A typical day I run four rods, rig the front two rods with #2 planners and the rear two with #1 planners. As for how far back behind the boat you go you may just have to work that out but I try to do either odd or even runs. For me a run is the level wind full right or full left but not both. So one run is from full left to full right of the level wind device. I run the front two deeper but closer to the boat and the back to shallower and further back. For me it just works better, has less chance of having tangles and when you catch a fish I think it increases the chances of not having the fish cross a line. Overall, I think this is contrary to popular fishing technique but I have good success with this setup.
Certainly one very important aspect is to actually count the distance out every time. This is the most likely reason for people having tangles between the rods. This happens more after you catch a fish so definitely take time to count each and every time. Your day will go better.
Speed: Ok ready to rumble? I tend to go more like 7 knots and it seems to work best. There is an old fisherman’s tale that says that if you are catching blues, speed up as blues can’t swim that fast. Now I don’t believe that is the reason but the effect is the same. I believe that blues don’t find the bait attractive at higher speeds. I say that because I have pulled through a school of blues at 10 knots and caught plenty. If a blue wants the lure it will take it but yes you do tend to get less blues at higher speeds but up to 10 makes it more difficult in my opinion and I think 7 serves me fine.
What to do when you catch one? Seems obvious you should just reel it in but Spanish are notorious at getting off especially if you are trolling fast. I have some friends that slow down dramatically, maybe 3 knots and I do agree that is a very good way to get them in especially if you have a novice reeling in the fish. You may not hook another fish while you are going that slow but you are more likely to get that one fish in the boat. If you do keep the boat in at full trolling speed it is important to coach the person to keep the rod tip up and reel as smoothly as possible. The key here is to keep the planner out of the water, if the planner sticks back in the water it is very likely that you will lose the fish. Kids seem to do better than big strong men because they can only reel but so fast.
Rigging: Off the back of the planner I connect the leader by at least one to three snap swivels. I use 20# flouro carbon leader and I make two sections of about 8 feet each tied together with a swivel in the middle. Keeping the lure from spinning is a key feature.
Bait/Lure: Either Clark or Drone spoons, I like Drone better only because the Clark hook is far more likely to break and I just get tired of that “feature” of the clark. I tend to go with 0 as opposed to the 00 or ones but I am not confident that matters a lot.
