When you rig a boat for trolling, you will want it to provide you and your fishing buddies with the most enjoyable fishing trips you could ask for. Here are some time proven trolling boat layouts.
If you fish alone in a small tiller boat, mounting the downriggers at the transom is a practical choice. You can keep everything in easy reach, eliminating the need to get up and move around the boat. (illustration 1)
If two or more people are fishing in a small tiller boat, try mounting the downriggers midship. Everybody can reach the downriggers and rods from either end of the boat.
Pedestal mounts may be needed for the downriggers to clear the gunwales and swivel mounting bases will make for easier docking. (illustration 2)
On larger console style boats, a pair of Captain's Paks on swivel mounting bases are a popular arrangement. The swivel mounting base allows you to spread your lines wider when fishing and can be turned inline with the gunwales when the boat comes to dock. (illustration 3)
If your boat is large enough for a large fishing party, mount a pair of Pro Sportsmen at the transom and a pair of Captain's Paks on swivel mounting bases futher forward on the gunwales. When you use the Captain's Pak electric downriggers as sideriggers, you will quickly appreciate the locking, tip-up booms make it easy to set your lines. With this many lines in the water, your lure presentation will resemble a school of bait fish. (illustration 4)
The same kind of presentation can be achieved by installing four Captain's Paks on a removable transom bar. The whole downrigging system can be easily removed as one unit when your boat is to be used for other purposes. The transom bar is also an ideal location to mount a secondary fish finder/graph. (illustration 5)
When installing a planer rigger system, remember two important facts. First, the taller your mast is, the greater distance your planers will travel from the sides of your boat.
And second, the futher forward you mount your mast, the less distance your planers will travel behind your transom. Both points effect navagation and line control. For the very best planer performance, use Big Jon's Otter boats. They are designed to produce a minimum of water resistance and out perform old fashion boards. They also will not stall in a turn. (illustration 6)
A popular method of mounting the planer mast is to use a pedestal seat mount (sold in our Parts Department). It fits Springfield seat bases, that are common on most boats.
The seat mount makes the mast easily removable for storage. This base also allows you to use your planer rigger system on more than one boat. (illustration 7)
Two single reel planer mast mounted on the gunwales just behind the cabin or canopy top are popular for larger boats where the bow is not easily accessable. Mounting the planer riggers on the gunwale decks will provide the height needed for the Otter Boats to perform at their best. (illustration 8)
Or you can upgrade your mast with pair of electric planer reels. Big Jon electric reels come complete with remote switches and circuit breakers, so you can operate them from the cabin. Big Jon Electric Planer Reels are built using the same powerful sealed motor found on Big Jon downriggers. You can count on them for years of reliable performance. (illustration 9)
Plan your boat for comfort and safety. Having too much equipment, or having it located in the wrong place can hamper your ability to move around freely. Before mounting any equipment, get in your boat with your fishing buddies and discuss the best location for each piece of equipment. All equipment should be easily accessable to all fishermen.
and viewing one single, thin line with it. What is in view is representational of what our perception of our viewable area equates to. In reality the line stays the same but in our spherical scope of the distance between here and never, we see the distrotion of our meassurement.
Forty years ago a derby-winning salmon or lake trout was almost certainly a plug-caught fish. More and more anglers today are switching to J-Plugs? because, as in the past, plugs are known to produce more and larger fish on a regular basis.
There is a special J-Plug finish available today which will fit any fishing situation, whether you're after salmon, lake trout, stripers, brown trout or otherlarge game fish.
BASIC MINNOW IMAGE
Today's J-Plug is even better-built and more effective than its predecessors as it's made of super-strong materials and designed for maximum action and strength. Another big difference is the availability of special J-Plug? finishes designed specifically for deep water trolling and low light conditions such as the special "Glo" patterns which pick up surface light and give it off down deep.
J-Plugs are fast-action, darting plugs ideally suited for trolling. They are effective because they project a basic minnow image in the water which all fish
relate to in all water conditions. This is a basic, wounded minnow, fast darting action which comes from a combination of special swivel chain rigging
and lure head chamber design. The precisely engineered tolerance between the rigging and head chamber allows the swivel chain to shift and reposition itself within the chamber. This constantly changes the plug's attitude and direction in the water and creates its fish-catching, erratic, darting action.
The swivel chain rigging also allows a direct rod to fish connection after the strike as the plug body will slide up the line, free of the chain and hook
assembly and away from the fish. This eliminates head-shaking leverage against the plug body that causes many fish hooked with solid body-to-hook plugs to break free. Because the J-Plug? is buoyant and separates from the hook assembly, it will float to the surface where it can be retrieved in the case of a line break or bottom snag.
The J-Plug is a trolling lure and can be fished successfully with a variety of techniques. Trolling is a most effective fishing method, particularly on big waters, as you can cover the greatest amount of water in the shortest time allowing you to locate concentrations of fish quickly and easily.
Following are recommended J-Plug? trolling techniques.
