I have been trying to figure out the best way to measure my trolling speed. I do not have a speedometer on my boat. I do have a fish finder with one of those wheels that spins below the boat and tells me speed and temp. I am not sure just how accurate it is . I have a tach on my kicker and that is usually how I control my speed. The problem is you could be either trolling with or against the tide. Using the tach will not keep you going the same speed both ways. I am curios as to how you guys and gals keep an consistant trolling speed. I basically use the feel from fishing for many years and get it dialed in so I am catching fish. I do think I could possibly increase my catch If I could control it better.

I think the wheel used with your depth finder is the best bet. It doesn't have to be accurate as much as consistent. As long as you can make a reference with it when catching fish, you can keep going back to that speed.

Some guys are going to talk about keeping their line at a 45° angle, but I don't think that's totally accurate. The speed to keep the line angle consistent is going to change with the lure you're using. A bigger, more resistant lure is going to need more speed to produce that angle. As will a heavier ball with a downrigger.

Some use a GPS, but that only gives you speed relative to ground movement. That's not reliable when talking about moving with or against the current.

I think the important thing is consistency with your speed relative to the water's current. That's why I think the wheel for your depth finder is the best way to do that. Whether you're going with or against the current, that wheel will measure the speed you are moving through the water.

The speed from the wheel on FF screen is accurate +/- and is a good indicator along with line angle and direction. Going against or with a big tide or current will change the boat speed thus changing the line angle. Once you figure out the speed you want with the direction of current and line angle try to maintain both (S & A).

You can use a Luhr - Jensen trolling speed indicator too.

I would say that line angle is what you want to base your speed from. Keep the action that you want on the gear and slight change of speed is good. The other thing you can do run two different size DR weights to help keep a happy medium in the line angle.

I use my FF with the paddle wheel. My boat speedo doesn't even begin to register under 10mph. I agree with Carl, the Luhr-Jenson trolling speedo is nice for a small cost.

There are any number of ways as mentioned and I " USE THEM ALL". I tend to rely more on the line angle for controlling the action on the lure, gps speed next and the paddle wheel third. One of the first things I noticed when I got my first gps unit was that there were many times when trolling against the current in open water that I was staying still or moving backwards while maintaining line angle and paddlewheel speed which equaled to very low catch ratios. The gps takes that factor out of the equation and also helps get me back to a spot where I hit a fish ( Its amazing how many people keep on going and not bother to go back to where they've hit fish). My catch ratio skyrocketed once I got my gps and learned how to use it in conjuction with maintaining the proper line angles for the type of lure I'm presenting. It'll take some expermentation on your part to find the right combination for your boat. Good Luck

I really want a gps........

I like the DR cable angle best. Just remember the shallower you are the the less line angle and vice versa. Blackmouth and Coho a lot of angle. Kings half the angle. If you use consistant gear (same size DR balls) you should be able to get familiar with it. Also currents change around points in different water columns depending on structure.

IMO, an accurate speed is not important as depth and lure. The reason I like my wires at a 45 degree angle is I want to know my gear is working. I like my flasher really kicking good. I already know I am at a ball park speed of 2.5 kts (for Blackmouth) if my wires are at a 45 (I use 15# balls). As a teenager fishing on commercial boats, we would average 6 knots and 200-350 feet deep. If a salmon likes whats it see, they hit it!

Always troll with the tide. Even if your troll pattern is only 400 yards or so. Pick up and head back to the starting point. Reason being, salmon always feed into the tide and you want to cover as much water as possible. On a good tide, chances are you'll stay stationary or not cover very much water if you are trolling into it. You'll have to wait for the salmon to come to you. Go to them...

GPS... Great for marking fish caught or bait balls. Bait will normally follow the same pattern on any given tide. For instance, if you are marking bait at 145' on a +9 Flood, chances are great they will be in the immediate area the next time a +9 rolls around etc..... This is when structure comes into play. These are the spots to look for on large tide swings... fish/bait may even be at 200' or greater.

Once you have established a pattern, your catch rate will increase dramatically regardless of tide swings...

For Kings, I'll keep the wires at 50 to 55 degrees... This will put me at 1.5 to 2.0 kts.

Downriggin'

Good question but lots of answers to it.. me personally, I seem to always troll a little faster then everyone else. and the opposite way, I go with and agaisnt the tides.. and I can honestly say I have caught a lot more fish going against the tide then with it. Don't know why that is.. maybe i'm just lucky???

I would suggest watch your lure, plug ect.. and find the speed that really makes that thing work the way you want it.. then keep er at that speed.
dave

I always try and control my speed by the pulses in the rod tip from the flasher turnin over. About once a sec seems to be best. Also line angle seems to be a good secondary indicator. Most of the advice I have received, and read, sez to troll with the current but I usually go both ways, against and with. Some days you seem to pick up fish going w/the current and some days going against the current.

I am really curious as to others experience w/this with- the-current or against-the-current thing

Sincerely,
Roger

As Ive mentioned before I troll both with and against the current, but something else I do is that I try to troll in ess pattrens whenever I can to continually change the speed of the lure presentation ( some days they hit the inside lure other days they hit the outside one). Have never understood the troll in a straight line mentality Trolling with the current you cover a lot of water and thats good when your searching for fish but when you know where they are my tactic is to try to stay in the area and thats why many times It'll look like I'm going around in circles.

I do not follow a straight line... I follow contours and structures. I am usually all over the place +/- 20 feet either side. (An exception would be an area like Manchester where the bottom is relatively flat throughout).

I don't like to waste a lot of time of on the water. What I like to do is start in the general area (depth) of where I know bait and fish will be at any given time.. Troll with the current until I find a sizeable bait ball. Once that is located, I will work that ball until I hook up. I will only work the bait ball cross current and never into it.

What I recommend to anyone is... go get yourself a large scale chart and mark these bait and fish spots everytime you head out. The reason is two-fold. (1) You'll recognize and learn these contours (or structures). This would especially good for new areas, (2) you will notice a pattern of a small area (or areas) of the spot you are fishing. This will be a distinct pattern! With the two bits of information above, you have just increased your odds 50%. For the most part, bait and salmon follow the same routes and will be in same areas at particuliar times of the years...
We all know that most bait travels north this time of year, but with a chart, you can pinpoint that minority....

Downriggin'