Sorry for the delay, I've been busy with a couple groups.
SeaSport, if I had to pick a number it would be 2.8 mph. And I would sooner go a little faster than slower.
The main thing is to get the right angle on the downrigger line. I like it to be 35 degrees when being pulled thru the water.
Now that will change with the size of cannon ball and the depth that you are trolling.
I use a 15# ball with a dummy flasher on it and at 50 feet deep I'm at 30 degrees. At 100 feet it's at 40 degrees.
When I fish on the Highway I'm using a 20# cannon ball trolling in 300 feet of water and my downrigger counter says 400 feet of line out because I want to be 2 feet off the bottom.
The main thing is that all lures being plugs, spoons or hootchies are trolled at the same speed to make them work and trigger a strike because of the erratic motion of the lures.
So when in doubt I speed it up instead of slowing it down.
salmonkiller01, I'm glad you had a great trip and dropped the gear to the bottom. We have had the needle fish and sandlance on the bottom for the last couple years so that's where the fish are mostly. The big schools of anchovies and herring we use to have are slim to none when we fished close to the rocks at 35 to 40 feet.
Good luck