BFLATLINE: With the surface or flatline technique, the plug is tied directly to 12- to 20-lb. test main line. No additional weights are used or, at most, a small 1/8- to 1/2-oz. keel-type sinker six feet up the line from the plug. The lure is let out behind your moving boat 50 to 100 feet (anglers fishing for lake trout or brown trout sometimes let out as much as 200 feet of line as these fish can be very skittish of the boat wake) and the troll started. This technique is effectivewhen stripers, lake trout, salmon or brown trout are feeding near the schools of baitfish close to the top or when there is an obvious abundance of other surface activity.
SHALLOW/MEDIUM: With the addition of a standard keel sinker four to six feet up the line from the J-Plug?, shallow to medium depths can be trolled effectively. Sinker weights, depending on the depth desired, for this kind of trolling usually run from 1 to 8 ounces with main line testing from 12 to 30 pounds. Note: Always attach a swivel chain-rigged keel sinker with the single swivel end knotted to your main line and the swivel chain end back to the plug. As in flatlining, let out 50 to 100 feet of line behind your moving boat and begin the troll.
DIVERS:One effective way to get a plug deep without excessive lead weights, or if you don't have a downrigger, is with a diving sinker such as the Deep Six, Pink Lady? or directional Dipsy Diver?. Standard rigging is with 4 to 6 feet of leader between plug and diver and 20- to 30-lb. test main line to your rod.
Set the diver to diving position, or in the case of the directional Dipsy? set both the depth and side angle desired, let out 50 to 100 feet of line behind
your moving boat (slowly to ensure that no tangles occur) and begin the troll.
DOWNRIGGERS: J-Plugs often are fished off a downrigger, by themselves (the most popular way). With a downrigger you will be able to work all depths and will have the advantage of no weights between you and the fish once hooked. Anglers who troll J-Plugs? by themselves behind a downrigger often prefer 10 to 20 feet (some as much as 40 feet) between the line release and plug. The longer lengths add to the erratic, darting action of the plug.
Dodgers can be used as attractors in conjunction with a #3 J-Plug? behind a downrigger with good results. Size 0 or Size 1 Jensen Dodgers are recommended. Be sure to allow at least six feet of line between the dodger and downrigger line release so as not to inhibit the dodger's action. Allow 20 to 30 inches of leader between your plug and dodger (shorter leaders impart faster plug action and longer leaders slower action).
LARGE PLUGS / LARGE FISH Larger fish do prefer large plugs. Big fish will spend the least amount of energy necessary to catch a meal . . . larger baitfish mean less energy expended to fill up. So, if you're after big salmon or lake trout, use the larger J-Plugs?. But, remember that smaller fish often will not attack a large plug so the use of larger plugs, although great for big fish, may prevent you from catching smaller ones.
Standard J-Plugs are popular because they are especially effective in deep water trolling situations, although, as indicated, they may be successfully used in medium or shallow water as well. The J-Plug? features a basic minnow design with a darting, erratic, free-swimming action which all fish relate to. These plugs are easy to fish, require no tuning and the direct hook-to-rod connection prevents fish from obtaining leverage against the plug, resulting in more landed fish per number of strikes. J-Plugs? also come in a variety of sizes and finishes (rattle models are available) to fit every fishing situation and are versatile as they can be trolled either fast or slow, depending on the fish species you're after.
Some other features and additional tips on fishing and using J-Plugs include: Keep them either in the water or in your tackle box. Extreme heat can deform a plug's shape and direct sunlight can cause the finish to fade. Before placing your plug in the water, check the swivel chain dacron harness for wear and to ensure the knot is cinched tight. If the harness need replacing you may obtain one from a dealer. The dacron harness is 80-lb. test doubled. The hooks that come with the harness are high quality, 4X strong and plated to resist corrosion.
J-PLUG FINISHES / COLORS
One of the big reasons today's J-Plugs? are effective is because of the wide variety of finishes and colors available . . . one to fit every angling situation.
Following is a rundown on a few of the more popular finishes and what each represents and accomplishes in the water.
METALLIC: Highly reflective metallic finishes match the flash and colors of baitfish. Silver, Silver Cut Plug and Silver/Blue Top feature the reflective look of baitfish.
GLO: J-Plugs are offered in Glo/Blue Top Ladderback and Glo/Florescent Green Top Ladderback finishes. These are designed specifically for deep water trolling because they contain phosphor pigments that give off light down deep. Note that these finishes contain light-sensitive pigments that can be burned and which will turn gray if exposed to strong, direct sunlight. It's best to keep plugs painted with Glo finishes either in the water fishing or
stored away in your tackle box so overexposure doesn't occur. For a quick and easy "glo charge" try Luhr-Jensen's handy Power Flash unit which can double as a camera flash attachment.
