40 Tru trips & trolling

Hey all, really looking for some help with this. I am new to trolling. Been drifting and casting since I was a kid. I recently got some 40 Tru Trips, new 8'6" rods, line counter reels, and already had spoons, harnesses, etc.

Here are my questions:
When you are trolling 40 Tru Trips, I understand the depths and how the speed works as I have a chart but what I don't know is how long of a leader do you put on your spoons or harnesses? What kind of line should I use for the leader?

2nd, how do you know when a fish is on? Is it obvious? Does the rod bend over a lot more? If you are marking fish at 23' in 30' of water, should the bait be at 17-20'?

I have read a lot and seen plenty on the internet but I'm still lost here. This may seem like a silly question but I am just trying to learn from someone who is willing to give me a few pointers. Thanks and happy fishing.

In normal clarity I use a 6’ leader. Longer if the water is really clear. The trick on telling whether you have a fish on or not is to use matching rods, at least on 1 side of the boat. The one that acts different has a fish on. If you are only gonna run a few board rods, I would run them all on 1 side of the boat. You are ahead to run four or 5 on 1 side as to have 2 & 2 or 2 & 3. With tru trips they should plane up to the top.

Always keep your baits above the marks. If the fish are really high you won’t even get a mark because of the diameter of sonar cone right under the boat may only be a few inches. If you are not catching try your baits only down 5’ or 10’

Thanks a ton for the advice. I really appreciate it. What line should I use for the leaders? All the rods I have are the same, so I can check that off the list!

Mike

Also, what size spoons do you think are best? Does it depend on the size of the fish you are pulling? And what brand of spoons? I have some but I knownthere are a ton out there. Thanks!

Mike

What trolling boards are you using? If offshore boards I would recommend trutrip 30s. They don’t pull quite as hard on the boards. If you put the tattle flags on your boards it will also help you a lot as a new troller.

Hey thanks rick2752. I have offshore boards with the flags. I haven't even used them yet as I was still figuring out the tru trips so far!

You can use the 40s they just pull pretty hard on the board. Google tattle flag system. They come with flags but not the tattle system. Easy to build at home

You will want to run a 6 foot leader so you have some room to net without the tt40 cranked into the rod tip. Leader fluorocarbon 15-20lb will work. Right now I like the 2.25 to 2.75 small spoons. (Today worm burners worked great. Just changed out hook setup on spoons to make burners) I like to slide my weight forward on the small offshore boards which may require a dremel tool and some mods. Line up two or three boards on one side so you can read the boards better. I always like at least one flatline out also.

I use 20# seaguar premier for my leader. in most cases a 6' to 8' will get fish. in rough water a 30tt will work much better than the 40tt. the 40tt will pull the board causing the board to run with the nose up in the air.

I run 40tt behind my offshore with very little issue and use the new tattle flags.....they gave spring adjust mentioned going up the flag shaft.

I tried moving the weight forward, but found I got the board to ride better and pull better off the side by dropping the rear tow arm eye screw down about 3/4 the way down the back side of the board. This will cause the board to not be pulled down from the top, and allow the boards to ride more level and pull out better. I believe the brand new boards come this way. On a side note when running just cranks like bandits or other deep divers I bring the arm back up. If not the boards so far up they lay over in turns.

A few draw backs I'm seeing with the 40TT behind my boards are if you get a small fish and the jet doest trip it can some time be hard to tell. The flag is set a little tighter and doesn't show this sometimes and the board pull hard enough to not show on the rods, especially in some waved. The second is if the jet trips because of the pull of the boards it can be tough to tell,

Non tripping jets would dive back down on drive by hit and miss, and I think would surface better with little fish and might be seen at the waters surface dragging a short.

Great input. Thanks, Crooked Eye.

Mike

Hey, thanks a lot for the input! Would you say that the easiest way to start out is with 4 rods and 4 boards? Just trying to make sure I don't make a mess of it to start out. Or should I just try it with 2 boards and 2 rods to get the hang of it? Usually its just me and one other person on the boat at a time.

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Originally Posted by branhamautomotive

I run 40tt behind my offshore with very little issue and use the new tattle flags.....they gave spring adjust mentioned going up the flag shaft.

I tried moving the weight forward, but found I got the board to ride better and pull better off the side by dropping the rear tow arm eye screw down about 3/4 the way down the back side of the board. This will cause the board to not be pulled down from the top, and allow the boards to ride more level and pull out better. I believe the brand new boards come this way. On a side note when running just cranks like bandits or other deep divers I bring the arm back up. If not the boards so far up they lay over in turns.

A few draw backs I'm seeing with the 40TT behind my boards are if you get a small fish and the jet doest trip it can some time be hard to tell. The flag is set a little tighter and doesn't show this sometimes and the board pull hard enough to not show on the rods, especially in some waved. The second is if the jet trips because of the pull of the boards it can be tough to tell,

Non tripping jets would dive back down on drive by hit and miss, and I think would surface better with little fish and might be seen at the waters surface dragging a short.

