Leaded Line

[Tom]

This year I was relatively successful going for Lake and Brown Trout on Kensico, but I have had no luck trolling with leaded line. I have a rod & reel with leaded line and I am having trouble figuring out how to set it at the correct depth. The line package say 5 foot down for every color (which is 10 yards of colored line). When I do this I always hit bottom. As you know Kensico does not allow any motors and the trolling is actually slow rowing. I am thinking of trying a formula of 15 feet down for every color, when boating resumes on 4/1/07.  Any suggestions? Tom

[new2titicus]

Can anybody explain how to figure the depth of your lure with a leadcore setup, while taking the following into consideration: How fast you are rowing, wind speed, how many colors out, length of the leader, weight of the lure, etc..

I'm sure somebody (Ken) has answered this question a number of times, so if you happen to know of a link to an existing thread, please post it up. 

-New2trolling

[Biz-R-OWorld]

Great question. I look forward to hearing answers as well. I never understood how you figure out how deep you actually are, etc.

[G.Freshwater]

On some blogs, I have heard people refer to a chart that has sink rates of different lures with lc.  I would like to see that.  I am new to lc this year but have had some success with browns on suttons almost always between 2 and 4 1/2 colors.  Most times the strike comes on a change up.  Reeling in a color, stopping rowing to apply bug spray, making a turn, or pumping the line.  I feel like if I am just going along trying to be steady they are just folllowing my lure and laughing at me. 

[KenH]

The standard textbook chart is 5ft of depth for every color out. But since that's based on
a constant speed, when rowing one should consider a range, ie; say 5-10ft per color.
A sutton spoon or a shallow diving crankbait will not vary in depth from the colors out.
A deep diving crank will add additional depth. To determine that depth you need a book called
Precision Trolling which gives dive curve charts for all the well known crankbaits. These curves
will show howmany feet a particular crank will dive with a certain amount of line out, so you can
look up the depth on the basdis of your leader length. A sinking crabk will not add diving depth
as it rises under speed, it simply sinks faster to the bottom when the rowing stops. Additonally,
very few people use sinking lures because they snag easier.With leadcore, which is extremely speed sensitive, you really can't be as precise as say a downrigger as to what depth your lure really is. And this is compounded by the fact that we have to row. In practical terms, determining the exact depth of your
lure taking into account all the variables is not as important as having a method that is repeatable over and over again.

[G.Freshwater]

Thanks Ken.  That is probably the umpteenth time you have explained it.  I will try to locate the precision trolling guide even though it won't add precision to my troll.  It will give me some relative info as I go from lure to lure.  The light weight spoons have been productive enough that I rarely reach for anything else.

[Biz-R-OWorld]

Is this the correct book??  http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10213912_999043518_100000000_100020000?hvarAID=shopping_googlebase&om_mmc=shopping_googlebase

[KenH]

Yup, that's the one I have.

[Biz-R-OWorld]

Thanks. I'll buy one once I get a boat on Kensico!

[KenH]

In that case make sure you check for the latest edition at the time.
They add more lures to it each new edition.

[new2titicus]

Is faster better, while trolling?

When trolling fast, does the line still have the ability to sink, how many feet?


Is this a safe representation of speed, not taking into consideration any factors that the lure might influence.

Slow- 5-8 feet down (per color)
Med- 4-6 feet down (per color)
Fast- 3-2 feet down (per color)

[KenH]

"Is faster better, while trolling?"

Your trolling speed should match the ideal speed for the lure you are using.
If you are using a lipped crank, watch the rod tip for the vibrations. That tells you
you are running at the right speed. If you use no-lipped cranks or spoons
you won't get that wobble. If you are using a sutton or other flutter spoon you want
to give breaks in your rowing to give th spoon a chance to "flutter" down.
Because of these characteristics and differences, when trolling two LC lines you want to match
the lures so they work well at the same speed.

"When trolling fast, does the line still have the ability to sink, how many feet?"

If trolling fast continuously expect your LC line to be doing at or close to textbook of 5ft per color.

"Is this a safe representation of speed, not taking into consideration any factors that the lure might influence.
Slow- 5-8 feet down (per color)
Med- 4-6 feet down (per color)
Fast- 3-2 feet down (per color)'

I believe that constant steady rowing produces an average of 1 to 1.5 mph max.
LC line will go down 5ft per color even at 2.5-3.0 mph with an outboard engine,
so I don't see 3-2ft down being achievable by rowing.

I think a more relistic view would be;
Fast - 5ft per color
Medium - 5 to 10ft per color
Slow - 5 to 15ft per color
I'm keeping the 5ft per color for the pull stroke. It's after that we we ether promptly re-stroke or give
it a break. How long that break is determines how much the LC line will sink below the the 5ft per color.

[new2titicus]

Got it, thank you very much, Ken!

[KenH]

You're welcome as always Paul.

[Trout Man]

I'm sure it's true about for every color the lure only goes down 5 feet but it was wierd. The two fish I have caught on lead core so far have been a brown and a laker. The brown I caught on 3 colors which is believable but the laker was at 2.5 colors! Could a laker have been at around 12 ft?