Titicus Reservoir 7/3/10

[HungryFisherman]

Thanks, Phishahn.   I was using 3/8 oz and 5/8 oz keel sinkers (which are awesome btw - thanks Ken for recommending them).  I started out back reeling, but then quickly switched to just doing "pulls," which seemed a bit more effective when letting out lots of line.  With my slow boat speed last time, it seemed that 3/8 oz were better at getting me to the right depth, since the 5/8 took me close to the bottom. 

How much line do you guys like to have out?  I guess the more line out, the less likely it is that boat noises will spook the fish, but anything beyond 100 ft seems to be more trouble than it's worth.  With all of our bites we were always not quite sure that something was on the other end (and this was probably with 70-100 ft of line out).  With the rowing, heavy weights, and long line, it was really hard to know when you had a bite. 

Best,

HF

[KenH]

HF

95% of my trolling is with leadcore. But as far as the little bit of flatline trolling I do, I usually
let out 150ft of line. There's something called the "100ft rule" for trolling for Brown Trout which
says that 100ft from the boat is the minimum distance you should have your line out to avoid spooking them. Whether that rule applies only to trolling with motors or also oar power, I don't know. It's true that the greater distance may make hits harder to read especially with mono. I use Daiwa line counter baitcasting reels for trolling and use flurocarbon line which has no stretch so hits are very easy to see. The same applies to Braid plus fluro leader. If you're using a spinning reel Fluro may be too stiff, in which case a hybrid, or co-polymer is ideal as again it has very little strtech compared to mono.

Ken H
 

[phishahn]

HF, believe it or not, I'm down 20-40 feet out only. Depending on the wind, and how I can control the boat. Generally at this time of year, the thermocline is @ 32 feet or so, which is where I like to be for browns. When I'm out, 1 flat line way out,2 lines down 20-40 feet, that's it. Letting 100 feet of line out is not going to have your bait where it needs to be for browns. Remember be extra quiet when fishing this close to the boat. Turn off your bait areator, be careful with rod holders and just be mindful of noise of any kind.Another tactic to try is using a float and getting bait down 30 feet and getting that set-up away from the boat. Phish.