Trolling Speed without Speed/Temp Sensor

[overthelimit]

I am in no position to go out and spend $500 on a speed and temp unit. Understanding that the currents can be quite strong can anybody provide some guestimates on trolling speed for different species. For the most part we have been catching lakers with a few salmon.

I did notice one day while trolling west we were idling at around 2 mph and when we turned around to come back west we were doing about 3 mph on a glassy lake with no waves.

I appreciate any input and know I'll probably hear to go and and buy a unit but it's not financially possible right now.

Thanks

[ERABBIT]

GPS speed......cable blow back as to how deep you are down with the cannon ball..... some rigger get cable hum and most times that is a good speed.... change speed up or down watch the above.........rod pops ........land fish and get back to what you saw on the above.........also cables should trail straight behind boat ....if not you are in a cross current and adjust to get them straight...........you will have to keep your eye on these to get your speed for differnt fish...... I'd start with 2mph on the GPS and go from there.......

[Mortigan]

We're in the same boat

I think ERABBIT is right, although I'd love to see some more opinions. We get set up (riggers & planer boards) and get our speed to about 2.2 gps. Waves (haven't had flat day yet this season) will vary that up or down by about .2 so we'll bounce between 2.0 & 2.4. If we're marking fish, we'll goose it a bit every once in a while trying to dial in a speed they like, then a bait they like. When you get to the end of your troll and reverse, you have to start all over again because of the current.

We're catching fish but I'd say at maybe half the rate of an experienced boat with all the gear. I'm hoping that improves considerably when we can afford to add down speed.

[mmcsparkey]

Great question, looking to see the answers

[bandrus1]

2.4- 2.7 gps speed is always my magic #

[skipper19]

Set gps at 2.5 to start, I do this and troll a curving zig zag if you are going east west...with or against current...lots of times the inside or outside rod on a turn will get hit. Inside is slower outside is faster...adjust from that. Also rigger cable pulls bubbles down a good foot under the surface and rides down the cable when speed is fast enough....no bubbles...not fast enough.

Troll north south to get more consistent water past the lure speed, as in cross current. The current changes day to day and from position to position. Once you learn the signs like e rabbitt said and use the all together you will dial in what fish want. It is the best you can do and is mostly a "SWAG" estimate. You can usually get down temp off the radio, if you listen or ask.

Mark

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[Mickey Finn]

I use one now but fished for years without one. Some of the best charter captians I know on the lake don't own one. Cable angle and GPS speed indication will give you what you need. I'm fishing anywhere from 1.5 (lakers) up to 3.0 (other species) on my GPS. Just have to watch that cable angle. I always used my port side rigger as my speed indicator as it was the easiest one to see from my seat. Just have to keep telling everyone in the boat to get out of the way so you can see it. Also having weight evenly distributed in the boat so that it doesn't list to one side makes it easier to consistantly monitor the cable angle. As previously mentioned, keep those cables running straight behind to boat.

[jmh2698]

You can use the bow in your dipsey rods as a speed gauge also. When you catch fish take a mental pic of the degree of bow in your dipsey rod and try to duplicate it. Works pretty well because of depth dipsey runs at.

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[stinger]

...just to add another look and see to all that stuff above.

Watch your rod action with a dodger on it. It is pretty easy to tell your speed ( proper lure action) by the pulse of the rod tip. Slow & lazy or fast and erratic. Match your spoons and plugs to what the rod tip is doing.

I think a dodger is the most speed tolerant tool you can have. It works as slow as 1.5 up 3 mph, depending on what you drag behind it and what fish your after.

A thumper rod is a good example.

[Fish Hunter]

Fished without one for years, but once we installed one, it opened our eyes to what we were not aware of, and I will say that it has resulted in more fish.

[BAZOOKAJOE]

I aim for 2.5-2.9 gps and watch the bend in my dipsey rods. Then adjust accordingly.