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Thanks, Sherman51 for your input on the leader line and tt30s. Didn't even think of that, but it makes sense.

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Originally Posted by sherman51

I use 20# seaguar premier for my leader. in most cases a 6' to 8' will get fish. in rough water a 30tt will work much better than the 40tt. the 40tt will pull the board causing the board to run with the nose up in the air.

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there are many days when I just run (2) flatlines off the back and do well even limits.

It is easiest to start by flatlining 2 rods off the back. (no boards or divers is flatlining) I run a tt40 with a spoon or harness on port side with a bottom bouncer or diver on the starboard. This keeps one near the top and one near the bottom. 2 people can easily handle this set up. Then put your tt40 on a board and run it out another 80 feet. Then put another tt40 out at a shorter depth and run it out with a board 50 feet. Now you have 3 running. You have probably already gotten bit on one or two so keep an eye on lines. If not run a 4th rod off the starboard side by adding diver set to run far off the side but above the first diver or bouncer. This is a typical WB setup and you can cover quite a bit of water from 5' down to 40' of water depth. Once the fish seem to prefer a depth of lure or type of presentation, move the others close to that. Some days the bouncer or diver will give you the biggest fish. sometimes it happens to be a FO sheepshead. I have caught 10#ers (walleye) on bouncer or diver in central basin like this.

Keep in mind you want to use braid line with dipsies (divers) so they really dig in and move out away from the boat.
Rickerd

I agree that the TT30 work better than the TT40 on the offshore inline boards.Have used both and the TT40 pull very hard and you will have to adjust the tension on the tattle flag.My leaders for spoons are 7ft and my harnesses have 6.5ft length on them.Seaguar 17lb fluorocarbon for leader.

Thanks for the great advice. Just a note of clarification; when I am reading the depth chart for tru trips, is it correct that the lead = the amount of line you let out to reach a certain depth? For instance, if the lead says 35 and the depth = 17.5', that means you let out 35 ft of line to reach that depth? Also, do you take into account how far the line is above the water to the reel and add that length to the total?

Mike

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Originally Posted by rickerd

there are many days when I just run (2) flatlines off the back and do well even limits.

It is easiest to start by flatlining 2 rods off the back. (no boards or divers is flatlining) I run a tt40 with a spoon or harness on port side with a bottom bouncer or diver on the starboard. This keeps one near the top and one near the bottom. 2 people can easily handle this set up. Then put your tt40 on a board and run it out another 80 feet. Then put another tt40 out at a shorter depth and run it out with a board 50 feet. Now you have 3 running. You have probably already gotten bit on one or two so keep an eye on lines. If not run a 4th rod off the starboard side by adding diver set to run far off the side but above the first diver or bouncer. This is a typical WB setup and you can cover quite a bit of water from 5' down to 40' of water depth. Once the fish seem to prefer a depth of lure or type of presentation, move the others close to that. Some days the bouncer or diver will give you the biggest fish. sometimes it happens to be a FO sheepshead. I have caught 10#ers (walleye) on bouncer or diver in central basin like this.

Keep in mind you want to use braid line with dipsies (divers) so they really dig in and move out away from the boat.
Rickerd

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Thanks, itsbob for the info on the leader line and leader length. I am learning a lot on here. Can't wait to try some of it out.

Mike

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Originally Posted by itsbob

I agree that the TT30 work better than the TT40 on the offshore inline boards.Have used both and the TT40 pull very hard and you will have to adjust the tension on the tattle flag.My leaders for spoons are 7ft and my harnesses have 6.5ft length on them.Seaguar 17lb fluorocarbon for leader.

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That is correct 35' = 17 whatever if the tip pf your pole was in the water, add whatever else you need.

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Originally Posted by Framemaster

Hey, thanks a lot for the input! Would you say that the easiest way to start out is with 4 rods and 4 boards? Just trying to make sure I don't make a mess of it to start out. Or should I just try it with 2 boards and 2 rods to get the hang of it? Usually its just me and one other person on the boat at a time.

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I would not run just 1 line per side, it's esker to read if a board is doing something different if there is more on a side. If youhave 2 ppl I would try running 2 boards a side I like to try to keep at least 30 to 35 ft between my board, less tangles on turns

The lead is the length of line in feet that your linecounter reads from the lure to your inline board.If running a dipsey have the rod in a horizontal position in rodholder.The rod tip is usually a couple feet above the water,but the lead is still from the dipsey to rod tip,or what your line counter is reading in the rod holder.If flatlining,with rod sitting in rod holder in back of boat in vertical position,the depth of rig you are running can be difficult to figure,due to rod tip being so high above the water.You have to remember,that the dive charts are a guide to get you close to depth you want your lure to run.It is very difficult to know precisely how deep all your gear is running.There are to many variables that can affect how deep you really are fishing.Your goal when you begin each day is to figure out what depth active fish are feeding,and what type of lure or bait they want to eat.The best way to figure out the depth,is to cover the water column with the lines you have out.Say,you are fishing in 30 feet of water(FOW).The fish on bottom are usually not active fish,but the may still bite.You also know they may come up 4-10ft to hit a lure.I would set my 4 lines to cover 10,16,20and 24 ft down.That should cover a good part of the water.After you catch several fish,you can figure out what lead(depth) the fish are biting and can switch other lines to match what is catching.

