Went out Monday eve @ 7pm and did some . We placed some lip baits on and placed the lures out the back enough to where I thought it would be running deep,"I thought".I even had a midium split shot on.We ran depths of water of 18' and at times we hit as shallow as 3'. I know our lures atleast ran 3' deep cause they would bounce when we did hit 3'. We only caught 1 fish. It was a 11 1/4" crappie. Now we had company of another boat and the gentlemen and his son/grandson and wife were catching fish. I caught a glimps on what they where using and it was a lip bait also. I was Sir if it was you trolling by me on 7/16 in a white and teal looking pleasure boat...can you let me in on the depth and lure? We spoke several times on several your catches and you released all your fish back (including the real nice smallie your son/grandson caught) We were in a aluminum bass boat. AND if any OGF members have any pointers.....boy would I appricate it.
Depths of cranks will depend on the model of the crank,the type of line,diameter, and how much released. If you have a lot of line released,it kind of acts like a sail and the crank won't dive to it's rated depth.Thinner diameter,deeper they dive. No stretch superbraids allow them to dive deeper than what they are rated at. Mono stretches and they won't dive as deep compared to non stretch superbraids. Trolling speed can factor in as well.
Catalogs like basspro will give you a general idea of the diving depths on some of their cranks,but you can get them deeper with superbraids.
also presicion trolling will tell you how deep your lures run at how far back.
I think there dive curves are based with 10 berkley xt. and saugmon is right. thicker the line less it will dive. I use 12 mono with the diameter of 10 lb... i was getting a strike king 5xd to dig in 13 fow with only 75 ft of line out.. Look in tackle talk and lots of good info on trolling right now in a few threads. trolling alum you will want your lures to run 12-20 feet deep if targeting saugeye.(sometimes shallower sometimes deeper)
also presicion trolling will tell you how deep your lures run at how far back.
I think there dive curves are based with 10 berkley xt. and saugmon is right. thicker the line less it will dive. I use 12 mono with the diameter of 10 lb... i was getting a strike king 5xd to dig in 13 fow with only 75 ft of line out.. Look in tackle talk and lots of good info on trolling right now in a few threads. trolling alum you will want your lures to run 12-20 feet deep if targeting saugeye.(sometimes shallower sometimes deeper)
a buddy and i were out monday afternoon through twilight til about 10 oclock and once the sun started going down we got some good action from saugeye on nightcrawler harnesses, trolling 2mph (as slow as i could the boat to go since the kicker motor fuel line had a leak and we had to use the regular outboard) in about 12 feet of water, id say i had maybe 50 ft or so of line out.
on the type of line subject id say take a look at fluoro too, it naturally sinks so it can help get your crank a little lower in the water column.
Thanks for the info fellas. I was using 12lb Trilene with the Cotton Cordell lip bait. Im gonna change my line.. Wasnt targetting eyes specifically but really anything that would bite.I will take your info with me on my next adventure. take care
Cordell makes various depth ranges. Big O has a couple different sizes,as well as wallydiver. Visually looking at the lips can give you a general idea of their depths. Round/squared with round and pointy lips will dive deeper and troll well. Squared bills dive shallower and probably have to keep the speed slower.
Here's a couple cordell's that I just picked up and can't find anything about them online at their website,ebay, or in basspro catalog. I just picked them up for the charteuse craw color.We've been tearing up the eyes on the discontinued bomber version of that chart craw, so decided to pick these up for $3.25 each to try out.Out of the package,they'll probably dive down deeper than I want.Another OGF'r mentioned they'd be good at alum.
To me,they look more like a mutated bomber Fat A.. Anyone have a clue about them?
Be careful trolling with the new superbraids. I follow Spoonplugging on another site. Many over there have trolled with the superlines. they get good depth with less line than the no-streach mono's, but have had a major problem. As the superbraids have no stretch, they are not very shock resistant. If you get a big shock on the line (lure skipping off of large rocks causing repeated small shock, or a hang causing one big shock), it can weaken the line and cause it to break way under it's rated strength.
