much hook themselves...I do my part by having good equipment, properly set drag, sharp hooks and a partner who knows the routine when the captain's rod goes off! Tight Lines.


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## obrien040362 (Oct 11, 2005)

any sugestions when you are trolling by yourself? Do you troll with one rod or two.

What I find best is one rod held in the hand. 

It would be nice to use two rods (I assume this is legal) but i just have two many problems with hook ups not to mention what will happen with a fish on (good problem to have).


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

I like to increase my odds as much as possible....although I've only fished alone on a few occasions, I did use two rods and in rod holders. You don't really have to worry as much about reeling in the other line since its all the way on the other side. The only place I fish that has a one rod per man rule is Canadian waters. Good luck!

I do have to reiderate here...If I'm trolling alone, I will put the motor into nuetral first, then grab the rod second and fight the fish in. It is opposite when trolling with a partner....I leave the helm, grab the rod and let my partner put the motor into nuetral after I have control of the rod. When trolling alone, and you put the boat into nuetral, it may increase the odds of losing fish because of the delay I suppose, but I've had no problems with it. Common sense tells you that the boat will continue to drift forward for a short time until you grab the rod. It is is the landing of the fish at the boat alone thats more of a pain IMO.....I always prefer to fish with someone else.


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## Coon_Shark (Feb 6, 2006)

In Clearfork, no mater what bait you are running- 25-35 ft out would be a good starting point.


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## Bester (Dec 29, 2007)

I troll at about 4.5-5mph. If the water is super clear I'll run smaller baits even faster.


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