Question on trolling from a kayak

How much line do you put out if you want to fish the bottom?  Do you let the weight hit the bottom while it's vertical?  Do you reel up a bit so you don't get snagged?  Should the line be completely vertical or do you let it out behind you at an angle? 

There is more than one way. Down riggers, leadcore line and divers. Trolling near the bottom in 20 feet of water is different than 60 feet. I like to use a down rigger because it allows me better control over the depth. You will need lots of weight or a diver to get more than 5 feet or so below the surface.

Depends on the method you are using to get down near the bottom.  Vertical jigging, DR, Lead core, divers.  Another method I have seen people use is with a heavy weight on a slider.  You also have to factor in the speed in which you are moving.  With a DR, there is a bit of blowback on the line which shortens the depth of line you have out. 

Thanks for the replies...

What's the easiest way/rig without spending a whole lot of money? 

Note the noob here...

Your question is too general. 

If you troll and want to fish the bottom, you can just use a sinker (say 6oz or more) and just let out as much line until you hit the bottom at your trolling speed.  If your rod is soft enough, you will see the tip going up and down whenever your setup bounces on the bottom.  Chances of snags are good (higher or lower depending on the sea bottom characteristics), so bring extra setups.

If you are trolling with the intent to have the bait/lure suspended somewhere in the water column, use either downrigger or diver.

Here is a good example, see the bounce ball righ setup (you dont need heavy sinker, but the heavier the better your setup will hug the bottom):
https://thelostanchovy.com/kayak-fishing-tutorials/halibut-fishing-tutorial/

Thanks for the replies...

What's the easiest way/rig without spending a whole lot of money? 

Note the noob here...

Define whole lot of money.

Thanks yakyakyak.  That was really helpful!

Whole lot of money is $100+.  I've gotta pump the brakes on my spending... it's a rabbit hole of purchases when left unchecked! lol

A down  rigger starts around $70 plus the weight and clip and mounting bracket. I can see it going over 100. A diver doesn't give the accuracy to be trolling at or near the bottom. At least not without a high risk of snagging the bottom. You can hang a big weight on your line but it's not good when you're fighting the fish aand the weight.

A down  rigger starts around $70 plus the weight and clip and mounting bracket. I can see it going over 100. A diver doesn't give the accuracy to be trolling at or near the bottom. At least not without a high risk of snagging the bottom. You can hang a big weight on your line but it's not good when you're fighting the fish aand the weight.

+1.

My advice is if you want to drag the bottom, use bounce ball rig, probaly 4-12 oz weight, depending on current/drift.  I think a 6 or 8 oz is a good pick.  Let in more line if drift/current is heavy.
As far as mid column, I would use a diver.  You just need to know some Cosine calc.  Essentially, if the line angle is 45 degree, your depth is about 0.7 of the line you let out. 

My advice is if you want to drag the bottom, use bounce ball rig...

I'm a fan of the bounce-ball technique (or similar), as you can catch a lot of different species. I find 10 oz works well in most situations that I fish (from 30' to about 90'). A lot depends on the dodger, as you need to go fast enough so that it can do its thing, but the faster you go, the more blow back you'll have.  Wider dodgers give a good wobble at lower speeds, but create more blow back as your speed increases.

In and of itself, blow back is not a bad thing, but it will increase your chance of snags. So, over rockier areas, you want to try to keep things more vertical (and skim just above the bottom, as much as possible), but over sandy patches, a flat angle is OK.

IMHO, good dodgers for kayak fishing are very hard to find, so if you're a DIY'er, you might want to try making some of your own. Speaking of which, I need to update my DIY dodger thread...

A down  rigger starts around $70 plus the weight and clip and mounting bracket. I can see it going over 100. A diver doesn't give the accuracy to be trolling at or near the bottom. At least not without a high risk of snagging the bottom. You can hang a big weight on your line but it's not good when you're fighting the fish aand the weight.

+1.

My advice is if you want to drag the bottom, use bounce ball rig, probaly 4-12 oz weight, depending on current/drift.  I think a 6 or 8 oz is a good pick.  Let in more line if drift/current is heavy.
As far as mid column, I would use a diver.  You just need to know some Cosine calc.  Essentially, if the line angle is 45 degree, your depth is about 0.7 of the line you let out.

This is good advice.

I agree with the having a 6 or 8 for your normal bottom dragging in ~50-60 foot of water is good for not having to put out too much line.

What I usually do when I'm bounceballing is let out line while moving forward really slowly till it hits bottom, then as I am getting to trolling speed let out line as I feel it come off the bottom. once you get to a stable speed theoretically you'll have the right amount of line out, you can always check by bringing the rod tip towards the front of your kayak and letting it back towards the back of the kayak and you should feel it hit bottom, if not, let out a little more line.  maybe there's an easier way, but this is how I do it.

I do this with jig heads too if I want to move spots, I'm usually using a 6oz or little bigger when I do this. 

to give you an idea of weight, when I bounce ball from a pb trolling at 2 mph, I use a 2.5 lb ball scoped out a bit. In a kayak I used 8-12 oz. if I didnt see it bounce, I stopped paddling till it does bounce then start again.  The boat is great, but to be honest the kayak gives you much more control

... the kayak gives you much more control

This is a major advantage for kayakers, IMHO. Of course, if there is a big swell and/or a good sized wind chop, it can still be pretty difficult to control things, even on a kayak.