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How do I determine my trolling speed?

19K views 16 replies 14 participants last post by  Kirkll 
#1 ·
Folks,

I have 9.9 kicker on my 21 foot sled. I know in many cases the actual speed you are trolling can be critical. But right now I have no way of measuring my MPH when I'm out there.

So how do I do this? I have seen the set-up offered by Luhr Jensen for measuring, which throws a float in the water: Is this something good, or is it "Mickey Mouse"?

Any other ideas?
 
#3 ·
A GPS is usless to determine trolling speed unless you are on a lake with NO current. You want to determine trolling speed relative to the water in which you are trolling. Back trolling is an extreme example.

I can think of many, many times hooking fish while trolling an outgoing tide the Church Hole at Bouy 10. The GPS shows we are clipping along at about 5 or 6 mph, but my calibrated eyeball showed only about 1.5 mph relative to the water.

Determining trolling speed comes with expierence. I guage mine from the angle the lines are going into the water from the rod tips.

Another thing, I vary my trolling speed and never troll in a straight line.

:twocents:
 
#4 ·
GPS will give you speed over ground, not speed through the water. If you're fishing still waters like a lake, it makes do difference. If you're in a river current, the difference can be substantial.

GPS is cheap, especially on the online auction site. I just bought a Garmin GPS V for $60 to use as a backup.

The other way is to add a paddle-wheel type speed sensor to the transducer of your fishfinder. That will give you speed through the water.
 
#5 ·
Trolling buddy, by Luhr and Jensen. Looks like a scale with an arrow and string with a weight in the water.

Folks,

I have 9.9 kicker on my 21 foot sled. I know in many cases the actual speed you are trolling can be critical. But right now I have no way of measuring my MPH when I'm out there.

So how do I do this? I have seen the set-up offered by Luhr Jensen for measuring, which throws a float in the water: Is this something good, or is it "Mickey Mouse"?

Any other ideas?
 
#7 ·
I have a GPS and a paddlewheel on my transducer. As others have said, the GPS gives "speed over ground" which isn't helpful if you are trolling in current. The paddlewheel transducers aren't very accurate. So last weekend, I went to Sportsman's Warehouse and bought a Luhr-Jensen troll speed indicator for $45.99.

In theory, in a lake with no wind and no current, the speed indicated by a GPS would be identical to the speed indicated by the Luhr-Jensen troll speed indicator.

But say you are trolling with the current, downstream in the Columbia River with cut-plug herring. With zero current, a speed of 0.8 puts a nice spin on a herring. If the speed of the current was 3.0 mph, and you wanted to put that 0.8 mph spin on the herring, the GPS would read 3.8 mph while at the same time the Luhr-Jensen device would read 0.8 mph. Since the river current speed changes throughout the tide cycle, the Luhr-Jensen device takes all the guess work out of it. Just keep it at 0.8 mph or whatever speed you want, and you will always have an accurate speed reading.
 
#10 ·
I actually prefer to use the GPS speed for most purposes, in conjunction with judging my bait speed by watching rod tips, line angle, or downrigger angles. I do have a Luhr Jensen Luhr Speed Indicator and it's a very good tool for getting an accurate water speed (you're welcome to borrow it for the season if I can find it). The thing most people are leaving out of the equation is that the current speed near the top of the water (which is what both a paddlewheel and a Luhr Speed will tell you) can be a lot different than the current speed near the bottom of the river. So even if you have an accurate surface speed it might not really reflect what is happening to your bait. Nothing but your rod tip will tell you that.

I really like having GPS speed for judging ground speed while backtrolling for salmon and for powertrolling walleyes. It's also helpful for judging current speed while walleye fishing to tell if you're in productive water.
 
