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Trolling Speed Indicator

22K views 26 replies 13 participants last post by  Valco 
#1 ·
Has anyone used or using a trolling speed indicator? I saw one put out by Luhr Jensen and wanted to know if they are accurate or just another gadget that takes up room. I don't have any means to correctly gauge my speed. My finder is.pretty antiquated, do any of the newer finders measure trolling speed?
 
#3 ·
I use a handheld gps unit designed for hikers, it let's me log waypoints and give me speed, plus other things. I got mine at bi-mart for under $100. Brand name is Magellen.
 
#4 ·
Those indicators are a very good investment if you don't have GPS. They are very accurate and will let you know just how fast you are really going.
 
#6 ·
For the money the Luhr Jensen indicator is a very good unit. I fish a lot from a small open skiff and I have my indicator mounted right in line with my downrigger/rodholder and can see both at the same time. It is not quite as accurate as my hand held GPS but is a bit easier to use in a small open boat.
 
#7 ·
Where the Luhr Jensen Troll Speed indicator really shines in in current. A GPS gives an accurate "speed over ground". In theory, in a lake with no current (calm day without wind) the troll speed indicator should give you the same speed reading as a GPS.

If there is a surface current on the lake because of wind, would there be current 20 or 60 feet below the surface? Probably not. So even with a surface current, if I am downrigger fishing, the GPS still gives the correct speed. With that realization, I haven't been using my troll speed indicator anymore when downrigger fishing in lakes or reserviors with no current.

Trolling for spring Chinook on the the Columbia or Willamette rivers is a different story though. Most people have the best results trolling herring going downsteam with the current. The current speed changes throughout the day as the tides ebb and flow. A good rule-of-thumb speed to get a cut-plug herring to spin, is to be going around 0.8 to 1.0 mph faster than the current is going. So if the river was flowing at a speed of 3.0 mph, you should be trolling at 4.0 mph. That sounds fast, but if you just drift at 3.0 mph with the current, your herring (or spinner) won't be spinning. A GPS in this case doesn't help you get to the right trolling speed, but the troll speed indicator does. In order for the troll speed indicator to register any speed, your boat has to be going faster than the current. Continuing with this example, if the current of the river was flowing at 3.0 mph; just watch the troll speed indicator and when it says you are going 1.0 mph, you will be a the ideal troll speed. The GPS will read 4.0 mph, while at the same time the troll speed indicator is reading 1.0 mph. For me, this is the beauty of the troll speed indicator; regardless of the speed of the current, you can always maintain the troll speed that you want.
 
#8 ·
Thank you everyone for your great insights. I've been asking quite a few questions in this forum and hopefully not to the point of nausea. This will be my first true season trolling for anything and I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row. Thanks Waterfish for the well written scenario. If I'm understanding correctly using the speed indicator, the boat in relation to the current speed would be static? I would need to be traveling faster than the current to get an accurate measurement of trollling speed ( moving with.the current )? A GPS would register my.speed based on the movement of my device, correct?
 
#9 ·
Thank you everyone for your great insights. I've been asking quite a few questions in this forum and hopefully not to the point of nausea. This will be my first true season trolling for anything and I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row. Thanks Waterfish for the well written scenario. If I'm understanding correctly using the speed indicator, the boat in relation to the current speed would be static? I would need to be traveling faster than the current to get an accurate measurement of trollling speed ( moving with.the current )? A GPS would register my.speed based on the movement of my device, correct?
That's right. Another way to think about it is like this: If your boat was drifting downstream in a river with a 4.0 mph current, and you put a spinner out a few feet behind the boat so that you could see it, you would find out that even though you were travelling at 4.0 mph, the spinner would be hanging limp, not spinning - even though your GPS tells you that you are moving at 4.0 mph. You would have to go faster than the current to get your spinner (or other lure) to spin. Likewise, you have to go faster than the current to get the troll speed indicator to register any speed. So you increase the speed on your trolling motor so that now you are going 5.0 mph. Now the GPS will be reading 5.0 mph, while the troll speed indicator will read 1.0 mph.
 
#11 ·
TSI + GPS = MAI*

*Most Accurate Information

jz
 
#12 ·
:yeahthat:What Jzell said. Nice explanation waterfish:applause:

Valco, I always hang my setup over the side and make sure that it's working just how it's intended and/or how i want it too. Then I listen VERY closely to the tune of the motors, direction in the wind, current, etc. because this is what I did before speedometers. Too me they just ensure repetition during a hot bite and a good starting point. Very handy to have though if you have the cash :twocents:
 
