Precision Trolling App Accuracy

For the people that use the Precision Trolling App how accurate do you think that it is?

I feel that running my baits about 2 mph that the lengths are a little short. Would that be because my transducer is under the water a foot or so? I typically error on the deeper end but wanted to ask.

Thanks in advance.

Best way to find out is put the bait out xxx feet at xx mph in that water depth and see if its hitting bottom. As far as your transducer there is a water offset on most that allows you to adjust for the transducer being under the water.

Have the book still and it’s accurate. Remember everything affects the depth. Speed line weight current etc…I would rather be to high than to low as a fish has no chance of seeing it if it’s below them.
Unless you are banging bottom for a reaction which in that case just let out line till you are banging bottom.

Never used it.

But I run leadcore 90% of the trolling I do and made my own charts to fit the range of speed and depth.

Always laughed at a chart where the speed was set… that’s like he biggest variable to catch fish trolling.

If I’m not running leadcore I’m in less that 7′ of water.

There’s also a matter of calibrated line counters and know that it truly can only be accurate at one length of line out. Less line than your calibrated distance and number of feet out is inflated, and visa versa.

It gets me close enough. Troll enough and you start to memorize where you need to be for each lure at given depths.

Speed isn’t necessarily a factor.

https://www.fishing411.net/single-post/trolling-speed-matters-or-does-it

Trolling is a blind cruise thru POSSIBLE productive water. I have had more attacks from fish when none were being shown on the screen. Attacks from the sides

If you consider trolling as a blind cruise, don’t start trolling until you mark fish. I don’t consider it a blind cruise at all and never start trolling if I don’t mark fish.

Yes there are many variables when trolling cranks but speed is definitely a factor when trolling with lead core or snap weights. Long lining it’s not a factor. That’s one of the benefits of trolling with lead core and snap wieghts……….you can raise your lure it you stary into shallow water by hitting the throttle. You can’t do that when long lining.

The set speed is really important for the dive curves in Precision Trolling. It gives one a starting point. I vary speed alot when trolling both lead core and snap weights, usually faster than 2 mph, so I know if my cranks are running shallower than the Precision Trolling dive curves say. Without a set speed on the dive curves, how would I or anyone know? Yes, the set speed is quite important in many applications.

I use the Precision Trolling dive curves when I need them and I’ve always found them to be pretty darn close. I don’t use them as much as I once did because I’ve trolled so much but when I started, Precision Trolling really helped me alot.

No they aren’t perfect but if you follow the Precision Trolling dive curves, you’ll at least be in the fish zone.

I fish a ton of current and rarely hold the same speed for more than a few minutes at a pop before I’m adjusting or maneuvering. As someone primarily targeting bottom feeding walleyes and saugers, the app/book don’t really give me any advantage. I know roughly where I need to be, and feel it out from there (find the bottom, make note of speed, current, and bait choice and adjust from that baseline).

In the few instances I’m targeting suspended fish, I’ll definitely reference the book. But everyone knows there are NO suspended walleyes on Pool 4………..

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Speed isn’t necessarily a factor.

This is correct. Speed is one of the main factor for sinking lines, hardly at all for diving lures.

There were some videos posted about how the data for precision trolling was obtained. One of the things they said was speed doesn’t really affect diving lures. Unless you are taking them below or beyond their design speed.

At sunrise I can walk across all the fish marks.
At High Noon. No fish marks.

Blind trolling above the bottom catches some of them. I fish very close to a major marina with lots of traffic.