Fishing set up...ideas???

[Hague]

Hi all...This is my first post. Planning to buy a Campion Explorer 582 and it's going to be powered by a Johnson 115 4 stroke. I think this is a good match for lake cruising with 4 to 6 people aboard. My main use will be trolling for Lake Trout, Salmon and I think I should be able, with 2 36" drift socks out, to get around 5-8 mph. Any thoughs on this set up. Good fishing and thanks.

 

[llfish]

Re: Fishing set up...ideas???

Five to eight mph may be a little fast for trolling.

 

[Mike Robinson]

Re: Fishing set up...ideas???

Sorry what is a drift sock? Is it like a sea anchor, a parachute like device that is dragged through the water?

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Fishing set up...ideas???

I am no expert, but I have been refining my trolling for the last couple of years. What I have learned is trollIng speed for lake trout and that sort of thing is best at around 2-3 mph, depending on the lure rig you are running. Really, the most used setup is having a dedicated small outboard in the 5-10 hp (depending on boat size) range used for trolling. You can really dial your speed in, and is not nearly as cumbersome as socks. The last thing you want is to hook a 20 pounder and have to retrieve all that drift sock stuff in before you fight your fish. You could end up with line tangles or just losing the fish.<br /><br />On my lake I see strictly kicker motors with down riggers and/or outriggers. Good luck, it is fun but there is so much to learn...

 

[dmonwai]

Re: Fishing set up...ideas???

Around here trolling for salmon is at 2-3 mph, sometimes a little faster when fishing for coho. For Lake Trout we troll a lot slower 1-2 mph.<br /><br />I don't think you would need 2 drift socks, 1 should be ok. You probably won't be going much faster then 5 mph at idle without drift socks. You might not even need one if fishing for salmon in salt water. The wind and currents could keep you trolling slow enough. There are a lot of people around here that troll with their main motor in the salt for salmon and they seem to do fine. <br /><br />In lakes with no wind and no current you would probably need a drift sock to slow you down. <br /><br />I prefer to use a kicker motor for trolling. It keeps the hours off the main motor and its great to have in case my main motor dies.

 

[Hague]

Re: Fishing set up...ideas???

Originally posted by Hague:<br /> Hi all...This is my first post. Planning to buy a Campion Explorer 582 and it's going to be powered by a Johnson 115 4 stroke. I think this is a good match for lake cruising with 4 to 6 people aboard. My main use will be trolling for Lake Trout, Salmon and I think I should be able, with 2 36" drift socks out, to get around 5-8 mph. Any thoughs on this set up. Good fishing and thanks.

 

[Hague]

Re: Fishing set up...ideas???

Thanks for the replys..The speed I meant was .5-.8 MPH.. I could get this low speed w/my present boat, Campion 492 w/50 Suzuki 4 stroke...Mike, you're right a drift sock is like a parachute that is used to slow your speed down..I did find that in the Spring with the Lake just after ice out that these speeds worked best and in the summer months 1-1.5 mph seemed to work fine..I just hope by new rig, its 3' longer and with the larger HP motor will lets me get down to these slow trolling speeds. I'd like to do this without having to add on a kicker. Again, Good fishing and thanks for your thoughts.