IMO, an accurate speed is not important as depth and lure. The reason I like my wires at a 45 degree angle is I want to know my gear is working. I like my flasher really kicking good. I already know I am at a ball park speed of 2.5 kts (for Blackmouth) if my wires are at a 45 (I use 15# balls). As a teenager fishing on commercial boats, we would average 6 knots and 200-350 feet deep. If a salmon likes whats it see, they hit it!

Always troll with the tide. Even if your troll pattern is only 400 yards or so. Pick up and head back to the starting point. Reason being, salmon always feed into the tide and you want to cover as much water as possible. On a good tide, chances are you'll stay stationary or not cover very much water if you are trolling into it. You'll have to wait for the salmon to come to you. Go to them...

GPS... Great for marking fish caught or bait balls. Bait will normally follow the same pattern on any given tide. For instance, if you are marking bait at 145' on a +9 Flood, chances are great they will be in the immediate area the next time a +9 rolls around etc..... This is when structure comes into play. These are the spots to look for on large tide swings... fish/bait may even be at 200' or greater.

Once you have established a pattern, your catch rate will increase dramatically regardless of tide swings...

For Kings, I'll keep the wires at 50 to 55 degrees... This will put me at 1.5 to 2.0 kts.

Downriggin'