Welcome to JPP. Usually, those boaters will drive right next to you and wave.
What you are describing is fishing with Snap Weights. You can Google snap weights and learn more about the technique. The depth of your lure will be highly dependent on how fast the boat is moving as well as line size. With snap weights you do not need deep diving lures since the weight takes the lures down. I use a 3 oz. snap weight for striper and hybrid trolling in the summer and they work as well as downriggers. I use 1/2 oz. jig with Sassy Shad. The main line is 20 pound Power Pro with a 20 pound clear leader connected with barrel swivel. The Shakespeare 7' medium action Ugly Sticks that they sell at Walmart work real well with this line setup. I use line counter reels and let out 50 feet of line, attach the snap weight, and let out another 50 feet of line (they call this the 50/50 method). You can vary the weight to control depth as well as the length of line that is let out after the weight is attached. It is easier if you have a rod holder set up to hold the rod at a 45 degree angle to allow you to remove the weight as you are landing the fish. The boat is moving at 2.6 mph. The downside of this technique is that if you use multiple rods and get a fish on, the boat has to keep moving or the weights will take your lures down and hang them up. This is the setup I use with what I call my Great Lakes setup. Planer boards with as many as eight of these setups. Things get real busy if you hit a school. One day last summer I had a couple of guys with me and we had fish on five of the eight rods at one time!
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