SPARKLE: Several new sparkle extra-attractive sparkle finishes are now available on J-Plugs?. These include Sparkle Chartreuse/Fire Tiger, Sparkle Chartreuse/Green Tiger, Sparkle Mother-Of-Pearl and Sparkle Fire Tiger. These highly-reflective finishes provide additional strike-enticing action.
J-PLUG TROLLING TIPS
Trolling a straight line between two points is the least successful path you can take, once fish have been located in an area. By trolling in zig-zag patterns or in "S" curves, you will impart regular changes in depth and speed to a trolled plug, creating the impression of a wounded, in trouble baitfish which fish will view as an easy meal.
Vary your speed. While slow is the password, this does not mean slow all the time. A lure running through the water at a constant speed, at a constant depth and giving off the same vibration pattern will not catch many fish . . . there's just nothing there to indicate an easy meal is available or that something is in trouble. Slowly, yes, but adjust your speed every few minutes to change the lure's speed and vibration pattern.
Troll Slowly. Big fish will not expend any more energy than necessary to catch a meal. Also, most lures will not perform correctly at fast speeds. The best advice is to troll slowly ? the slower the better.
Use a solid knot for connecting your plug to your line or leader such as the improved clinch (see illustration on page 2) and always use a premium quality monofilament line such as Trilene XT which has superior knot strength, small diameter in relation to pound test and is abrasion resistant.
Purchase a quality depth sounder such as one of the Bottomline units which will help in locating fish as well as prime underwater fishing structure which can't otherwise be seen.
Undoubtedly one of the easiest and least complicated things you can do to improve your fishing results is to make sure all hook points are sticky sharp. The majority of lost fish can probably be traced to dull hooks which prevent proper penetration into the fish's mouth. A small file, such as the Sharp Hook File is the absolute best tool available for sharpening fish hooks. Hold the file parallel to the hook point and, with gently
one-way strokes, remove a small amount of metal from at least two sides of the point to obtain both a super-sharp point and a knife-like cutting
edge.
Keep your plugs above fish as they can't easily see downward. On sunny days fish will be deeper as their eyes are sensitive to strong, direct sunlight.
When trolling plugs in salt water you'll find the optimum feeding and fish-catching times during low light periods and from an hour before, during and an hour after a tide change. Fish areas where birds are working on baitfish schools and troll the clean side of rips.
In fresh water such as in the Great Lakes, the time of day isn't nearly as critical as the depth and the location of the preferred temperature level for the fish species you're seeking . . . the thermocline. Lakes stratify into three separate layers of water in the spring and stay that way until cold weather hits in the fall. The middle layer of water, where there is a large concentration of dissolved oxygen, baitfish and therefore predator fish, is called the thermocline and can generally be found from 10 to 80 feet down.
The peak feeding and optimum temperature for coho and Chinook is 54 with an active range from 54 to 54 For lake trout the peak feeding and optimum temperature is 54 with activity from 54 to 54 Fish will rarely venture out of these zones once stratification has taken place, except to catch a meal and then will quickly return to it. One thing to remember when fishing temperatures layers such as the thermocline is that it can change from day to day in terms of depth because of wind and/or wave action. It may be several feet deeper or shallower one day from the next so you'll have to locate it each and every time you go out.
Those are several of the tips and techniques which will help you successfully fish J-Plugs in your favorite waters and for your favorite fish species.
Remember to experiment, troll zig-zag patterns or otherwise constantly change the plug's action, Keep hooks sticky sharp and go prepared with a variety of finishes and sizes . . . there's a J-Plug? for every fishing situation.
In many bassin' circles, trolling is often considered the lowest form of fishing. However, itis positively one of the most effective way to rapidly locate and catch bass. Period.
Although trolling is not allowed during tournament competition, it is an acceptable method for locating bass during the practice days. This can be extremely valuable when on strange waters. Trolling for bass has four primary advantages: it allows you to cover a lot of water in a rapid manner and locate fish; it is effective for catching bass at depths where most of us are uncomfortable with normal cast-and-retrieve techniques; it provides very precise depth and speed control; and, the accuracy of lure presentation in relation to structure is maximized.
The reader should understand, at this point, that trolling is not a matter of simply dunking a lure in the water and dragging it around the lake or river in a haphazard manner. It is a very defined and exacting technique, just like precision casting and a good touch with a worm. The basics of trolling can be marginally taught through the written word, as we will attempt to do in this article. However, true proficiency is an acquired skill, gained through experience and application.
Trolling is always done in the close proximity of deep water and along a specific break-line or major structure feature. We should also take note of any adjacent structure and the possible movement routes from the deeper water to the shallows. The best of these have always proven to be the drops and ledges associated with the submerged river and feeder creek channels. Others which have proven good are long sloping points from the deep water which terminate in a large flat or major cover area. Still another is any water of 12 to 20 feet, which connects the channel areas to the shallow flats.