Branhamauto,
I'm just trying to get him started trolling. with only 2 onboard 1 usually has to steer the boat. With the fishing we've had this year, it is tough for someone learning to troll to take care of 3 or 4 rods. You on the other hand could probably handle 6 rods. or more!

But to your point, if he wants to compare one board next to another, to learn to read them with each other, then yes run 2 on one side of boat, usually Starboard so captain can see them better. You can also run 2 dipsy rods a side and read them with each other. But a Bottom bouncer will always tell you when it is hooked up and in 30 fow or more, usually a flatline is all you need.

This Bottom Bouncer has always been the first trolling technique I teach people because it is simple. Line to 6oz. bouncer, 6' leader to bait or spoon, let out line until you hit bottom, engage reel to set distance and you are trolling. (ideal line angle to water line is about 45 degrees. over 60 degrees is too much, so use more weight) This will put you 2 feet above bottom. If you really want to get down, let out a few more feet until you feel bottom second time and engage reel. Now you are bouncing on bottom and kickin up mud. bring on the walleyes.
Rickerd

After trolling for a while,you will start to see patterns of what leads work best for certain lures or divers.We often have 3 people fishing on board,so have 6 lines out.We will run 4 inline boards and 2dipseys at a 3setting.We frequently run harnesses off #2 tadpoles.After several years of running the tadpoles,i remember several leads that frequently catch.The leads are 37,45 and 60.The dipseys actually run pretty close to the same leads as my #2 tadpoles.Last week 40 and 45 on the dipseys were catching.This season,we have been running stinger spoons a lot more off my #30 true trips(TT).One lead for my 30TT has been 65 lead.Another popular lead that worked was a 50 lead when using 3oz sinker with my harnesses in water that was around 40fow.One thing in common with the leads that catch is that the depth they are catching is 2/3 or 67% of the way down in any water I am running.In other words,if fishing in 30fow,make sure you have a lure at 20ft down.If in 40fow have one 26ft down.Works a lot of the time.

Thanks for clarifying, Bggeary. Just trying to make sure I have thought of everything I can!

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Originally Posted by Bggeary

That is correct 35' = 17 whatever if the tip pf your pole was in the water, add whatever else you need.

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Thanks, rickerd. I know there is a lot to this, and I'm sure as I gain experience I will start to learn the best practices. I appreciate all the input I am getting.

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Originally Posted by rickerd

Branhamauto,
I'm just trying to get him started trolling. with only 2 onboard 1 usually has to steer the boat. With the fishing we've had this year, it is tough for someone learning to troll to take care of 3 or 4 rods. You on the other hand could probably handle 6 rods. or more!

But to your point, if he wants to compare one board next to another, to learn to read them with each other, then yes run 2 on one side of boat, usually Starboard so captain can see them better. You can also run 2 dipsy rods a side and read them with each other. But a Bottom bouncer will always tell you when it is hooked up and in 30 fow or more, usually a flatline is all you need.

This Bottom Bouncer has always been the first trolling technique I teach people because it is simple. Line to 6oz. bouncer, 6' leader to bait or spoon, let out line until you hit bottom, engage reel to set distance and you are trolling. (ideal line angle to water line is about 45 degrees. over 60 degrees is too much, so use more weight) This will put you 2 feet above bottom. If you really want to get down, let out a few more feet until you feel bottom second time and engage reel. Now you are bouncing on bottom and kickin up mud. bring on the walleyes.
Rickerd

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Another question...if I am running Michigan stinger scorpion spoons, do you guys use a swivel on the leader that attaches to the spoon?
Thanks,
Mike

Yes you want a high quality one and make sureservations is spins easy. Have seen some not let the spoon do its thing.

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Originally Posted by Framemaster

Another question...if I am running Michigan stinger scorpion spoons, do you guys use a swivel on the leader that attaches to the spoon?
Thanks,
Mike

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I use a duo lock snap on the spoon end. No swivel. Usually colored Red. I'm not sure of the size.

You'll want a good quality snap swivel on the Jet end. Use a large enough, and quality swivel. Or replace as soon as you think it may not be swiveling. If you see a kink in your line, you waited too long.

I'd be curious what others use on their spoon leaders?

So should i put a swivel on both ends of the leader or no need on the end attached to the tru trip?
Thanks!
Mike

We use a strong swivel going to the jet, most of the time the 40tt has a duo lock on it, you can either tie straight to this or use another swivel to hook to it, and of course one down by the spoon, worm harness, crank bait or water you want to pull behind it

Thanks a TON for all the info and help!

Mike

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Originally Posted by branhamautomotive

We use a strong swivel going to the jet, most of the time the 40tt has a duo lock on it, you can either tie straight to this or use another swivel to hook to it, and of course one down by the spoon, worm harness, crank bait or water you want to pull behind it

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