Want a little math with that walleye?

You may have read a fishing report or overheard a conversation where the topics 20/20, 30/30 or even 20/100 were discussed. Did you scratch your head and think, "what are they talking about?" These are important numbers used by the trollers on Lake Erie. This series of numbers is very useful on the water. These numbers relate to the leads a fisherman is putting the lure out behind the boat with a snap weight to get his lure deeper in the water. The first number in the series designates the amount of line let out before the snap weight is attached to the line. The second signifies the total amount of line let out before a planer board is attached or the rod is placed in a rod holder. They do this for a couple of reasons. The weight allows the lure to get to the depth at which the fish is located in the water column. The use of the lures unassisted without weight would not be able to get as deep. I will use as an example a Bandit deep-diving crankbait. The 20/100 set of numbers indicates a 2-ounce snap weight and a speed of 2 miles per hour to reach the targeted depths. The angler will attach his lure to his line with the lure very near the rod tip and zero the line counter. They will then let out line until the counter reads 20. Here they will attach a snap weight then continue to let line out until the counter reads 120. Another way I have seen guys do this is let out the 20 feet, zero the line counter and proceed to the 100-foot mark. At this point an in-line planer board such as the Offshore Or-12 is attached. Now this line is set back varying distances to take that line to the outside of the boat. The use of dive curves is important for knowing where your lures are running. Precision Trolling is widely used for this. They started with a printed book and now with today's technology have an app available for both android and iOS devices. Looking at the deep Bandit lure chart, 120 feet of line out will allow that lure to dive 20 feet down. A 2-ounce weight added at 20 feet will allow that lure to dive to 28 feet. The walleye I was seeing on the fish finder at 30 feet are now seeing my lures just above them. Hopefully one will find that lure enticing and swim up and grab it. When that happens you will see the back of the Offshore board tilt further into the water and start to be pulled backward behind the boat. I mentioned the line counter reels used in conjunction with snap weights and planer boards. The line counter reel has the built-in counter that, when filled with line correctly, will get your baits right where you want them. There is a bit of a trick to this. Unlike a conventional reel where you just fill the spool with line until the spool is near full and go, the line counter reels need to be what is commonly called "calibrated". A method that I use to do this is actually quite simple. I fill my reel with monofilament line in 10-pound test. I fill that reel almost to the top of the spool leaving around a 1/8 inch of space free. I don't cut the line off the spool of new line yet. I will lay out my 100 foot tape measure across the back yard. I use a snap weight clip and attach it to a stake I put in the ground. Attach the line at the rod tip to this clip, zero the line counter and walk out to the 100 foot mark. With the rod tip at the 100-foot mark your counter should read 100. If it reads below 100, you will need to remove some line off the reel. If it reads over 100, you will want to add some more line to the reel. I have found that a foot difference on the line counter is 15 to 20 feet of line. Now that 100 foot on the tape measure reads 100 foot on your counter you are ready to cut the line off the spool. Another optional thing I like to do before cutting the line is put 400 feet of line from the reel back on to the spool of line. I just zero the counter and use a drill to turn the spool and pull line off of the reel. When my counter reads 400, I cut the line. I will tie a blood knot to attach these two lines together again. Reel in 400 feet of line and I'm ready to go fishing. This extra step allows for a quicker line change later in the season if I need to change line. I will just have to pull line off to that knot, attach new line and add 400 feet of new line. Since I calibrated at that distance, I know that I will be calibrated again. I hope this can help you out and add some fish to your cooler. Numbers that may have seemed odd before should make a little more sense to you now. Consistently putting your baits in the strike zone should improve your catch rate. Check those numbers and enjoy a day on the water.