Once the locations are chosen, trolling becomes a matter of proper equipment selection and lure presentation. While the reel is of little significant importance, the type rod used in trolling is very much so. It should be short and stiff. There are two distinct reasons for this. First, the short rod is easier to handle (and we really have no use for a long one). Second, and most important, is the control factor. Trolling a lure places a constant tension on the rod and line, and a long, whippy rod will give the angler a soft, mushy feel of the lure. Because that lure will be encountering bottom objects occasionally, it is important that the angler be able to immediately distinguish between a strike and the bottom. He should actually be in what we might term 'direct contact' with his lure at all times. This means to be able to feel, quite clearly, the vibration and running pattern of the plug and any variation thereto.
Another significant advantage of a stiff rod is that it will 'give' very little when a snag, say a stump or log, is encountered. The lure will be quickly jerked away from the snag, rather than given the opportunity to become entangled with it. Still another factor in the use of a stiff, strong rod is that it allows the angler to apply pressure and quickly move the bass out of the school. This is important, in that a panicked fish often will spook the rest of group if allowed to remain in their midst too long.
Very closely tied (no pun intended!) to the advantage of the stiff rod is the type of line employed. 99% of us bass anglers use monofilament. Nearly all of these lines have a built-in stretch factor, usually in the neighborhood of 15-20%. The ability to stretch is a major advantage for most bass angling in that it provides a cushioning effect and precludes a lot of line breakage. However, in trolling, that quality of monofilament is a detriment. You can equate the stretch factor to using a soft rod-you lose a good bit of feel and control.
Until recently, the only decent trolling lines, those with little or no stretch, were Dacron or other braided materials. Recently, some of the major line manufacturers have started to produce and market 'low stretch' products. Silver Thread is an excellent example in mono. And, of course, Fireline and Gorilla Braid are the newer entrants.
Trolling almost exclusively dictates that you use lipped, diving crank plugs. Only in the very shallow zones can this be excepted. As in all other types of fishing, depth is the most important lure selection criteria. The simple fact is that if you don't get the lure down to the bass, he will not normally move up or down very far to capture it. Except when suspended (and that is a 'no-feeding' condition), a bass almost always stays near the bottom. That, then, is where the
lure should be and what you base your selection on. My experience has shown that the Bagley Divin' B series and the Rebel Company's Fat Free Shad family are ideal choices for trolling. And, there are enough lure sizeswithin each group to adequately cover all appropriate depth zones.
Boat control is a critical part of effective trolling, as it obviously effects the presentation of the lure. The ideal trolling rig is a nice and stable 14 foot, V-bottom aluminum boat with a manually-steered five to 15 horse-power motor. It is easy to keep on track and provides for fast reaction when a snag or a fish is encountered. But, like many of you, I don't have one and have to contend with a big bass boat and a 'go-faster' engine. You can adequately troll from one of these rigs, but it wears the driver out trying to compensate for the continual low speed oscillation from one side and then the other. I only bring this up in the event you have access to both. Given the opportunity, troll with the smaller, more maneuverable rig.
The key to proper lure presentation is, as we have already said, depth control. However, remember that the depth must be in relation to the structure being fished. Boat control, therefore, must be utilized to keep the trailing lure properly positioned along the break-line, appropriate contour interval or in such a manner that the lure will climb overthe point at the proper location. Haphazard fishing, it is not. To be effective, trolling must be very precise.
Once bass are located by trolling, the angler has two possible choices, depending on the depth at which the fish were found. He may elect to stop and work the area with a conventional casting approach, or he might decide to make additional trolling passes. Either way, he should have tossed a marker buoy over the side when the first fish was hooked. Note that the marker is not placed exactly where the fish was caught, but rather should be positioned off to one side of the location. If it were dropped on the school, the descending weight might spook them. The marker is used strictly as a reference point.
Trolling is a highly effective bass locating and catching technique. It can often mean the difference between a full live well and just another day on the water.
Nope, I firmly believe it's a new trend. I've watched the weather patterns shift for the last 30 years. Soon we will be celebrating the beginning of Winter in January and be welcoming spring some time in June or July. Yep, we fucked up some where along the line. Great!
Most anglers that use an electric trolling motor, and use it often, have some sort of depth finder mounted on the boat as well. Often, it is desirable to have the transducer mounted on the trolling motor, but this can be a difficult task. It is important that the transducer and the routing of the cable does not interfere with the trolling motors operation. You must route the cable so that it does not get pulled, cut or crushed. On certain model trolling motors, especially bow mounts, this can be a challenge. First, you should have the right type of transducer for mounting to an electric trolling motors lower unit. This would, most likely, be a Puck style transducer. Other style transducers will work, but only the Puck is designed for this application. With this style, the only hardware you need is a heavy plastic cable tie or a metal hose clamp to strap the transducer onto the motor. The Puck has a curved top to fit the round shape of the motors lower unit and slots in it to accept the strap.
We recommend the cable tie over the hose clamp because it has proven to be more forgiving when the motor crashes into an underwater object. Instead of breaking the transducer, the cable tie allows it to "slip" out of the way. Puck transducers come in different sizes, depending on the cone angle of the transducer, but they are all meant for the trolling motor. For your most accurate readings the transducer should be pointing straight down.
