New to trolling how fast should I be going?

[greygoose]

I have a 34 ft Chris Craft Crown and was able to slow down with 2 48" drift socks. My speed went down from 5 mph to 2.2 We turned one engine off. We also had to keep disengaging the shift to try and stay around 1.3 to 1.8. Can I add more drift bags to keep it slow or is there something else I could do. Sunday we did good or largest was 30.35 3 were at 29 2 at 28 and one at 26 the 7 fish weighed at 50 pounds. we did not limit out for 3 guys. we were out for 6 hours around mouse island. We were using DHJ at about 65 feet out., and only used four rods since we were new to planner boards and fought with tangles and going back to pick up offshore boards that came off. Reading all the info in this forum really helped out. I think speed is my problem need to slow down any ideas will help. we are going out again Friday and Saturday we are hooked on walleye now.

[rick2752]

I have a 26ft cabin cruiser. I think you were in the ballpark at 1.3 to 1.8 Keep in mind that alot of the guys posting here have 2 lines for every man in the water and they have their speed all worked out. They also are better at preventing tangles.lol choosing colors, telling each other whats working and whats not. I had the same problem first couple times out, there are kinks to work out. I dont know why you couldnt add more bags, call the guy at amish outfitters and tell him your situation, they have dealt with many different boats and can tell you what others achieved with bigger or more bags. Not to mention our boats arent ideal fishing boats and if your like me your trying to drive and tell the crew how to do something you read about on the internet. Good luck, Ill be up in a couple weeks to try my luck again.

[scubasteve]

I have a Rinker 282 which is really a 29 ft. speed boat,not a fishing boat.It has a 496HO 375hp engine and at idle ,in drive, it runs around 4mph.I troll using 2-48 inch Amish Bags.I can get my speed down to 1.5MPH which is perfect for stick baits.As to your problem with Off Shore Boards coming off,this is an easy problem to fix.We just put a swivel clip at the rear clip as a safety and I have never had to turn around to retrieve a lost board.I also only run 2 boards off each side but I run 2 lines out the back.6 lines is plenty when the walleyes are stacked up like they are right now

[greygoose]

I have a Rinker 282 which is really a 29 ft. speed boat,not a fishing boat.It has a 496HO 375hp engine and at idle ,in drive, it runs around 4mph.I troll using 2-48 inch Amish Bags.I can get my speed down to 1.5MPH which is perfect for stick baits.As to your problem with Off Shore Boards coming off,this is an easy problem to fix.We just put a swivel clip at the rear clip as a safety and I have never had to turn around to retrieve a lost board.I also only run 2 boards off each side but I run 2 lines out the back.6 lines is plenty when the walleyes are stacked up like they are right now

Thanks for the info I am going out this afternoon and Saturday morning

[BAD KARMA]

You can use more than 2 bags. I do it all the time in early spring. I have also used a big drift sock if you have one off one side just rig the rope like a trolling bag. I have a big diesel and its hard to slow that thing down with all the torque. In a pinch you can use a sturdy 5 gallon bucket. In the early days I had to resort to that to do anything to slow down. Good luck.

[sherman51]

I would contact amishoutfitters.com and tell them your problem. they are really helpful when it comes to bags. I would say you need a set of larger trolling bags. drift socks just don't work like trolling bags. or that's been my experience.