The company currently known as Precision Trolling Data, LLC originated as Crankbaits In-Depth back in 1989. “Precision Trolling provides a rather unique service in the fishing industry,” says Mark Romanack the company founder and visionary. “Essentially we’re an independent company that tests popular crankbaits and other devices commonly used in trolling to document the depths these products achieve at various trolling speeds and lead lengths. In testing we closely control all the details including lead length, line diameter, line type and trolling speed so as to create “Dive Curve Charts” that are literally a road map to fishing success.”
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| Mark Romanack, the founder of Precision Trolling Data, LLC, is an ardent fisherman who has helped countless others better understand the concept of "Precision Trolling". |
THE APP PROCESS
“The very first day I learned about “apps” and how they share information via a smart phone, I was convinced Precision Trolling needed one,” says company founder Mark Romanack. “Frustrated by the cost of printing waterproof books anglers could take onto the boat with them, I knew there had to be a better way of sharing the data Precision Trolling has prided itself on collecting and publishing.”
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| Dive Curve view on the Android app |
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| Dive Curve view on the Apple IOS app |
The Apple version of the PTD
app was released last October and the Android version has only been available since May of this year. Collectively both apps have moved mountains in less than a year considering the amount of work involved in converting the data previously published in the many versions of the Precision Trolling books into easy to interpret and update trolling apps.
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| The Precision Trolling Data team at work testing crankbaits |
In total 9 different “editions” of Precision Trolling were published from the early 1990’s until printing hard copy books was discontinued in 2011. During the three years it took to produce the first Precision Trolling app some of these coveted “Troller’s Bibles” sold on E-Bay for hundreds of dollars each!
“I guess it’s kind of an honor to know that anglers wanted the Precision Trolling data so badly many were willing to cough up 10 times the retail value just to lay hands on a used and tattered copy,” says Romanack. “While the app was being developed and there were no more books available for sale, I answered literally thousands of e-mails, texts and phone calls from frustrated customers who didn’t understand why they couldn’t find the books anymore. It took considerable time to inform our customers that a series of “apps” were under development.”
APPS AND MORE
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| The PTD dive curve for the popular Berkley Flicker Shad is just one of the many different curves available from Precision Trolling Data, LLC. |
Precision Trolling also offers a LifeTime option which provides anglers all the data included in Version 1.0 and as future updates are made to the app the angler pays nothing more for the life of the app. The LifeTime option costs $99.99 and has become overwhelmingly the most popular option.
UPDATING THE APPS
Now that both an IOS and Android app are available for anglers to choose from, periodic updates will be made to both apps. As new lures and trolling devices are tested, the resulting data will be made public first to LifeTime customers. That same data will later be made available as version updates that other Precision Trolling customers can invest in.
“The PTD apps allow anglers the option of investing in only the specific information they want or they can buy all the data we produce,” explains Romanack. “We anticipate that the first updates will come in the form of individual lures that are deemed to be popular among the masses like the Berkley Flicker Minnow, Rapala Scatter Minnow, Matzuo Kinchou Minnow, Reef Runner SkinnyStick and others. Eventually these app updates will go from a trickle to literally a flood of information.”
WHAT WILL THE FUTUE BRING?
Now that PTD has the platform to release data to both Android and IOS smart phone customers, the focus will change from creating apps to creating data to feed the apps. “Despite having created over 1,000 Dive Curves that support hundreds of trolling lures and devices, we have only scratched the surface of what we can test, document and publish,” says Romanack. “Moving forward PTD will publish data that includes more line diameters and trolling speeds, a wider range of trolling devices like diving planers, sinking lines including lead core and copper line and even trolling data focusing on special purpose lines like stainless steel wire.”
Down the road, PTD can be expected to also test and publish the “casting depths” of popular crankbaits. Literally if it can be casted or trolled, Precision Trolling Data, LLC can test it and in turn create invaluable fishing data to anglers.
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| If you don't have a smartphone or tablet to use one of the apps, the Precision Trolling Data stickers are a great option to keep this valuable information with you in the boat. |
More information on Precision Trolling Data, including specifics about their printed Precision Trolling Data “Stickers” can be found at precisiontrollingdata.com and also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PrecisionTrollingData. Anglers can direct personal questions to Mark Romanack at his e-mail address mark@fishing411.net.