Some anglers like to position it so that they are shooting in front of the boat so that they can see what's up ahead. This sounds good in theory, but in reality, you are creating a large amount of Dead Zone which will make anything near the bottom vitally invisible. Don't worry about being
perfectly level, though. The wave action makes that almost impossible. Just get it as close as you can. You can, however, side scan with a puck transducer. This works on any depth finder, although you need to interpret what you see (we'll go into that some time in the future). Simply rotate the transducer on the motors lower unit so that it is pointing just down from horizontal. Set the depth finder to it's maximum range and steer the motor around. This works better in deeper water. Ideally you don't want to see bottom or the surface at all. Again, dead zone will make anything near the bottom invisible. Narrow beam transducers work best for side scanning.
With the Puck transducer mounted, you now need to route the cable up the motor shaft, down the motor bracket, and to the back of the depth finder. Foot control trolling motors provide the most challenge when routing the cable. All of the motors movements make it hard to keep the cable from being pulled, crushed, or cut. Refer to the images here to help in the routing of your cable.
With electric trolling motors getting more powerful and complicated all the time we are seeing more and more interference on the displays of our depth finders. In the past, interference has mostly been due to noise in the power lines of the boat. This can usually be solved with fairly simple grounding. Now, we are seeing interference that is being radiated directly from the motor shell into the transducer. This can more difficult to solve. You can identify the type of interference by simply moving the transducer away from the motor shell. If the interference disappears, you have a radiation problem. If not, you have a power line problem. In either case, if you have an interference problem that you cannot solve please contact us and we will try to help you out.
A.) It is a 2.0" diameter plastic fishing bobber, with a DC motor unit attached underneath. Used for fishing from boats, docks, piers, and elsewhere.
Q.) How Does It Work?
A.) Just turn on the motor, set the rudder, and drop it in the water. Then watch it go.
Q.) How Do You Use It?
A.) Connect your fishing line to the top of the fishing bobber; hook a leader to the swivel under the motor unit. Attaching your bait to the leader.
Q.) What Type Of Bait Do I Use With It?
A.) It will pull any small bait, but the bigger the bobber you buy, the bigger the bait you can use.
Q.) Is It Safe For Children To Use?
A.) Much safer than regular fishing tactics, the Trolling Bobber does away with the need for casting. No more flying hooks ready to snag the unwary.
Q.) How Long Does Delivery Take?
A.) Usually, Delivery Takes 1 To 2 Weeks, And Are Shipped As Soon As Possible.
Q.) What Sizes Of Bobbers Can I Order?
A.) Currently, We Have Three Sizes Available: Small Duty Bobber
Medium Duty Bobber
Heavy Duty Bobber
Q.) Is There Any Special Deals I Can Get?
A.) Currently, We Are Selling Complete Packages Which Will Have All Your Needs:
Complete Package 1: light duty bobber, pole, and assembly. Ready to go and drop in the water.
Complete Package 2: medium duty bobber, pole, and assembly. Ready to go and drop in the water.
Complete Package 3: heavy duty bobber, pole, and assembly. Ready to go and drop in the water.
"My son and I purchased a regular Trolling Bobber and its great. We thought the sound of the motor would scare the fish, but it doesn't. We are purchasing a second one, so we each have our own!"
M. Fitzgerald
"I bought the Heavy-duty Trolling Bobber and it works great. Who needs a boat anymore, the Trolling Bobber goes where ever I want it!"
C. Melton
"The Trolling Bobber works great, I no longer use anything else!"
D. Cook
"Thanks to the Trolling Bobber, there's no more slimy bait hitting you in the face when you take the kids fishing. Fishing is fun for all of us again."
M. Jacobobson
"I'm surprised no one thought of it sooner, fishing has taken on a whole new meaning."
When you rig a boat for trolling, you will want it to provide you and your fishing buddies with the most enjoyable fishing trips you could ask for. Here are some time proven trolling boat layouts.
If you fish alone in a small tiller boat, mounting the downriggers at the transom is a practical choice. You can keep everything in easy reach, eliminating the need to get up and move around the boat. (illustration 1)
If two or more people are fishing in a small tiller boat, try mounting the downriggers midship. Everybody can reach the downriggers and rods from either end of the boat.
Pedestal mounts may be needed for the downriggers to clear the gunwales and swivel mounting bases will make for easier docking. (illustration 2)
On larger console style boats, a pair of Captain's Paks on swivel mounting bases are a popular arrangement. The swivel mounting base allows you to spread your lines wider when fishing and can be turned inline with the gunwales when the boat comes to dock. (illustration 3)
If your boat is large enough for a large fishing party, mount a pair of Pro Sportsmen at the transom and a pair of Captain's Paks on swivel mounting bases futher forward on the gunwales. When you use the Captain's Pak electric downriggers as sideriggers, you will quickly appreciate the locking, tip-up booms make it easy to set your lines. With this many lines in the water, your lure presentation will resemble a school of bait fish. (illustration 4)
The same kind of presentation can be achieved by installing four Captain's Paks on a removable transom bar. The whole downrigging system can be easily removed as one unit when your boat is to be used for other purposes. The transom bar is also an ideal location to mount a secondary fish finder/graph. (illustration 5)
When installing a planer rigger system, remember two important facts. First, the taller your mast is, the greater distance your planers will travel from the sides of your boat.
