Otter boat distance

[Hooked on Kings]

High guys, haven’t post in couple of years but bought lot of new salmon equipment. This  year I added a 300 and 400 copper. I added a second keel to my otter boats and was curious about how far out to the side you run boats to help mitigate tangle possibilities. 
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

[rolmops]

It depends on a lot of factors. How busy is it around you, how close are you to shore, do you want to run one two or three lines on each side? Those are the main reasons why you want to go longer or shorter.

There is also the side wind and your trolling speed. With a long long line they may end up behind you, specially when you go slow.

The basic principle is letting enough line out so there is a safe distance between the lines. There is the consideration of having a fairly close setup pattern and so on.

There is also another less known factor. The otter boats tend to stabilize the direction of your boat and when you have a fairly light and/or small boat it is easier to run a straight line . The farther out the boats the stabler you are. Until one or two hits happen together on one side, then all of a sudden you will feel the boat pulling toward the side that still has all the lines attached and it will start pivoting around that otter boat.

and so on..

[spoonfed-1]

34 minutes ago, Hooked on Kings said:

High guys, haven’t post in couple of years but bought lot of new salmon equipment. This  year I added a 300 and 400 copper. I added a second keel to my otter boats and was curious about how far out to the side you run boats to help mitigate tangle possibilities. 
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

You don't need the 2nd keel for one copper per side. If in heavy boat traffic run them close to the boat (30/40 ft) or not at all. All by yourself or few boats around run them way out to cover more water. (60 ft plus) Most important thing is to be courteous with your coppers and boards according to boat traffic.

[Hooked on Kings]

Right now I run a 7 and a 10 color lead core on my boats so I’m planning on using them into July or maybe August with the copper… thanks for the tips, especially on not needing the extra keel they are very pricey, it would cost as much as I paid for the boats originally.

[spoonfed-1]

Definitely try them with the single keel for a 300 and 400 ft copper, one per side. if I remember correctly I added the 2nd keel when I started running 500 and 600 ft coppers and multiple lines per side.

[GAMBLER]

I run my coppers with double keels.  300 and 400 still put a lot of drag on the Otter Boats and decreased their performance without the dual keels.  Yankee Troller is the man to ask about the keel measurements.  

[spoonfed-1]

14 hours ago, Hooked on Kings said:

Right now I run a 7 and a 10 color lead core on my boats so I’m planning on using them into July or maybe August with the copper… thanks for the tips, especially on not needing the extra keel they are very pricey, it would cost as much as I paid for the boats originally.

The cost is why I didn't buy them until I needed them. I checked online and they are about 80.00 a piece. I did learn they have been redesigned since I bought mine probably 15 or so yrs ago.

 

Note: Big Jon has made some improvements to the Otter Boat's Half Keel. They are now made out of Stainless Steel instead of Aluminum. The half keel no longer needs a weight attached to it. It will look just like the picture.

 

Anybody here run the old style and the new redesign?

How do they compare?

Edited March 20, 2023 by spoonfed-1

[Hooked on Kings]

I see that they are now SS without the half weight just hard to pull the trigger on the purchase because of the price… I wonder if anyone makes them here themselves… I thought I could make them from tin myself … still have some time to think on it… this site is awesome and the number one reason I’ve been able to learn and advance as much as I have in this sport that I love. Thank you for sharing it always been a great resource.

[AnglingAddict]

I would run double keels with anything longer than about a 200 or 250 copper.  Single keels definitely lag back and that increases your likelihood of your coppers finding your wires...especially considering the currents we have on the eastern end of the lake.  The newer stainless keels are about the same weight as the older keels with the half weight - thus why they probably eliminated the half weight.  

[junkyarddog]

We are making the keel for the otter boats, they are in the classifieds for $110 a set plus shipping,includes stainless hardware. I will have some sets with me at the Watkins Glen show this Sunday to save shipping charges.

[spoonfed-1]

3 hours ago, junkyarddog said:

We are making the keel for the otter boats, they are in the classifieds for $110 a set plus shipping,includes stainless hardware. I will have some sets with me at the Watkins Glen show this Sunday to save shipping charges.

You the guy that started making the original SS 2nd keels a few years ago?

Edited March 25, 2023 by spoonfed-1

[justtracytrolling]

I replaced both keels with ones I made that are twice as long with an angle on the front for getting thru floating weedmats..  Mine pull very hard and using  yankee trollers knot measurements I can run them out 150 feet and they dont fall back much at all with 4 long leadcores on each side.  1 keep may work  for you but 2 is definitely  a worthwhile upgrade even if you dont run many lines.

[junkyarddog]

Just started making them this year

[Hooked on Kings]

Definitely interested thanks for the post.