Big john otter boats ??

[Yankee Troller]

We never troll under 2mph, so I really can't answer that question.

[capt ace]

We have been using Otter Boats for as long as I can remember on the eastern end of Lake Ontario.We pull coppers with them most of the time with lentghs as long as 700-800 ft at times. I only have had two problems over the years. One, they are a pain in the neck to store as they do not break down. Secondly, due to operater error, or more like lack of maintence, we had a rudder fall completely off of the board because of loose screws. The board came ripping across the back of the boat and took out a bunch of lines when it did. This was way back in time before we began using the double rudders. (Another good case for running double rudders).

When combat fishing season arrives, we switch over to inline church walleye boards because it is a lot easier to choke them in so that they don't get run over by other boats. And typically that time of the year we don't fish as deep.

[SlamDunk]

................................The way you can tell is by watching both your diver and your boards. for example if your boards are pulling harder on the right you need to turn left to get more into the current. when they are all pulling the same then you are straight into the current. I find the boards show me more surface current and my divers show me depth current better. same theroy with your diver rods. one will pull harder than the other. There are days the surfacce current is completely different than your depth current. when that happens i watch my diver rods to tell me where the current is coming from.

I will respectfully half-disagree.

Your lines don’t say much about down currents. We have to remember, unless there is ZERO surface current, wind, and tide, your boat is not going in a straight line. This goes back to old school chart plotting and the effect of set and drift on your trackline.

For example: If you are trolling perpendicular to the wind, with the wind hitting your starboard:

Your starboard side boards will appear further off to the starboard and your port side boards will appear to be almost straight behind the boat.

For dipsies, your starboard dipsy line will be pulling out away from the boat, while your port side dipsy line will look like its almost going underneath the boat.

Your downrigger cables will be angled toward the starboard.

This is not the result of your baits being carried by a subsurface current coming from your port side, it is simply the result of your boat sliding sideways (toward the port as it is pushed from the starboard by the wind or current) as it is going forward. Nor is it the result of your planer boards being carried by the surface current (which would actually have to be in the opposite direction of the wind if this were true). The effect is that the boat is pulling away from the starboard lines and being pushed toward the port side lines.

Yes, you can straighten things out by trolling directly with or against the surface current. But like you mentioned, sometimes down currents do not align with surface currents.

My point is, a lot of guys confuse surface current and wind for down current. Thinking about what your boat is doing, instead of focusiing only on what your lines "appear" to be doing is crucial. Its important to understand the difference and distinguish what’s happening on the surface versus what’s really going on down below.