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[ray koziatek]

im with the 2.4 to 2.7 worked well for me for many trips ,,,,,,dont "shadow"another boat too close but just kinda keep yer eye on boats near ya and compare yer speeds . The west end Usually ant to bad unless ya get a strong N/E blow as far as goofy currents.. the East end might give ya some grief due to predominate west winds and their is almost always 1 or 2 goofy currents at different depths...also use yer ears for thermo depths most charters will chat to each other as to "the zones" (thermocline depth)..Bait will also help ya figure where to "consentrate yer spread" for starters...

if yer going one direction and yer "blowback" (cable angle) seems ok at 2.4 gps and ya turn to east with flat cables (straight down) at same 2.4mph then bump it up a tad to get same angle or visa versa.

after a few hundred hours you will become tuned with your moter ,cables,and dypsys..the only thing you will never know (unless ya got a real good depth finder and know how to tune it) is the thermocline which is very important as the lake warms..

But even then keep in mind a hungry fish at 20mph can come from 100ft to 50 ft in a couple seconds so if you can get yer speed dialed in to your presentation youll still get fish..maybe not the numbers as some with that info but youll do OK.

I always say the 3 s's are the most important --speed---speed---speed...many many fish are cought outa temp

I

[buckboardjr]

I fished for 12 years without one and spent hundreds into the thousands on other things. In the end I found The probe to be my biggest bang for the buck that put fish in the boat. I would rather have a $50 sonar that told be depth and a good probe rather than a $600 sonar and no probe. My 2 cents. There are lots of tricks that have been pointed out in this thread that I didn't know about back whan I didn't have a probe!

[Blue Knight]

I've had a speed & temp for a good number of years but I still look for those bubbles!

[GAMBLER]

If you do not want to buy a probe, use a thumper rod with a luhr jensen dodger as your attractor on it. You can see the "thump" of the dodger in the rod at the correct speed (around 2.4mph.) Any slower you will get a quick pulse because the dodger is just fluttering slightly compared to the eratic side to side wobble.

[traveling man]

2.4 - 2.7 gps is usually what i need to be at.

[G-Daddy]

We were real rookies when we made a trip last August. We had added a subtroll and used it more for the temp than down speed. One day we found a temp break and just kep moving back and forth working the break. We picked up al lot of fish including two 20+ kings and a 14 lb steelhead. Knowing the temps was better for us than speed.

[Miss em]

Here is a video showing the different rod tip actions with a Luhr Jensen dodger.

[hawkeye625]

Bubbles off the cables works well, as far as gps speed, well I watched mine all last week during the derby and compared it to my Depth Raider and paddle wheel on FF. The FF read 1.4 to 1.6 pretty consistantly, gps varied from 2.2 to 3.4, and the probe was pretty much between 2.0 and 2.3 in 40 to 50 FOW.

My probe has been on the Fritz for the past year and I wanted to make good mental notes for when (if) it goes down again. Picked up the bubbles off the rigger cables tip from this site and it was a pretty good indicator at the 2.0 to 2.3 downspeed. When I got over 2.5 there were lots of bubbles. Also paid close attention to dipsy rods and think you can get a good idea from the bend in them as well. I like to keep the drags on my dipsy rods just tight enough that if I go a little too fast the drag will start to click - usually just over 3mph on gps or 2 to 2.3 down, at least on my boat.

If you think you're going too slow you probably are. Pay close attention to your cables and dipsy rods when you get bit and try to repeat it. I'd also agree the probe is you biggest bang for the buck as far as boat gadgets. You might think about posting in the buying section of classifieds, alot of guys are going to the fish hawk and you might find a smokin deal on a used DR or Subtroll.

[Captain Carl Bish]

From my limited experience I have found that the GPS SOG is the #1 data point in speed control, the #2 data point is your compass heading these are the essentials and then autopilot, and track on the plotter help my failing memory to retain that data.

When a fish hits note the GPS speed and the compass heading, duplicate it until they stop hitting then change one or both until they fire again.

#1 fishing tool - your brain - use it!!

[skipper19]

"#1 fishing tool - your brain - use it!!"

Hey ...Ray....HEY!....my brain....I need it back!

I share mine with Ray..oh wait he did give it back but now It's at the lab..(plumber putty on it)..maybe they will call today....

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