trolling question

im new to trolling i see you guy out thier have lots of fun so i figure ill try it my question is   when you use a spoon or a lure does the weight take it to the depth you want or is there some thing else i have to buy to get the lure to that depth?    any info will help  thank you

Mike,

There are a lot of variables to consider when trolling and I think if you were more specific about what you're trying to do and fish for, I could better help you.  I could, however give a couple of situations and examples.  Some variables to consider are:  water depth, lure capabilities, trolling speed, where the fish are in the feeding column, your line thickness, etc.  If I'm trolling lake Erie for walleye, I usually target the schooling fish on my sonar and determine what depth they are primarily feeding in.  Typically, in lets say 45 feet of water and fish holding at 25 feet, I would troll using dipsy divers let out at about 80 to 100 feet at about 2 mph.  this will allow the dipsy to take your lure presentation down to the feeding fish.  The presentation of my choice is usually the good 'ol worm harness, but spoons and cranks are also effective at times.  If, however, the fish are in lets say 15 feet of water, you can flatline troll crankbaits to get down to about 10 to 12 feet. Some guys also use planer boards or in-line planer boards....some even put jet divers on the planer boards to get the lures down to the fish and away from the boat.  For baits that do not dive, like spoons or harnesses...you could use weight about 5 to 10 feet ahead of the lure itself to get it down or even bottom bounce with weight and a 3 way swivel.  I like to always keep the bait running slightly above the fish because fish tend to strike up.  Think about their anatomy....their eyes are on top of their heads! 

Another consideration is your line thickness, speed, how much line you let out and the lure itself to determine the overall depth it will go. 

Now when I'm trolling for muskies, I typically target fish in water 25 feet or less and my baits rarely go deeper than ten or twelve feet.

Let me know exactly what you're trying to fish for and where, and maybe I could better assist.  Good Luck.

Steelhead in the Bay, although they are moving out quickly with warming H2O temp, usually hold in the top 10 to 12 fow, so you don't want to fish deeper than that.  Shallow diving stick baits (jointed rapalas, Jr. Shallow T-Stix, Shallow Dave's Shiners, little rippers, etc.)  and I like to run a keel weight, or a couple sinkers about 4 to 5 feet ahead of my spoons to help get it a little deeper.  Last time I was out, fish seemed to be staging at the channel ledges getting ready to head back out in the lake.
 
Smallies I like to target 10 to 25 fow east of the Bay all the way to Northeast, running smaller (3 to 4") deep diving stick baits and try to position them within 5 ro 6 feet of the bottom.  Precision trolling can give you some good depth curves for your baits.    

You don't ever hear much about snap weights , but they really work good. Simple to use and cheap to buy, no special rods needed and with a little practice and experimenting with different weights , you can put them at any depth. A line counter reel helps a lot also.

ORIGINAL: Storm Warning 2

Steelhead in the Bay, although they are moving out quickly with warming H2O temp, usually hold in the top 10 to 12 fow, so you don't want to fish deeper than that.  Shallow diving stick baits (jointed rapalas, Jr. Shallow T-Stix, Shallow Dave's Shiners, little rippers, etc.)  and I like to run a keel weight, or a couple sinkers about 4 to 5 feet ahead of my spoons to help get it a little deeper.  Last time I was out, fish seemed to be staging at the channel ledges getting ready to head back out in the lake.

Smallies I like to target 10 to 25 fow east of the Bay all the way to Northeast, running smaller (3 to 4") deep diving stick baits and try to position them within 5 ro 6 feet of the bottom.  Precision trolling can give you some good depth curves for your baits.    

 
Add another "tip" to your trolling -- while smallmouth routinely do suspend, they are primarily associated with holding very near the bottom of the water column during pre-spawn and spawn periods (now thru June) and you can be VERY successful if you opt for long line trolling  and consistently ticking bottom. You can do that until the green scum begins to form on the bottom structure as the water warms then its difficult to touch bottom without 'gooing up'. Lures--Rapala segmented JSR5 or 7. Does it work? Two boats yesterday - 61 smallmouth from 6# 15oz to 2#, at least 40 fish over 5#. Give it a try!