Finally some good spinner fishing

[Swartztastic]

Fished 2 1/2 hours late Friday 6/2 about a mile east of toussaint reef. Got 4 into the net, lost one at the boat and probably 3 more further back. Unfortunately my wife got skunked. She drifted a bottom bouncer and we just were not moving fast enough.

The ones I caught were on a green and white beaded spinner with gold fish scale type blade and a 1/2 ounce sinker. The water was 21 - 22 feet deep and very clear. 73 degrees at the surface. I was using a count of 8 to 10 and working it back to the boat. I would guess the fish were down 12 to 15 feet or so

[rickerd]

thank you for your report.
I fish with a setup similar to yours. Mine is on braid line and a 1/2oz weight will fall about 2 feet per second. A 3/4oz will fall about 3 fps. If yours is on mono, it may fall slower.

Rickerd

[Swartztastic]

I also like braid but use a 5 to 10 foot section of fluorocarbon for visibility protection in clearer water. I've never seen anything official about how fast the setup I use sinks so I've taken a guess based on results when I've marked and caught them. I'd like to see more info on rate of fall if you have any. Thanks for the follow up.

[DeBaited]

I only cast. I use Braid on all my spinning rods. Typically 6# I believe I can make longer casts using a lighter weight & the the rig falls faster with the thinner line. I make all of my own spinner rigs & I use 12# mono typically 16-18” long With #3 blades. IMO I can feel the lightest tap with this set up. With a 5/8 weight it falls 3 ft per second So 5 count going to be roughly 15 ft. 3/4# 4 ft I also allow the rig to free fall meaning I do not close the bail I will pull the rod back back a few times to rip line off so rig falls straight down If fishing a low count the rod gets pulled back 2-3 times. Deeper fish I pull back 4-5 times I believe this allows the rig to stay in the zone I am targeting for a longer period of time & I make fewer casts over the day

[rickerd]

Yep happy to give you my scientific process on the fall of lure.
My first cast with the lure I check sonar, cast, count on the splash 1000-1, 1000-2, 1000-3 and so on. When line stops getting pulled across water and settles, that count is to the bottom. So if 10 seconds to bottom in 20fow this equals 2 feet per second.

I also use braid with a 6-8 foot leader of 15# fluoro.

This works when I'm retrieving and working the swing. If drifting, you have to account for full drift speed so you might have to let out more line to keep at or near the bottom.

The size and type of blade may affect it a bit but not in 20 fow. Maybe in 50 fow. But still the process gets you in the neighborhood. Try to keep baits above the fish by a count or two because they love to eat up more than down.

Rickerd

[itsbob]

A great detailed article on casting for Erie walleye can be found on CoeVannacharters.com under fishing technique.

[Swartztastic]

Two great follow up comments from rickerd and itsbob. Thanks for the information.