And second, the futher forward you mount your mast, the less distance your planers will travel behind your transom. Both points effect navagation and line control. For the very best planer performance, use Big Jon's Otter boats. They are designed to produce a minimum of water resistance and out perform old fashion boards. They also will not stall in a turn. (illustration 6)
A popular method of mounting the planer mast is to use a pedestal seat mount (sold in our Parts Department). It fits Springfield seat bases, that are common on most boats.
The seat mount makes the mast easily removable for storage. This base also allows you to use your planer rigger system on more than one boat. (illustration 7)
Two single reel planer mast mounted on the gunwales just behind the cabin or canopy top are popular for larger boats where the bow is not easily accessable. Mounting the planer riggers on the gunwale decks will provide the height needed for the Otter Boats to perform at their best. (illustration 8)
Or you can upgrade your mast with pair of electric planer reels. Big Jon electric reels come complete with remote switches and circuit breakers, so you can operate them from the cabin. Big Jon Electric Planer Reels are built using the same powerful sealed motor found on Big Jon downriggers. You can count on them for years of reliable performance. (illustration 9)
Plan your boat for comfort and safety. Having too much equipment, or having it located in the wrong place can hamper your ability to move around freely. Before mounting any equipment, get in your boat with your fishing buddies and discuss the best location for each piece of equipment. All equipment should be easily accessable to all fishermen.
TROLLING WIRE: HOW TO USE WIRE LINE TO IMPROVE RESULTS
In today's world of colorful electronics, fancy downriggers and high tech fishing it's easy to overlook wire line. That's a shame. For wire remains a budget choice for deep water trolling.
I still have a roller guide (bamboo!) rod and a large spool Penn reel filled with Gladding's Mark Five wire, and a newer solid fiberglass rod fitted out with rollers for monel solid wire. One summer we took this along on a couple of striper trips down to Lake Mendocino. I slow-trolled a Lucky 13® I've owned since 1955 off 20 feet of mono leader from my Scanoe® with a 1.2 H.P. 12 pound Cruise N' Carry® motor with the help of what must be the oldest Hummingbird® flasher unit in California. Annette caught two more fish than my buddy who owns a boat with more electronics than Silicon Valley. As usual when we troll, I only caught undersized stripers.
Years ago my uncle Frank and I took stripers trolling salmon-style plastic squids on wire 150 feet deep at the South Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. This system still works, but apparently not at the South Tower in today's scarcity of San Francisco striper.
Such deep trolling suits lakers and buddy catches inLake Tahoe at up to 250 feet deep with copper line. In most states with decent warm weather, landlocked stripers, even black bass, hide deep in the summer months so you need to follow them down to do well. Fish that prefer cooler water, like lake trout or even kokanee, call out for wire.
It's often overlooked that wire also suits deep river trolling in strong currents that would otherwise require two or three pound sinkers and a release. Priced sinkers lately?
Granted, wire line is not for everyone. It does kink and can rust or stretch and let go when you least expect it. At times I hate the stuff. However, it gets deep. It even suits downriggers because you have less slack than with mono. Whether you use solid or stranded wire and materials such as monel, stainless or copper, or go with lead-core, you face challenges. Fortunately, the solution to wire line problems is a right choice of line and tackle, decent upkeep and proper technique.
A roller-guide rod with a soft action stands up to the abrasion of wire best. I wrap my own on "refurbished" solid fiberglass or bamboo rods. Roller guides and wire tend to punch through today's thin wall rods under heavy tension, so an underwrap and solid bamboo or glass rods work well. Note: old bamboo rods sometimes have hidden rot so check them carefully.
If you buy a new rod, check those designed for saltwater and/or wire line. If you can't go all roller guides, at least invest in a roller top as that's the spot with the most potential to kink or wear line.
Soft rod action helps avoid line stretch if you use a long monofilament leader. Stretched wire doesn't recover well, so you need to avoid this. Soft rods also offer a bit of give that's handy with lively fish on rather inflexible line.
Traditionalists feel a conventional reel with a large diameter spool helps keep line from kinking and helps speed retrieves. Another school claims wide spools are easier to "unkink" and high-speed reels retrieve fast enough. I own and use both types.
I run 100 yards of wire in freshwater and 200 wards of wire in saltwater or when trolling for lakers 250 feet deep in Lake Tahoe. I spool wire on top of 100 or more yards of braided Dacron which forms a springy bed that helps the reel stand up to the pressure of tight wire. Backing line should be at least 40 to 50 percent heavier than the wire so you don't loose all that expensive metal on a snag.
