Trolling speed

[plumbertom]

I've been thinking about giving trolling the Siuslaw in my little boat.
In still water, idle speed is about 2-1/2 mph over bottom according to my GPS.
I'm interested in information about what speeds are right for trolling.
The big question is should I invest in a trolling plate for my motor.
I understand they can help slow the speed to as low as 1 mph.
You river trollers could help me out here.

 

[Aton]

Were you running with the tide while marking that speed. Slack tide? outgoing? incoming tide? If I thought there were fish in the river, and I had a boat that would only troll at 2.5mph.....I would bait up and troll at 2.5mph...its a pretty good trolling speed anyways...depending on weight of your dropper lead. Adjust weight as needed to stay near bottom.

 

[Denduran87]

you could always throw a 5 gallon bucket off the back to drag and slow her down a bit..

 

[Stumpy]

Denduran87 has a good idea, but maybe a bucket off each side?

one and a half MPH is what I've been told is the magic number; others have said, slower is better.

 

[DrTheopolis]

Drill holes in the bottom of the bucket if you want to keep it more that a few minutes.

A sea anchor/drift sock/goes by a few names works pretty well (and also can keep your boat straight in wind if anchored).

Also, if you're trolling an incoming tide, running downhill, your speed will likely be slower than in calm water -- you might be just fine with your current setup.

 

[GaryP1958]

I never troll with the tide its too hard to get a good spin on the bait, I prefer to troll uphill but be prepared to have 16 0unces at times also zig zagging is a good way to alter your depth! One thing is get a good a fish finder the fish tend to hold in certain areas. a lot of the folks I see are just getting on the river, cracking a beer and trolling with no regard to where there bait is in relation to the water depth or whether in fact their bait is spinning properly or whether they are dragging 5 pounds of seaweed!

 

[GaryP1958]

Meter the fish and put a good spinning bait right in their face also mooching can be deadly!

 

[GaryP1958]

I caught fish this week trolling 20 feet off the bank in the Slaw, yes it gets crazy when you hook a fish while avoiding the rocky bank! I have a great kayak spot for Roger is he wants it!

 

[Bake]

I would hold the rig next to the boat and watch the lure/bait rig to see if I like the action. You need to adjust the speed by watching your lure's wiggle. Slow down for less, speedup for more. Use your G.P.S. to find your location on your chart (s), not your speed.

 

[cknowles673]

you could always throw a 5 gallon bucket off the back to drag and slow her down a bit..

Hey thanks for the idea!

 

[pinstriper]

Lure/bait action is important, but so is trolling your offering at the right speed. Different species have different preferences. Trout like 1.5-2.0 mph. Chinook want 2-2.5. Coho like it even faster.

 

[Bake]

Back in the midwest, we would "Back Troll". We would just put the motor in reverse, or turn the motor 180 degrees around. Place the rig in the water and adjust the throttle, if we couldn't get it slow enough, we would slide a couple of boards through the stern handles into the water...

 

[hookturn]

I've been thinking about giving trolling the Siuslaw in my little boat.
In still water, idle speed is about 2-1/2 mph over bottom according to my GPS.
I'm interested in information about what speeds are right for trolling.
The big question is should I invest in a trolling plate for my motor.
I understand they can help slow the speed to as low as 1 mph.
You river trollers could help me out here.

You go whatever speed make your gear work. If your using a flasher with herring or something else then put your stuff in the water and watch how the flasher works. Same with a Kwikfish or anything your using. It's not about how fast the boat goes, it's about what the gear does in the water. I learned this many decades ago when I was a commercial troller in Alaska.