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Trolling

Introduction

Trolling is a popular method of fishing, both in freshwater and in saltwater, for a very wide range of species. It can best be described as fishing by presenting a lure or bait behind a moving boat. Trolling allows anglers to troll several different offerings at varying depths to test which lures will be successful in that area. Trolling is a technique that is widely practiced in wide-open waters and is especially good for catching trout, bass, walleyes, pike, and other predatory species. The best lures and baits to troll are lures that resemble local prey and display a built-in action when moved through the water, usually at the speed of a brisk walk (between 1 and 2 knots).

Surface Trolling

Surface trolling is most effective when the lake temperature is roughly uniform, usually in the spring and fall. Trout, salmon, pike, muskies, walleyes, and bass feed near the surface in the cool water, and trolling anywhere may elicit a strike. In particular, troll near feeder streams, over rocky shallows, and along any underwater structure. Experiment with different line lengths behind the boat.

For trout and salmon, troll a gray or green streamer with a sinking fly line, a level, eight-pound test leader the length of the rod, and a fiberglass rod that allows the fish to hook themselves.

Sweep the rod in long motions to move the streamer darting in the wake. If the fish prefer a fly trolled a few feet beneath the surface, slow the boat and add a split shot or two to the leader. Some anglers remove the outside lead from the split shot with sandpaper and place the weight one and a half feet before the fly. Minnow-like plugs, wobbling spoons, and jigs rigged with a minnow can be trolled using light spinning equipment and worked with the same sweeping motion as the streamer. Set the drag on the light side and avoid line twists by adding a ball bearing snap swivel to the line.

To surface troll for muskies and largemouth bass, pull a large top water plug at least fifty feet behind the boat. Trolling for muskies is illegal in some states, but it is also an effective tactic because muskies like to follow and study their prey before striking. Continue trolling your lure if you notice a muskie following the lure but failing to strike. Troll the top water in late spring after the spawn. Trolling is especially effective on windy and overcast days when the bass return from deepwater to feed at the surface. At dawn and dusk in warm summer waters, slowly troll a jitterbug at least fifty feet behind the boat, along the outskirts of weed beds.

Mid-depth Trolling

Use lures at the specific depths that are known to attract the attention of the species you are after (refer to the Freshwater Fish Species for additional detail on particular species). Mid-trolling works for all freshwater species throughout the seasons.

Yellow perch, white bass, and summer crappies: troll a spinning lure or small spoon until the concentrations of fish are located, then stop trolling and cast using techniques according to each species.

Try mid-depth trolling small or medium-sized crank baits to locate bass, pike, and pickerel. Experiment with other lures as well, using lures of varying diving depth (according to the bill/lip size, length of line, speed of boat). Anglers often begin by trolling an area with a shallow-running crank bait (especially on overcast and windy days) and gradually trolling deeper. When you find a fish, stop trolling and start casting. Resume trolling if the fish are dispersed throughout different areas.

A longer line causes the lure to dive deeper than a shorter line. Experiment to find the fish; try a long line on sunny days and try a shorter line on cloudy days (or vice versa). If the fish are not striking though the lure is located at the right depth for the species, then increase the trolling speed for several seconds. The increased speed will make the lure dive shallow and the return to the default trolling speed will cause the lure to dive below its initial range. Lures that drop from above or rise from below into the fish's area often attract the interest of otherwise unresponsive fish. Another effective method is to maintain the trolling speed while steering the boat in a slow "S" movement over submerged islands or around weed beds. The turning boat will pull the lure at varying speeds (and therefore at varying depths) in an erratic motion that proves irresistible to many predator species.

Deep Trolling

Today, deep trollers use a down rigger to fish at precise depths. A down rigger is:

trolling equipment which enables trolling at precise depths, and the use of much lighter tackle in deeper waters. Typically, a "cannonball" (metal weight) is attached on a cable with the fishing line attached to a release which trips when a fish is on hook, thus allowing the fish to be played on a free line

Thanks to down rigging equipment, anglers can use spinning or bait casting outfits, or a fly rod. Anglers fish for trout, salmon, largemouth bass, walleyes, muskies and other species that move to temperature specific depths during different times of the year. Before trolling, a depth finder is often used to find the schools of forage fish that the sought-after species trail.

Freshwater Fishing Basics

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