Don't use wire on level-wind, spinning or any other reel with plastic spools. Wire tends to abrade and jam level-winds and eats pickups on spinning gear. It can burst plastic spools.
Line test need not be excessive. I use 25 and 30 pound test for most app
TROLLING TO FIND FISH: THE CASE FOR FASTER TROLLING
Trollers divide into two major classes -- dedicated and desperate. The former run to fancy electronics, exotic downriggers and esoteric explanations why fish didn't bite. The later prefer to cast and complain bitterly about the boredom of trolling, so they troll only when all else fails.
A more temperate approach seems in order. Troll fast and shallow and you cover the water. No other method can find fish so fast. Pick water at the proper temperature for the species you seek and use appropriate tackle and technique and you can find action without a major investment in gear or a long learning curve. High speed trolling produces!
For me, the realization that fast trolling works was accidental. I started catching fish with a hand line off the back of a sailboat. Today, when we houseboat or cruise on displacement hull craft which get there most efficiently at speeds from 5 to 10 knots, we always troll something even if our primary intention is passage rather than fishing. So when we fish seriously we troll at high speed too.
Ever cranked a lure too fast for a fish to catch? I doubt it. Many baitfish swim one MPH per inch of length and gamefish such as brown trout or muskie have no trouble at all catching lures whipped along at six or seven MPH. Retrieving that fast quickly kills wrists and arms, but you can troll fast without problems. If you troll at least three MPH you clearly cover three times as much water as is the case for slow trollers who poke along at one MPH. Covering more water improves your chance of whipping a lure past fish, such as black bass, pike or muskie that stake out an ambush position. High speed trolling also just about eliminates light hits from fish, such as trout, salmon or steelhead that cruise the middle of lakes. Such fish see dinner escaping and pounce. At least this happens more often than not.
As a guide and outdoor writer with 40 years experience as a fisherman, I see all sorts of high tech solutions to the basic problem all fishermen face -- locating willing fish. But traditional "low tech" methods work too!
If you troll fast and shallow you can catch most fish species without fuss if you take the time to think about basics. For example, gas-saving 6-knot hull speed on pontoon houseboats seems just right to troll up brown trout or stripers in the spring or fall. Sailboats under full sail offer perfect trolling speed for offshore species.
Do realize that most of the need for high tech gear comes when fishermen insist on taking a particular species from a certain water no matter what. If you spend more time searching for water where fish bite best, you can take more fish.
Water temperature remains the most important single factor. If the water is colder than optimum, fish slow their activity and feed less frequently. If water is warmer than optimum, fish head for cool springs or colder, deeper water.
Granted, there are apparent exceptions to this rule. The temperature preferences of gamefish and some of the bait fish and insects which those gamefish eat may not jibe. So gamefish will enter water warmer than their optimum to feed at times.
In summer, this period is usually after sunlight leaves the water and before the sun hits in the morning. This tendency is reinforced by the fact that fish can't contract their pupils. So they are often photophobic and avoid bright sunlight. This is one reason why we find fish under the edges of weedbeds or floating cover such as docks.
Water temperature also varies during the day. It peaks in late afternoon and reaches its minimum around dawn. So, if the temperature is lower than optimum, fish from late afternoon until dark. If water temperature is higher than optimum -- as is usual in summer -- launch before dawn and troll until the light hits the water.
Trolling - the pulling of a lure behind a moving boat - enjoys great popularity from one end of coastal British Columbia to the other.
The reason isn't hard to fathom: more fish are caught trolling than all other methods of fishing combined. Two factors unite to give trolling the edge.
From November to May, over half the year, only two species of salmon present themselves in coastal waters: Chinook and Blueback coho. Both these resident species disperse across large areas in winter and thus a moved lure contacts more fish in a shorter period of time than a stationary one. Regardless of time of year, it makes sense to search out the fish; trolling has a clear advantage here. A simple comparison of the size of a school - seldom more than 100 yards wide for most species - and the size of the ocean, leads to the realization that only a small portion of the available fishing space actually contains fish. Trolling thus provides a method for finding small fishy pockets in otherwise salmonless expanses of water.
Not surprisingly, more gear finds its way onto the trolling sector of the market than those for other forms of saltwater angling. Water is a dense medium, and drag on trolled gear increases with depth. Much of the variation within a single product and the array of individual products counteracts the drag and resulting stress arising from simply trying to get a lure down to the depth at which the fish lie.
Three distinct types of trolling rods have evolved:
stout 6 ½- to 7 ½- foot roller-guided rods
medium-strength conventionally-guided rods of 7- to 8-foot lengths
lighter 7 ½- to 8 ½-foot fiberglass rods.
