Speed

[momodig]

What's the ideal trolling spead for salmon?

 

[Shmogley]

fish can be triggered by different speeds depending on their mood.
as long as your lure is able to make its proper action you are going a good speed.
try different speeds when marking fish if one speed isnt working

if you want an exact speed in numbers cant help you, i usually just wing it and seem to do fine

 

[BowSlayer]

1.5-2 mph

 

[[email protected]]

same as casting, some days its a slow retrieve, others you can burn it in

 

[flowerjohn]

Some days it's meat and some days it's flies.

 

[TRINIBOY]

1.5-2 mph

You also need to factor in the waves and current. Your bait won't be going as fast as the speed on the surface.

 

[BowSlayer]

Sorry, I thought you meant trolling with riggers, can't really troll for salmon right now without riggers anyways, waves won't effect your bait with riggers. My average speed is 1.7 mph, if that doesn't get them, I jump to 2, if not, then 1.5, gotta play around a bit and troll around humps.

 

[momodig]

My boat trolls about about 3.8km/hour... is that too fast. I have 14ft lund, the max transom weight is 200lbs my 25HP 4-stroke weights 163lbs... I have 30lb thrus electric, but I'm not sure how it would push in in big water if it gets rough. Would it be silly to put my 2HP Honda 4stroke on the back, or is that just over kill for a 14ft boat... thanks

 

[[email protected]]

Personally, I wouldn't be out on Lake O in anything under 18ft, especially when the wind picks up. its can get pretty hairy

 

[momodig]

I mostly troll for salmon in Goulais Bay. It's a Bay, it's a large bay, and does get stormy, but not as bad Lake Superior. My boat is Deep and Wide Hull, as soon as the wind picks up I aways head back in.

 

[LogJam]

1.8-3.8 maybe 4.2 if your going into the wind...

 

[Slickrick]

troll to the speed that which the lure performs best at. different brands/sizes do different things at various speeds. I always check em at side of boat before sending them out. also troll in S pattern, changing it up draws strikes.

 

[Porkpie]

2.5mph surface speed is the standard starting point for salmon. I will speed up to 3mph, and down to about 2mph. I don't go much under 2mph. I used to occasionally fish Lake Ontario in a 14 foot boat years ago. You really had to watch the weather and get off the water instantly if things started to look grim but it worked out ok. Rule of thumb is if you can hear the humming of the rigger cables, your probably in the right range speed wise. Good luck.

 

[Dozer]

Ohhhhhhh, that kind of speed... nevermind.

 

[RiverStevens]

Caught 2 big guys after work today... Both were caught fighting the current and into the wind. I was getting bleeps on my fish finder every minute or so and varied my speed until I got one to hit at 7:30pm. After landing it, I got back out to the same spot and tried the same speed and Bingo, the line reeled off again. You just need to see what kind of speed works for the wind and currents. First find the bleeps, then play around for a few minutes, not that tough really. When someone tells you 1.6 miles per hour, umm... I wouldn't take that as set in stone. I've had Kings hitting my spread at 5 mph against the wind and as much as 4 mph with the current. If you get lazy, take whatever advise you can get and I hope your drifting with good company.

 

[RiverStevens]

Btw, a good depth finder with the ability to mark a spot with GPS is invaluable IMO. The thermocline is almost always the same in Lake Ontario. The deeper you get, the thermocline can get a little bit lower but not by much. The fish feed at different depths each day... but once you find a good depth... they are there. Fish will be at different levels each day but when you zig zag your way out to salmon territory, your beeper will go off. Set your finder to high sensitivity so you can view the thermocline drop and adjust your bait accordingly. Also, do you know how to judge your actual bait depth to the depth on your cannonball?