#15 ·
I came to the same conclusion or at least I think I did. I wasn't considering the lure action at the moment but glad you brought that up.
Just to clarify, if ( and no reason I would, there's no barricuda or tuna nearby) I was trolling upstream, traveling at 1 mph over the current speed of 3 mph, the indicator would have me at 4 mph. If I'm moving against the current and using the GPS, it would indicate I was traveling at 1 mph, correct?
Fortunately, most of my fishing will be lake trolling for kokanee ,trout (and small mouths with my pastor) though I won't discount the possibility to go for stripers when the run is on, so the GPS sounds like the way to go. I'm only in a 12 ft so space is a premium and weight is another consideration, the electric is only a 24# thrust. WF, she is beautiful, fiberglass will never replace the refining look and appeal of mohogany, that is mohogany?. I had the good fortune of being a kid who was raised part of the time on a boat. My folks owned a 35 ft Mariner ketch. 7-9 months out of the year we were on her sailing to Catalina, the Channel Islands etc. Dad even thought about sailing her to Hawaii once but mom put her foot down hard on that idea I think.
Dad and I did a fair amount of fishing off her stern for our favorite, sand dabs. No fight to em but darn good eating and it was one of the few things my dad and I enjoyed doing together.
What I remember vividly about her, was the woodwork. Teak and mohogany topside and laquered cherry wood from the companion way and all through the galley and cabin. Your pictures brought that to memory, thanks for sharing them.
 
#18 ·
I came to the same conclusion or at least I think I did. I wasn't considering the lure action at the moment but glad you brought that up.
Just to clarify, if ( and no reason I would, there's no barricuda or tuna nearby) I was trolling upstream, traveling at 1 mph over the current speed of 3 mph, the indicator would have me at 4 mph. If I'm moving against the current and using the GPS, it would indicate I was traveling at 1 mph, correct?
Fortunately, most of my fishing will be lake trolling for kokanee ,trout (and small mouths with my pastor) though I won't discount the possibility to go for stripers when the run is on, so the GPS sounds like the way to go. I'm only in a 12 ft so space is a premium and weight is another consideration, the electric is only a 24# thrust. WF, she is beautiful, fiberglass will never replace the refining look and appeal of mohogany, that is mohogany?. I had the good fortune of being a kid who was raised part of the time on a boat. My folks owned a 35 ft Mariner ketch. 7-9 months out of the year we were on her sailing to Catalina, the Channel Islands etc. Dad even thought about sailing her to Hawaii once but mom put her foot down hard on that idea I think.
Dad and I did a fair amount of fishing off her stern for our favorite, sand dabs. No fight to em but darn good eating and it was one of the few things my dad and I enjoyed doing together.
What I remember vividly about her, was the woodwork. Teak and mohogany topside and laquered cherry wood from the companion way and all through the galley and cabin. Your pictures brought that to memory, thanks for sharing them.

You are correct. If travelling upstream in a 3.0 mph current at 1.0 mph, the GPS would show 1.0 mph (the true speed that you are travelling) and the troll speed indicator would show 4.0 mph because that is the relative speed that would be spinning your lure.

The woodwork in my Glasspar is mohagany, (most of the boat is fiberglass). Oddly, a previous owner had painted over all of the mohangany with several coats of thick, dark green paint! Even that brass Glasspar ID plate over the cabin door was covered by paint. When I restored the boat I stripped off the paint and refinished the mohagany.
 
#16 ·
Fishin-Rn has a very good point. When fishing for kokanee, or any other fish for that matter, it is not important what speed you are going as long as it is the one catching fish. Different rigs fish better at different speeds. By putting your rig over the side and varying your speed to get the best action for the gear you are fishing is much more important than picking a speed on a speed indication device such as GPS or other speed indicator. The beauty of having a speed indicator device (GPS is the best) you will find it much easier to maintain that optimum speed. Fishing in a lake, current is usually not an issue. Forward movement whether caused by your kicker or by the wind is an issue. If you can't slow the boat down to the speed you desire, switch your gear to accommodate the speed you are moving. Dodgers such as the Shasta Sling Blade fish well at speed. Dodgers such as Sep's, Crystal Basin, and Vances with more kick fish well at slower speeds. If you don't have the right dodger for the speed modify. Putting a bend in the Shasta or putting split shot below the others mentioned will change the action to accommodate different speeds. Play with it and learn. Depth is the one factor that requires more specialized gear but even then there are more ways than meets the eye to skin a cat.
 
#17 ·
This makes good sense and I've used it before in seeing how certain baits work while fishing for small mouths just not in a trolling situation. Never occurred to me to modify my dodger ( if need be) to get the desired action,again great tips , thanks!
 
#20 ·
Many of these replies / hypothetical trolling scenerios sound like a really bad grade-school math quiz.

Gonna have to reread and blend it all together into an trout forum brain freezer.

jz
 
#23 ·
Heh heh, I was wondering if someone other than I was thinking that. Ok, no more math scenarios, I think I got it. My plan was to go friday but of course the weather guy got together with Mom Nature and decided to possibly throw a snow party by the end of the week.
 
#26 ·
The area near the dam @ Merwin is a parallel universe....no cell phone service there either. My GPS goes wacko there too. That's why a mechanical devise works as a good backup.

jz
 
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