When trolling, how can I tell the depth of my lure??

Answer 1

depending on the weight of the lure one second per foot and that all depends on the flow of the water , but it's a good foot note

Answer 2

No easy way, because it depends on the speed of the boat and the weight and shape of the lure, how far behind the boat it is, and even the thickness of the line.

Trolling for tuna we often run at 8-9 knots, and even trolling a 3-ounce straight-running feather jig, the lure isn't any more than a foot or so beneath the surface when it's 50 feet behind the boat. A swimming plug like a Rapala may run 4-8 feet down at the same speed and distance.

If you're trolling at slower speeds (for salmon or freshwater fish) lures will run deeper, or as Steve said above, a downrigger can put you at a pretty exact depth. But otherwise it's pretty much a matter of feel and experience and educated guesses.

Answer 3

Well, Unless you are using downriggers there really isn't an easy way. Some lures are designed to dive no more than 5 feet no matter how much line you have out. But a sinking lure will sink all the way to the bottom if you let it. In the case of a spoon......the depth depends on the length of the line you have out and the speed you are trolling. The line diameter is also a factor......but a small one.
I have found controlled depth fishing with a downrigger to be the best way to catch fish when trolling.

Answer 4

That's easy for me because I use Scotty down riggers on my boat. When I'm not using my down riggers I'm trolling around slowly or mooching for Salmon, I get a rough idea of about how much line is left on the spool and the angle the line is heading out from the boat and try to estimate how many feet I'm down. The fish finder is telling me the school is about 80ft down so I can usually hone in with my lure there pretty fast. But down riggers makes things a little easier. 40yr exp North Pacific Guide.

Answer 5

About 30 to 40 ft with a good lure or 2 o,k.?

Answer 6

You can't really. The longer the tip of your lure is that gives you depth the deeper you go.

Answer 7

There's a lot of ways to do this, firstly you can use the method of simply counting as your line goes through the reel on free spool and then feel the slack as it hits the bottom, this is a technique my grandfather taught me and hasn't once let me down, or there re is the modern way and that is buy a reel with a built in depth counter, this will measure the distance more accurately or there are clip on versions of this if you don't want to change your reel.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0002054013743a&type=product&cmCat=Search_Results_NYR&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=depth+counter&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=depth+counter&noImage=0

Answer 8

you can put a line counter on your reel and it will tell you how deep you are trolling