New to trolling and confused…

Hi fellas, I’m sure this has been posted before and I apologize if it had been repeated. I am new to trolling (other than Lindy Rigs). Looking to pull cranks. I picked up 2 Off Shore planers and a 8′ 6″ Cabelas Depth Master planer trolling rod. I went with the Shimano Tekota 500 reel. The guy at Cabelas told me I needed to go with 14lb Trilene XT, so I did. I’m mainly shooting for walley in 4-15 feet of water however the lakes I fish are filthy with Pike. Did I choose the right line? All my research pointed towards braided and lead core however I read mono is great for trolling boards too. I am just tossed up!

Also, any recommendations for cranks for shallow water trolling? Im confused on how much line to let out with the 14lb mono I have on. I am willing to switch out line if needed… Thanks.

I use 10 pound mono since most all cranks dive curves are based off it. Your 14 should be fine, it just won’t dive as deep. I like mono because of the stretch it has and seems less likely to pull the bait out of the fishes mouth.

There are a couple options to obtain dive curve depth charts. Precision trolling mobile app on your phone is rather expensive but has all the info needed. I have the old precision trolling book that I still use for the cranks I have. Your depth trolled will be based on crank and amount of line out. Some cranks will give you the dive curve with the bait. Looking to achieve 4-15 feet with mono is fine for most cranks. Lead core is for deeper water with a shallow diving crank. Not much of a need for you unless you fish deeper water.

I have a bunch of rapala shad raps and Berkley flicker shad in different colors and sizes i use. These will dive to 0-12 feet based on crank and amount of line out. Lately flicker shad have been better for me and they are priced better.

I have a bunch of the cabelas trolling rods and they have performed flawlessly. You will be happy with them.

Have fun with trolling and on the water trial and error will really pay off in the long run. I really got into into it 5 years ago and now it is one of my favorite presentations.

Matt

You can also go with stick baits like the Original Floater or Husky Jerk up shallow. Good luck, have fun.

I would recommend getting tattle flags for your offshore boards. They basically go down when you have a fish or the lure is fouled. They are not cheap and you can make them yours self if you are reasonably handy. For someone starting out I say make the investment and get them. Once you are seasoned at dragging boards you may not need them as you will be able to tell what is going on with your lure based on how the board is running.

Been running cabela’s board rods for about 8 years now with their brand of counter reals. I use 10 lb mono. Like others said 14lb will have the cranks running a little higher than the dive curve with 10lb test. No real problems on the equipment for me yet unless you use them for salmon too like I do (that is a different story for later LOL )

Have fun dragging boards. Just wait until you get 4 or six running at the same time and three go off. Talk about a circus in the boat.

Enjoy the madness and have some fun.

D

All my trolling rod/reel combos have fluorocarbon leader backed with mono (the planer rods only). That should help with toothy durability. The 14lb line is fine but if walleye is the target, perhaps try some 10 or 8lb too). I too use the planer boards but took off the tattle flags and instead opted to “hair trigger” my level wind reels as an alert mechanism instead. The harder digging cranks and higher trolling speeds will make the flags fold down anyway unless you improve the spring tension…but who wan’t to keep readjusting those all the time?

If you always stay in that shallow of water, no need for lead core. You will want to be more nimble for quick turns anyway (assuming you are working shoreline contours) so I’d probably recommend for the times your lure won’t get down as far as you want, try using snap weights or some other simple inline weight system that allows you to keep a relatively short lead back.

If you have “the disease” like myself or others we all know…buy 2 of everything and try every method.

I also like the stretch of mono when pulling boards. If you want a little more abrasion resistance you can tie a 2-3 foot leader of braided line on. If you are in stained water this should be ok, but I wouldn’t do it if you are in clear water. You could also get a small leader like the South Bend Invisa-Leader. But you will probably be fine with just the 14lb XT.

I have done a lot of trolling on shallow lakes. Regarding how far back from the board to run, be sure to experiment a lot. I trolled for years thinking I had to have the bait at least 30-40 feet behind the board. Then I tried running baits shallower and have had success. I’ll run baits as close as 5 feet behind the board. I agree with the others that using lead core probably isn’t necessary at those depths. Snap weights are a cheaper way to accomplish a similar goal in less than 15 feet of water.

A few tips when first starting out:
Don’t troll into the wind. I don’t know what kind of rig you are running, but in my 17 ft Crestliner it is very easy to get the boat blown off course, especially when trolling by yourself. And before you know it your boat is turned around and you have a mess to deal with.

Pay attention to your speed. Try different speeds. I usually troll between 1.6 and 2.2 mph, but I’ll try anything from .7 to 3.5mph. Just remember that speed changes will impact the depth your lure runs at.

Good luck! Trolling with planer boards is one of my favorite presentations.

Guys, thanks for the great replies. I’m running a 16ft Crestliner for Now that is perfect for the waters I fish. As far as the planer boards, I installed the tattle flags. Looking forward to that. I’m going to take JD Winston’s. Advice and run a small section of floro leader.

