When calculating your crank bait depth.....

[Hammmerhead]

does the angle of your pole matter and do you add more to your line length for the amount that is out of the water. The front side poles don't seem like there would be much difference, but with the pole in the center rear of the boat and angled up pretty good, it might throw the depth off some or not?

anyone have the skinny on this?

[crp4570]

Most line charts to my knowledge start the recommended line outage to desired depth from the water service to crankbait. Any amount of line from the line tip to water surface should be added to amount of line out. However, I’ve been know to be wrong daily.

["G"]

Line is measured from where it enters the water.....so let out desired amount of line.....then guesstimate the distance from your rod tip to where the line enters the water and then let that much more out.

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[Snubby]

In my experience the angle of the rod will affect the running depth a little (lower the angle a little deeper, steeper the angle a little higher), best advice I can give you is to run flats with your crank baits and make sure your counters are calibrated if you use them. I've found discrepancies on most all of the posted depth charts for Arkies and Bandits from doing this.

[Hammmerhead]

That makes sense, but I have never heard anyone talk about it.

Thanks to everyone chiming in

[M R Dux]

With clients, we don't have time to get technical. I tell them how much line to put out on each bait and if we catch fish on a certain amount of line, we put the other baits close to that figure. I have the Precision Trolling Data app on my phone and check the data charts occasionally. If we are fishing water that is 15-25 feet deep, I will usually start my Picos out at 60 on one rod and the other at 80 feet. Each client has 2 rods so the other client may try 50 on one and 70 on the other. If we hit shallower areas and the baits start to dig, we'll reel up on the deep rod till it quits digging a furrow. Essentially, I just use figures I pull out of my butt with some experience thrown in. I lose several baits a year due to the bottom terrain we fish but I just don't have time to make it technical. I go thru a 4700 YARD spool of Trilene Big Game 12 pound Solar Collector in a year but still don't calibrate my reels. We lose too much line to tangles and gar/catfish/turtles/stumps and brush to worry about calibration. I keep a half dozen freshly spooled reels in my rod box for quick replacements.

[CrappiePappy]

The angle of your line, from rod tip to bait, is a definite factor in how deep your bait is running. And the length of line out, below the surface, is the other major factor. You also have to figure in your speed & amount of weight added (if any), because that will change the angle of your line.

I do a guesstimate on the depths of my jigs & cranks, based on the angle of the line & the amount of line out (taking into consideration the speed/weight factors). So, if I'm pushing a jig behind 1.5oz weight at 1mph and my line is at a 45deg angle, then I calculate the length of line below the water times 0.6 to get a ballpark depth. So, if I have 30ft of line out, then my jig should be approx. 18ft deep. (30x0.6=18)

If my speed and weight and length of line out makes my line angle less than 45deg (angled closer to the water's surface) then I usually multiply the length of line out by 0.4 .... so with the same 30ft of line out, then my jig should be approx. 12ft deep. (30x0.4=12)

These calculations generally work much the same for cranks ... but, a deep diving crank will likely be close to a foot deeper than the weight and that should also be taken into consideration. Their accuracy depends on your ability to correctly gauge the angle of the line, which is why most people use depth charts dedicated to a specific amount of weight and a specific brand & style of crankbait.

[wicklundrh]

Doug, like I was saying in another thread, sometimes the best thing we can use counters for is to duplicate something. Oftentimes, these smaller cranks really are not affected that much in dive depth by a 10 foot difference in line.

I too pull numbers out of my rear! My favorite comment of the week so far!

[Dutch552]

I am a little different in that I pull from the sides of my boat and keep my rod tips angled down. I roughly adjust them so that all of the lines enter the water in an imaginary line drawn straight out from the transom. It's just something that I've unintentionally started doing over the years that allows me to quickly assess if a crank isn't running correctly:

If one line is entering the water farther back from the other 2 on that side, the lure is riding higher in the water column and I can assume that 1) I have hooked a small fish and am skiing it behind the boat or 2) my lure has fouled on either another line or a piece of debris. If one starts moving ahead of the other two, its either digging or some other weirdness if going on below the waterline.

I have some "magic" (based on the trolling bible, experience and holding my tongue the right way) starting numbers that I'll start my spread at to cover a few feet in the water column and then adjust them once the fish tell me what they want and how deep. I quit calibrating my reels last year and it hasn't adversely impacted my catch rate. I have the same amount of 10lb mono backing on all of my reels attached to a 400' topshot of high-vis 12lb mono. I'll strip the 12# back to the double uni when I respool and replace it with another 400' of 12# test and I'm good to go.

[trypman1]

Very interesting, reads!