trolling speed

[Quadruplecccc]

how fast do you troll stretch 25's for stripers?  been trying to slow
my boat down . but still feels too fast.
even at my slowest speed i'm goin 4mph and have trouble with my altinator shutting down at such a slow idle. if not monitored the motor will kill the battery.
been thinkin about dragging a drift sock behind boat so i can slow the troll and keep the rpms up. will this trick work? what other things can i try? thanks

[NJ Guy]

I caught all of my fish this past weekend trolling 4.0-4.2 mph

[Quadruplecccc]

with stretch 25s?

[NJ Guy]

yes and 30's

[Salty Dog]

Box on one of deep divers suggest between 3 and 5 .

[Hunter 2]

I troll them at 5mph,, Also I may go slower against the tide

[Andys Delight]

I troll them around 3.8 mph.

[NJ Guy]

I troll them at 5mph,, Also I may go slower against the tide

Yeah wind and tide can really slow you down and make dialing in your speed a painnnn lol

[Duffman]

I guess I'm in the minority since I like to pull stretches REAL slow...as in just around 2 knots.

I do it the redeneck way.  5 gallon bucket on a rope tied off to a stern cleat.  I can keep rpms up while keeping speed down.

[Andys Delight]

I guess I'm in the minority since I like to pull stretches REAL slow...as in just around 2 knots.

I do it the redeneck way.  5 gallon bucket on a rope tied off to a stern cleat.  I can keep rpms up while keeping speed down.

If I'm going against the tide I'll drop down to about 2.4-3 mph since the current is helping to get them down and give them action.  With the tide at 2mph though the lines will slack and they barely have any action.  Pay attention to any strikes while turning.  The lure on the inside of your turn is naturally slowing down while the one on the outside is speeding up.  If you find a consistency of strikes on one vs the other, you can then gauge the proper speed they like on that particular day.  If they're hitting the outside one mostly, then speed up your straight line troll.  If they prefer the inside one consistently then slow it down.  I find that along with varying speeds on a straight line, turning regularly helps you change the presentations.  I also prefer trolling in slop vs smooth water since the wave will help give them a darting action as you slide down the back of a wave and then slow them down as you go up the next one. 

I look at it like fishing a Rapala.  Just casting and reeling a consistent speed will likely not fair well.  You have to give it some inconsistency, slowing down speeding up, etc..

[Duffman]

I've found the stretches to have action at almost no speed.

 Grant it, they arent shaking like mad when trolled at higher speeds, but sometimes that real slow wiggle they have is the ticket.

Again JMO, slow as all hell works for me.  Making adjustments according to wind/tide/conditions.

Been experimenting with weighing them down with an egg sinker setup for deep trolling. That has worked well along with a large bucktail setup......thats a whole other discussion in itself..

[wb]

More importantly if one speed is not producing and you are showing marks, mix it up.
Speed up, slow down, change colors, fill the oil tank, light up a stogie, crack a soda, all have been known to trigger a hit.

[BigAl13]

and pee over the transome. The rod will always go off when you got your  in your hand

[Quadruplecccc]

heh heh those are some good ones!  guess i wont worry so much about speed and can now concentrate on keeping the altinator from shutting down. once i figure that out i can enjoy the fishing more and relax a little.
anybody fish with downriggers?

[Duffman]

anybody fish with downriggers?

Yup.  And thats a whole other conversation to cover!!!