Matt M,I agree with you on the Berkley Flicker Shads. I’ve been buying them instead of Rapala’s. Best price and seem to be great quality. I like the dive chart on the back too.

Thanks again!

Get 10 lb. XT or 14 lb. XL. Same dive curve for both and the one used to make the dive curves. I run 14 lb. XL, attach a swivel, then a 3′ 10-12 lb. fluorocarbon leader to a duolock snap.

For those depths I like a mix of flicker shads, flicker minnows, Shad raps, jointed Shad raps, and glass Shad raps. Sometimes rattle or no rattle makes a difference.

Tekotas might be overkill if you are just getting into it, but you will never have to upgrade.

Thought I would mention that for the depths of 4 to 15′ I wouldn’t even consider using leadcore. That would be better if you were after suspended fish in deeper depths like in the 20 to 30 or more range. That way you can determine how many “colors” of line to go back to reach the right amount of sink to get the lure where you want it.

Lure-wise, I have great luck with husky jerks, shadow raps, xraps, shad raps etc. I experiment with the amount of line out based on whether or not they are hitting bottom or staying out of the weeds. I don’t use trolling rods, just my spinning gear. No line counters. Just chuck it out and feel the bottom, give the handle a couple turns to make the lure run a bit shallower.

Well, I’m probably the odd man out on this one, but I love my leadcore. Have fun running #4 and #5 flickers in 15′ of water. Can it be done, sure, but I guarantee leadcore is more efficient and effective.

That being said, for just starting, mono on linecounters in 10lb xt (12lb big game is the same diameter and much cheaper) is your best bet. I agree that you can use snap weights etc… just don’t rule leadcore out down the road.

Keep notes your first few seasons of what works and what depths etc… You’ll be able to look back after a season or two and decide if leadcore fits your needs. You’d be amazed at how often #5 baits outproduce #7s etc…

wimwuen wrote:

Keep notes your first few seasons of what works and what depths etc… You’ll be able to look back after a season or two and decide if leadcore fits your needs. You’d be amazed at how often #5 baits outproduce #7s etc…

I’ll give you that on Shad raps, but my experience has been the opposite with flicker shads. 7s outfish 5s plus 5s get bumped out of tune easier.

wimwuen wrote:

Well, I’m probably the odd man out on this one, but I love my leadcore. Have fun running #4 and #5 flickers in 15′ of water. Can it be done, sure, but I guarantee leadcore is more efficient and effective.

That being said, for just starting, mono on linecounters in 10lb xt (12lb big game is the same diameter and much cheaper) is your best bet. I agree that you can use snap weights etc… just don’t rule leadcore out down the road.

Keep notes your first few seasons of what works and what depths etc… You’ll be able to look back after a season or two and decide if leadcore fits your needs. You’d be amazed at how often #5 baits outproduce #7s etc…

Yeah, I only poo poohed Lead Core assuming he was going to work weedlines and shoreline contours. I shouldn’t have IF he were trolling something like Red Lake or otherwise shallow long stretches without a lot of obstacles. Agree with you, Lead is great if tight turns are not needed. You start getting 4 lines out with lead in tight quarters yer only asking for tangles. Spoken from a guy who used to drag lead regularly on Waconia.

Boards vs LC depends on application. For where I fish, I run lead core or flat lines (when it’s shallow). If you have a lot of depth changes, LC is easy to adjust. If there is a lot of crap in the water it’s easy to detect and fix on LC. If it’s snaggy it’s easier to deal with or prevent. I watch my graph and if I see a tree in the water I can usually get everything up quick enough to miss it. I have boards, but rarely use them.

I have a question about using planer boards. I typically run two leadcore lines. One off each side of the boat. Big water, very consistent bottom.

If I were to add a third one off a planer, would I put the planer on the line at the same line counter reading as the first two lines? Then the additional line sets the distance from the boat?

Fife wrote:

I’ll give you that on Shad raps, but my experience has been the opposite with flicker shads. 7s outfish 5s plus 5s get bumped out of tune easier.

I have found the same thing to be true.

fishingchallenged wrote:

I have a question about using planer boards. I typically run two leadcore lines. One off each side of the boat. Big water, very consistent bottom.

If I were to add a third one off a planer, would I put the planer on the line at the same line counter reading as the first two lines? Then the additional line sets the distance from the boat?

Think a “V” shape both (vertically and horizontally) to your spread when beyond two lines out. Your outtermost lines should ride at a higher depth and possibly longer back than the inner lines. This way if a fish hits your outter board, you can reel it in with some confidence that you can leave your shorter/deeper line out working while reeling in. You could probably even get away with equal lengths back and be fine but pay attention to how deep the outter vs. the inner is running.

Alternatively, you could “clear lines” out of the way when an outter board hits and try to keep your lines from becoming tangled that way. More than one way to skin a cat.