Last edited by RushCreekAngler; 07-18-2012 at 07:10 AM.
First time I have seen that term used here. I think it is by far the best way to troll for eyes (as well as bass). The depth is very controlled with spoonplug size selection. Can run it on a much shorter line thus run the contours much more accurately. Not sure why more people don't spoonplug. I use 14 lb fluoro. Less stretch than mono and asorbs shock well. Because it sinks can run it closer to boat for better contour control. I mostly run the 200 on Alum (chartruse/black or yellow/purple). Once correct depth of eyes is found you can concentrate on that contour depth.
so, I have read a couple of blogs ref alum where someone said they were pulling spoons. Is that what they were talking about? I have to get some other lures if I want to jump from Indian to Alum....I have some 3/8 hot n tots, but that is about it. I have a bunch of Bomber 04's...which might get me to 13 feet...but nothing after that.
I remember the bait called the spoonplug.Looked like a spoon,but the front was bent down to make a lip.
I'm set up for shallow and deep water speedy. I'm good to go with wigglewarts,hot-n-tots,wallydivers, killerB's, and other various old Erie walleye killers. Should be able to get them down to 18' or so. If those are too deep,I could always shorten the line.It's not like I don't know how to shortline troll, LOL!
Actually it's more a metal crankbait than a spoon. The advantage is it runs at a constant depth even when you change speeds. Depth and speed are the two factors needed for catching eyes.
I have never seen or heard of these spoonplugs. But sound like it could be a deadly technique for saugeye trollers..... are they easy to realy in(resistence), and how do they deal with digging into bottem? Are they snaggy?
Say there ideal to run contours with, but i like to go over points so my baits will tap and/or dig in the bottem. can you do this with the spoonplug?
Can go over points but generally follow the contour ... if using a 200 which runs about 10' follow the 10' contour. The line attaches behind the tip so the back of the lure kicks up when it hits bottom. Runs over structure pretty good. I seldom lose one to a snag ... lure retriever works well on them. I use them to locate eyes them cast to them with small jig and half a crawler. Google "spoonplugging" or "spoonplugs" there is lots of info out there.
Fishin Fanatic - I didn't think anybody else ever used those any more & most have never heard of Buck Perry. Been a huge fan of his books, etc. for 30 years. Once I read up on it, attended a clinic by Don Dixon (Perry partner), my catch rates & understanding skyrocketed.
Started trolling years ago with those at Alum. They are somewhat snag resistant. I haven't used them for years but did have some success with them in the past. When they were popular there wasn't a lot of lures that had a specific dive to associated with them. Today there are many more options and perhaps some better choices out there. Still an option though. As others have said, you just need to dial in on the depth de jour and find a crank that runs at that depth with the action you want.
Just that easy........wink wink.
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Be careful for what you wish for!
chad24
you can control your crank and put that to any dept.i use 20lb braid ty to 3 way swiwel,then i ty 18" to 2 Oz sinker and 6' leeder to quick snap,that way i can quikly change my loore.
Alum trollin ???? was this you?
Alum trollin ???? was this you?
. We placed some lip baits on and placed the lures out the back enough to where I thought it would be running deep,"I thought".I even had a midium split shot on.We ran depths of water of 18' and at times we hit as shallow as 3'. I know our lures atleast ran 3' deep cause they would bounce when we did hit 3'. We only caught 1 fish. It was a 11 1/4" crappie. Now we had company of another boat and the gentlemen and his son/grandson and wife were catching fish. I caught a glimps on what they where using and it was a lip bait also. I was 
Sir if it was you trolling by me on 7/16 in a white and teal looking pleasure boat...can you let me in on the depth and lure? We spoke several times on several your catches and you released all your fish back (including the real nice smallie your son/grandson caught) We were in a aluminum bass boat. AND if any OGF members have any pointers.....boy would I appricate it.
. Wasnt targetting eyes specifically but really anything that would bite.I will take your info with me on my next adventure. take care
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