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how fast for lakers?

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apb

apb

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Posted (edited)

Flasher fly...2.2

Sutton spoon...1.8

Regular spoon...1.9 to 2.0

pulling copper...1.5

Seth Green with flutter spoons...1.7

If this doesn't work kick it down a hair!!!

Edited by apb
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GAMBLER

GAMBLER

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Depends what you have behind them I guess...If you have a Sutton go 1.8 if you have a peanut maybe a tad faster...Hey SK8man...what do you think?

Most brands of cowbells are designed to run under 1.8 mph @ the ball. I found 1.1 to 1.5 is the sweet spot. .7 to 1.8 is the min and max I have found to get them to work properly. Once you are over 1.8 mph @ the ball, the blades thump too hard spooking lakers most of the time.

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Sk8man

Sk8man

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I guess my advice would be to experiment with your own boat without any preconceived idea because boat speed is RELATIVE despite folks reliance on GPS and Fish Hawks etc. For example two measures of 2.5 mph on separate boats on separate lakes may actually have substantially different meaning and even on the same boat at different depths because of the way currents run  despite what the measurement at the ball is for the one line. The reported mph readings from different boats may be "starting points" from which to experiment with your own boat (at best). One of my buddies refreshed this in my mind last week when were were fishing for rainbows.....he was trolling from 3.0-3.8 (surface speed) in his boat and we were connecting with them and I even had a Spin Doc out on wire and had one really slam it. I haven't trolled over 3 mph in about 20 plus years in my boats. He does it all the time and does very well including lakers. If I had been asked a couple weeks ago my response would have been much more along the lines of the reported values here. I guess what you can take away from this is this: fish are opportunists ...they often try to get something for the least amount of effort but not always. Sometimes they will be speed demons when they really want something...so if the slower speeds aren't working don't be afraid to run it up past what you are normally comfortable with. Much like the water temp scenario....the fish will often go out of their temp range (comfort zone) to get something they want....kinda like humans eh? :)

 

P.S. I've caught plenty of fish (mostly lakers and browns) on cowbells with peanuts behind them at 2.6 to 2.8 mph (surface speed). With that said... most lake trout come at the slower speeds but some of the bigger ones often come at a higher speed.

Edited by Sk8man
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GAMBLER

GAMBLER

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If you want to CONSISTENTLY catch lake trout especially BIG lake trout you will need to troll under 1.8 mph. But what do I know. I have only put in hundreds of hours trolling lake trout in my 28 years of trolling Lake Ontario.

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Sk8man

Sk8man

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I guess I should also mention that I seldom fish specifically for lakers on Lake O I was referring to the Finger Lakes primarily....and I only have a little over 50 years of trolling experience :lol: I guess I was trying to give an example of why people should experiment and do their "homework" for their specific situation rather than relying on just data "estimates". The already mentioned  speeds noted by my friend APB are very good starting points but sometimes going up as well as down can get big results...that was my point. Lakers can be fairly quick in the water when they need to be too...just spook one in the shallows sometime :) .

Edited by Sk8man
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momay4000

momay4000

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Posted

Mr. Perry,

 

Listen to Gambler - he knows his stuff when it comes to lakers and cowbells. I fish for them a lot during the June transition and on slow days and 1.0-1.8 speed on my Subtroll has always been best. For me to troll that slow I usually need a trolling bag or two to get me to slow down.

 

Also - I have caught big lakers in NEUTRAL when we have had tackle laying on the bottom when we had a major tangle on the prop. When retrieving lures, there was lake trout on them.

 

Good luck and be safe,

 

- Chris

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