Fishin with Chad and Tiffany 6/25/2020

[Capt Juls]

Use the lures natural diving depth at the desired feet back first, then add the needed weight to reach the depth you want to target. We used this system back many years ago, when people said "you did what".

You need to elaborate on how much more depth each ounce of weight will get them with a length of line out. Most don't know.
And, there are those that know, and talk with others... and, then, can't agree on what is correct. Been there done that. I was taught one way by an older charter Capt, and I have friends that were taught another. Who's right? lol

I use the Precision Trolling Data App. They have the 2oz snapweight option for the most popular Lake Erie cranks, and then I know for sure where my bait is.

But, then again, sometimes I use that info from old "Bigfoot" LaCourse, who I think was one of the best of the Lake Erie trollers.

[Ret.Capt]

So first off back in the early to mid 1990s, there wasn't many other charter captains to compare notes with. As a matter of fact, I didn't know of any. It was frowned upon to troll at all in Michigan at that time and if you pulled those big orange boards in Ohio... Well lets just say keep your eyes open well. Back then you started spring off with hot-n-tots, then to say deep jr. thundersticks, then on to mag warts late. Then one day at a captains assoc. fishing show I met the man at off shore tackle, as we talked, he introduced me into the world of snap weights. Jump ahead to fishing, I now found out I could fish my favorite (deep jr. thunderstick) at any depth I needed, and this was a game changer. Back in the day as the lake cleared up from the ugly mess it was noted for, light penetrated and often sent the walleye deep. Back then there was not one data source to go to, I had a precision trolling guide for lure depth and a off shore snap weight guide for weight depth, then eventually made my own format combining those two guides into one. I mainly used 3/4, 1, 1 1/2, & 2 oz. weights as anything over 2 oz. was seldom ever needed in the depths I normally fished. I could run my deep jr. thundersticks down to 30' or so if I needed to. My point is, do some research, learn the depth for the lure you use. Pull up the data for your preferred lures and pull up a off shore snap weight guide, combining these two will give you a much more accurate plan than just pulling up a precision trolling lure using a 2 oz. weight. Lure type, weight, line type and troll speed will all effect the depth. Combine this info for your trip, find the walleye depth, check your new guides you printed, adjust your weight and fish. You will find that you do NOT need to have every lure in the tackle shop, but rather some good lures, good color combos, and snap weights. Hint: use a different weight on each side to start, say 1 oz. port and 2 oz. starboard for example, when one hits best, switch the other side to match.