#11 ·
I actually prefer to use the GPS speed for most purposes, in conjunction with judging my bait speed by watching rod tips, line angle, or downrigger angles. I do have a Luhr Jensen Luhr Speed Indicator and it's a very good tool for getting an accurate water speed (you're welcome to borrow it for the season if I can find it). The thing most people are leaving out of the equation is that the current speed near the top of the water (which is what both a paddlewheel and a Luhr Speed will tell you) can be a lot different than the current speed near the bottom of the river. So even if you have an accurate surface speed it might not really reflect what is happening to your bait. Nothing but your rod tip will tell you that.

I really like having GPS speed for judging ground speed while backtrolling for salmon and for powertrolling walleyes. It's also helpful for judging current speed while walleye fishing to tell if you're in productive water.
You're right about the speed of the current being different on the bottom compared to the surface of a river, but in the lower Columbia where I fish for springers, usually I am trolling in depths of 10-20 feet; and the speed of the current here is greatly affected by the tides, even inland all the way to Portland. I believe that in these conditions, in shallow water the speed of the current is pretty consistent from top to bottom - especially during the outgoing tide.

I'll also use the Luhr-Jensen troll speed indicator when trolling in lakes for kokanee (near the surface) when the wind is causing a surface current. However, even with a surface current on a lake, if I am fishing deep for mackinaw with downriggers, my lures are running on the bottom at depths to 180'. I don't believe there would be a current at those depths, so the GPS "speed over ground" is what I would want to use then.
 
#15 ·
It’s been said already, but trolling speed is something that is constantly changing with current and how much lead you are using… also what type of lure , flasher, or bait you are dragging makes a difference.
You are going to find a speedometer or GPS pretty worthless.

Watch your line angle and the action on your lures or bait just below the surface. Then determine the depth by bouncing the bottom and checking your sonar. If you have line counters, that comes in handy.
For example: 20’ of water , 8 oz weight hits the bottom at about 30 on the line counter with your line angle at 45 degrees. If you change to 6 oz weight your line counter is going to hit 40 before it hits bottom at 45 degree line angle….
But conditions change,and you are constantly needing to adjust speed and weight, unless you are running divers…. That a whole different process.
We often find ourselves fishing in 6-8’ of water with various current speed. In shallow water we use less weight and get our gear out further from the boat . Running 4-5 oz weight 50-60’ behind the boat works much better than an 8 oz weight 10’ behind the boat. The fish will often move aside as you come through shallow water, but they come back to the slot after you pass….

bottom line…. Actual Speed itself doesn’t matter. It’s constantly changing. Kirk
 
#16 ·
What matters is your terminal gear working right. If it is, you're going the right speed. Water speed changes as the depth changes. The bottom is many times slower than the surface. Sometimes the bottom water is going the other direction. Happens all the time at tide changes down at B-10.

What Kirk says about shallow water is right on the money. I start using less lead at around 15'.

That 45 degree thing doesn't always work to determine the depth of our baits. The more line in the water, the less straight the line becomes. It may be 45 on the surface but it isn't down below, it'll more resemble a big C because of blowback. The faster the boat is traveling, the more blowback there is. Using divers doesn't fix that.
 
#17 ·
I used to use those old weighted divers a lot for springers in the 80’s. We had no fish finders or fancy flashers. We would hook up a prawn spinner or a herring naked with about 5’ leaders. 12 pulls was the go to depth. We often ran the old herring dodgers with 36” leaders too…. Funny thing is…. We caught plenty of fish….:cool::cool:

the only time we ever use lead over 10 ounces is in serious current. When the line counter starts getting out to 80’ -90 just to bounce bottom, it’s time for more lead…. Personally, I’d rather fish softer current with less lead myself. Much more fun catching fish with 6 ounces of weight, than 12 ounces…. Another thing we do in serious current is get rid of the big flashers. A simple herring dodger, or no flasher at all allows you to fish with less weight….. I never have got the hang of fishing with these newer jet divers. The guys I watched fishing them in the Willamette were doing some serious long lining and hogging up a lot of water doing it…. I’m thinking they can have it…. Kirk
 
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