judging depth

[painterfish]

just got to wordening if you guys and gals have some tips on judging depth with sinker & line say you wanted to go down 25 ft every time

[eddiebhome]

If you know the depth of the water, then lower your line all the way to the bottom and count how many turns of the handle it takes to get the hook from the bottom back to the surface. Then you can estimate how many turns to get to the desired depth. For example, if the bottom is 30 feet deep and it takes 12 turns to bring the hook to the surface, then half the depth (15 feet) would be reached by reeling the line in 6 turns. I knew that college algebra would come in handy one day!

Another method I use with an open-face reel is to:
1. pull out 25' by hand (estimating one foot per pull), plus one or two feet
2. clip the line to the line saver found on the side of most spools
3. and then crank the handle once to wrap up the extra 1-2 feet you pulled out in step 1 (if you don't do this step you stand a chance to have the clip break off or to have the line cut by the clip when you set the hook on a good fish).

[Bushrod]

BPS sells a linecounter device that clamps to your rod...analog readout, plus backlight for $9.95.....no more guesswork....hope this helps...

Bushrod

[Jerry Blake]

Mark your line with a permanent marker at a known depth like 20-feet and adjust from there. If you're using long jig poles it's real easy to measure your line off the pole to mark it.

[ncnat]

Painterfish, I have my rods marked at 1 and 2 feet from the reel face. Pull out desired amount of line then use line clip. Also, like edddibhome stated reel a couple of turns on the spool afterward.

[osagemo]

You can pull or drop your hook to the handle of your rod which gives you 6 ft. Drop the hook in the water and hold the rod tip almost touching the water. Then pull the rod tip up with the bail tripped to level with your head which may or may not be 6 ft. Repeat this 4 times and you have 24 ft. This probably isn't as accurate as the other methods but it gets you in the general area. Jerry has the more accurate way. Good luck..

[Jerry Blake]

I also mark my lines for newbies at 12 to 18-inches up from the jig in the spring when we're flipping jigs in the shallows with long poles so they can let the jig fall just to the desired depth and maintain that depth as they swim the jig back towards the boat.

The metal Sanford permanent markers from Walmart or Office Depot work well. I prefer black but also use red on my trolling lines so I can have a short mark (red) and a long mark (black). The marks fade over a period of time, which is good because you'll need to make new marks anytime you loose very much line. If you mark the lines when they are dry and let the ink dry for a minute or two before putting it in the water the marks will be visible all day. I've never noticed the markers causing any damage to mono line - Berkley Big Game or Ande Premium.

[jerho]

I use a bobber stopper. Bring jig to handle,set stp a tip of pole, lower line till stopper hits water,lift pole straight up and move stopper to tip of pole, ect.