I purchased a used boat this spring and have no experience trolling for salmon. My question is what is a normal speed for trolling? I understand that it probably has to do with current/tide flow but I was hoping for some advice on a ball park range. I will be using downriggers most of the time if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance.

Assuming you are always trolling with the tide, your speed over ground (SOG) can vary significantly based on the tidal current speed. Due to this issue, SOG on your GPS isnt always a great indicator of how fast you should be going. If for example you are using a 12 pound DR ball, flasher and hoochie terminal gear, Just look at your downrigger wires, and adjust your boat speed so your wires are at a minimum blowback of 30 degrees, and a maximum of 50. That's the range I use, typically 30-45 degrees for Chinook, and 40-50 degrees for Coho. To get the right angle on your wire, your SOG on a slower tide might be 2mph, or on a faster tide it might be 4-5mph.

If your wire blowback is in this range, your gear is working properly at depth.

Like said above,it changes.I try and troll between 1.5 mph & 2.2 mph.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Thanks for the info.

Sky-Guy,

I've followed that basic principle for years, but wonder if the weight of the ball and length of the wire changes that angle at all? For instance, how much of a difference does having 100' of wire with a 15# ball make vs. a 10# ball? Or 50' of wire vs. 175'?

Is the angle difference negligible?

I've also heard people say that speed isn't as important as having the right action on the lure. Make the lure work properly then maintain that speed.

We may need a math whiz to help with this, but no doubt 150 feet of line will have a good bit more drag than 75 feet. I saw an article on this once and it said that the drag on a downrigger line at - I believe 100 feet - was similar to that of a pie plate sideways in the current. Obviously a 15 lb ball will stay down better than a 10 pounder. I think Sky guy’s advice is excellent, but also agree the most important thing is having your bait/lure work properly.

Sky guy is right on. You just gotta figure it out per your wire and lead. I troll a meatline with a 6lb weight and look for that 45 degree or so angle. Water speed doen't mean anything unless the tide is slack. Heck sometimes my motor is revved up and I am not really going anywhere, just zigzagging to be moving side to side.

GoHarley, The wire length off the DR spool and ball weight certainly affect your depth and the general guidelines above. And that is exactly what they are, just general guidlelines you can adjust based on what type of gear you are soaking.
If you could look at a cable's profile underwater, there is falloff towards the end of the cable, as illustrated below:



A 15 pound ball at the same cable lengths and speed as depicted in the chart would certainly have less blowback, increased depth, and I would assume a steeper falloff towards the terminus.

When in doubt, set your boat speed and clip your gear to your DR clip 5 feet back and drop it 15 feet, then bring it right back up to underneath the water surface to see how the spoon, hoochie, or other bait is working at your current speed.
In the end, I tend to err on the faster side because I like to cover the most water possible throughout the day in hopes of running across more fish.

+1 on what Sky-Guy has said. Other factors include the kind of line you're fishing (braid vs mono and it diameter) and the cable or braid on your downrigger.

I run 15 lb cannonballs on 200# power pro with 20 lb mono on my reels. The drop back is much different than when I was running the 250# Scotty braid (much larger diameter) or the 150# Mason/Scotty cable.

The drag of your gear (large/small flashers or a dodger, spoon, plug, or bait) all create varying amounts of drag.

45 degree angle is a pretty good indicator. Load up your gear, drop it down, and bring it back up to see how it looks before going deep.

In the Strait, for coho, we like to troll across the current (N / S) rather than with or against the current. For Chinook, we're usually closer to shore and adjust speed accordingly. The important thing is to know how your gear is working.

I also run a 6' lead off the ball to the release. It helps me detect/determine shakers or weeds on the gear.

Don't get stuck in a rut. Keep changing what you are doing. When you start catching,keep doing that.

Sky-Guy,
Nice chart. It clearly supports your earlier advice of the 30-50 degree angle. One can surmise that fishing shallow is closer to the 30 degree, and the angle increases along with depth. Easy premise to remember and visualize. Of course that's first assuming the gear is running properly, as others have pointed out.

bushbear-- any regrets/advice on switching from Scotty wire, then braid, to finally Power Pro braid?

Also note that certain areas have very complex currents. How your gear is working just under the surface isn't necessarily how it will work at 120' in a different current. Put in a few hundred days on the water and you'll start to learn where to start. Sometimes the fish like it fast and the next day you won't touch a thing till you slow it down. To that end, Keta had a good point. If you're not catching anything change it up till you do then keep doing that.

Good luck!

Keep in mind what kinda gear you are running too. A herring should be trolled fairly slow, any hootchies or hardware can be trolled harder. The only time I feel ok with less than that 45ish degree angle is if I troll bait.

None. I bought 150 yd spools of red Power Pro and just spliced a spool onto the Scotty braid on each downrigger. It gives me over 600' of line available.

I like the Power Pro. It is a smaller diameter than the Scotty (I've heard Scotty has a lighter 150#(?) braid available now) and is closer to the 150# cable. No wire hum. Easier to handle if you need to. A Palomar knot ties on the swivel (no crimps, etc). I cut back 6' or so periodically and re-tie the knot/swivel.

I do run the Gold Star snubber on both DRs. Not only does it make picking up the cannonball easier, but it also acts as a shock absorber when dropping/pulling the cannonballs.

Drop your boat in a lake and run a speed test. Different speeds, different depths. Then duplicate the angle when there is current.

Ducker

+1 When fishing chinook, especially in terminal areas, we often motor mooch with line angle very low. It all depends on what you are fishing with and for.