Flasher/fly trolling speed?

[Dipsey]

What is the average down speed most troll at? I generally do fairly well with meat rigs and spoons at 2.1 on the Depth Raider but not so well with a flasher/fly. I'm thinking I need to bump my speed up. Any feedback greatly appreciated.

[Gill-T]

2.25 mph on subtroll standard for me, but often get doubles after throttling down to 1.75-2 mph to make it easier to get the first fish in.

[flashpoint]

we troll a bit faster, but use a fishhawk. 2.4-2.6 seems best.

dont be afraid to zig zag & let the fish tell you which side they hit & what speed they want. Outside turn= faster...inseide slower.

 

Agree with Gill-T...have dropped my speed at hook up & doubled...you never know!

[Dipsey]

Thanks guys. Good luck out there.

[king of kings]

2.5 - 2.9

[Sk8man]

Those speeds are a good starting point but experiment and see what seems to hit. If you look at some of the underwater  video footage that has been shown here with fish chasing after the flasher/fly combo it appeared that many of the fish following had a hard time "catching" the fly even after trying several times to get it....it suggests to me that perhaps the fast action attracts the fish to chase but if it alternates with slower speeds it may give the following fish a better chance to "capture" his prey.

[king of kings]

that's also true I've noticed that also but with me I've been catch bigger fish at 2.5

[Lund SSS]

Something to think about...... when that dipsy starts screaming and your watching in awww as 500' of line is gone. You can't troll too fast, it's what the lures are designed to swim at. A king cruises at 5-7mph and has burst speed's of 20+ , he/she is slowing down to check out your spread.

[steelydan]

Those speeds are a good starting point but experiment and see what seems to hit. If you look at some of the underwater  video footage that has been shown here with fish chasing after the flasher/fly combo it appeared that many of the fish following had a hard time "catching" the fly even after trying several times to get it....it suggests to me that perhaps the fast action attracts the fish to chase but if it alternates with slower speeds it may give the following fish a better chance to "capture" his prey.

there is no way any fish has a hard time catching a bait going less than 5 mph, imho

 

start at 2.2 and do some slight turns now and then to slow one side down and speed one side up( crazy ivans)

Edited August 2, 2013 by steelydan

[king of kings]

Something to think about...... when that dipsy starts screaming and your watching in awww as 500' of line is gone. You can't troll too fast, it's what the lures are designed to swim at. A king cruises at 5-7mph and has burst speed's of 20+ , he/she is slowing down to check out your spread.

I know that feeling man it's insane watching a king peel off line like nothing

[Sk8man]

It isn't the speed per se but the action of the fly whipping back and forth horizontally and at slower speeds it's easier to catch....take a look at some of the videos it is pretty evident whats going on....

Edited August 2, 2013 by Sk8man

[Dipsey]

Lots of good info guys. I really appreciate the feedback and next trip out I will try your recommendations.

 

Thanks again,

See you on the pond!

[Lund SSS]

It isn't the speed per se but the action of the fly whipping back and forth horizontally and at slower speeds it's easier to catch....take a look at some of the videos it is pretty evident whats going on....

I've got hours of my own video from last year and what it shows is fish in a neutral to negative mood. They (the kings) have no problem keeping up with and in over 10x striking my Spin Doctor and fly combo. Yes, they miss but do you really think they always hit there intended pray ? As a predator kings slash through a school of bait fish and then spin around and clean up the wounded and dying. When you find active kings on bait and there feeding strong ..... ever find your fly/lure at the back of there throat ? they don't have any problems catching food.

 

Something else to chew on..... ever change your fly(on a spin doctor) to the slow hole in the paddle? Yes Sk8man...... slower can help them but a lead length adjustment of just 6" longer/shorter will greatly change the action from the S/D.

Edited August 2, 2013 by Lund SSS

[steelfire]

This year for me slower has been better so far. nothing faster than 2.0 on my sub troll.  I took a 30 pounder last week off of Fairhaven at 2.0.

Edited August 2, 2013 by steelfire

[john1947]

the killer rig for us was a small dodger usaly glow with specs and a fly or squid close to the ball about four feet.We put on a cheater about two fhree feet above with a small horde following the fly or squid.This worked very well on deep kings and we also ran it between 1.5 and 2.0 on our kingfish.

[Dipsey]

Lots of good ideas. Can't wait to get back out there.

 

Thanks again guys.

[king of kings]

the killer rig for us was a small dodger usaly glow with specs and a fly or squid close to the ball about four feet.We put on a cheater about two fhree feet above with a small horde following the fly or squid.This worked very well on deep kings and we also ran it between 1.5 and 2.0 on our kingfish.

u must be the only guy I've heard of that still runs squids

[Sk8man]

u must be the only guy I've heard of that still runs squids

 

The current popular stuff ( Flashers, E-Chip stuff, Spin Docs etc.) are just that "popular stuff". There will be other new stuff coming down the line in the future and it may or may not be more effective than the present day tackle. The bottom line is you use whatever works...If everyone is only going with the popular stuff it sometimes pays to use something different and "old school" is not always less effective. It pays to keep on hand things that have worked in the past. Dodger/squid have worked in the past and they still have a place in the "arsenal"  for times when the other stuff isn't drawing hits.

[J.D.]

King of Kings and I must have gone to the same fishing school...... I still run squids behind my old Evil Eye high speed dodgers, stack 2 rods on one downrigger, and fish the same spoon patterns I did 25 years ago and still catch fish....... go figure...

 

Edited August 3, 2013 by J.D.

[Sk8man]

Looks familiar

[Dipsey]

JD,

That is an awesome looking display. Good stuff. What leader length do you use?

Edited August 4, 2013 by SHAKE-N-BAKE

[J.D.]

2 1/2 to 3 times the length of the dodger.

[Dipsey]

Thanks J.D.

[TyeeTanic]

Something to think about...... when that dipsy starts screaming and your watching in awww as 500' of line is gone. You can't troll too fast, it's what the lures are designed to swim at. A king cruises at 5-7mph and has burst speed's of 20+ , he/she is slowing down to check out your spread.

 

Lund, agreed a king can do laps around the boat. The real issue is the lure action.  It is designed to have a "real" looking action at a speed of 2 to 3 mph.  To fast the action is hectic, too slow and not enough action.  I find I get alot of triggers at 2.5 - 2.8 mph GPS speed, which is normally around 2.1 - 2.5 mph downspeed.