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Old 12-01-2011, 04:27 PM
Skip Skip is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,114
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The depth charts are OK but only real way to know how deep your lures are with your line off your boat is to take time and do an old school tactic.

It's simple and only takes about an hour.

You'll need a line counter and pencil / paper and 1-2 crew members.

Start with the deepest combo you plan to run and set it in deep water. Let it out the distance you want - then at trolling speed , go into shallower water until lure bounces. Record the line length and depth it touched.

Repeat with other combos until your entire spread is mapped out.

One tip- once about 150 feet of line is out - lures tend to start riding higher.

Even then - there will be slight variance if a rough day ( boat speed tends to go fast /slow on swells ). Going into current vs with it can alter depth as well.

Once you get your chart done - compare it to the published ones , fair bet a lot different.

Other trick - watch your depth finder and when you spot a fish at say 30 feet and it hits 10-20 seconds later , safe to assume that rig was around 26 to 29 feet.
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