Each rod type has specific applications. The grandfather of all saltwater rods, the roller-guided variety is the only one that can withstand the pressure of heavyweight fishing year in and year out without breaking. Typically used with a planer - essentially an upside-down kite that pushes the line down into the ocean - these rods utilize wire line. Wire proves necessary because the pressure of a planer either breaks monofilament line or results in too much line stretch for tripping the planer. These rods will take a lure to 150 feet deep. At this point line drag prevents further gains.
Although gear for the Terminator, roller-guided rods come into their own in calm waters - fjords and bays with little or no tidal flow - where engine noise serves to scare the fish. (Planers often out fish other rod types 3 to 1 in such conditions). The reason is that the lure is 375 feet from the boat at 150 feet of depth. In comparison, lures attached to downrigger lines at the same level are 160 feet from the boat.
The second rod type, the medium-strength fiberglass rod, is used with weights.
Three types of weights may be purchased:
1- to 2-pound lead balls
1- to 12-oz sliding weights
1- to 6-oz banana weights
Each type of weight has a specific purpose. Lead balls are used to reach depths of 125 feet. A 2-pound ball reaches this depth at 250 feet of line, or a ratio of 1 foot down for every 2 feet let out. Main line should be 40 pound test. Alternatively, a wire line roller-guided rod makes a perfectly reasonable alternative. In either case, the gear set up is the same ( See Diagram ). The main line attaches to a seven bead swivel with a Palomar knot. Over the bead swivel a large barbless hook is strung. Attached to this hook is two feet of dacron line and a lead ball. This arrangement allows for a weight to be removed and for a fish to be played right to the boat. Below the swivel attaches 20 to 25 feet of 25 pound monofilament and then a ball bearing end-changer at the tackle end.
Lighter than lead balls, sliding weights come into their own when fish reside in the top layer of water, roughly the first 30 feet. The advantage with these weights is that they trip when a fish bites, and travel down the line to the terminal end, allowing the fish to be played right into the boat. Great sport indeed to catch a fall northern coho that smacks a small spoon with only a one ounce weight on the line. It's even more fun when the rod is a 6 foot trout rod adapted with a salmon reel for saltwater use!
Due to their construction, sliding weights may be added to the main line at any point; the line slips under the rails and inserts into the brass clip at a weight's front end (See Diagram) . Note that the brass clip must face toward the lure or the weight will not trip free. Although simple implements for weighting trolled lines, sliding weights have one disadvantage: they nick and weaken the main line where it inserts into the brass clip. This problem can be alleviated by clipping 6 feet from the main line each time out and retying the ball bearing end-changer on the tackle end. The third type of weight used in saltwater trolling is the banana variety, so-called because it resembles the yellow fruit in shape. With a swivel at both ends, a banana weight ties to both the main line and leader with a Palomar knot. Primarily a piece of mooching gear, banana weights have the nice quality of rarely tangling in fishing line. (They become a trolling weight when a cut plug bait is pulled behind a moving boat). They also afford the use of lighter longer rods, distinctly improving the sport of playing salmon. And sport - large doses of adrenaline - is what fishing is all about.
Read Trolling Part Two : Downrigger Tips, Electric Potential, Reels, and Finding the Fish.
Contour trolling is something that I really enjoy.
Contour trolling will allow you to present your bait right in front of the walleyes nose. In cold front conditions this is essential. What you're trying to do is stay on a particular depth, or contour, where it looks like the walleyes are holding.
Walleyes are a structure oriented fish, most of the time. You might find large schools on some Great Lakes that don't relate to specific structure, but by an large they seek out structure. These walleyes will be tight to the bottom, laying in the holes between rock and cuts in the bottom. They may be feeding, or waiting in ambush to find an easy meal that comes their way. When fishing structure, you have to be able to stay tight to the structure or your lure presentation will not be in the strike zone of the fish. Move just a boat length away and you will be out of luck.
The key to locating walleyes in the river in the spring and early summer starts with locating a series of obstacles and then allowing your bait or lure to present itself in a natural manner so the walleye can race from behind the obstruction to acquire the offering and then race back into the slack water area to digest his meal and await another.
In the spring of the year the turbidity of the water subsides and walleyes are more visually stimulated as they see food floating by the slack water areas. This is not to say that all walleyes see their food before they strike and in some cases they strike more out of vibration and smell than they do from visual identification.
Although the backtrolling technique is still ideal for vertical jigging and live-bait rigging in deep water, walleye professionals today favor trolling forward with a small ?kicker,? typically a 9.9 to 15 hp outboard. Why? It allows them to fish large bodies of water such as reservoirs more effectively at higher speeds that electric trolling motors can sustain. Trollers commonly use crankbaits, bottom bouncers or weighted three-way rigs with crankbaits, spinners or spoons. To really slow down and follow the contours I use the sea anchor tied off the bow or starboard side of the boat. This acts like a brake and if I have to keep the rpm?s up a little on my kicker or big motor it still gives me control to make an inside curve or to allow the lure to track evenly behind the boat on the contour. If I want to jig a productive area for walleyes the Drift Control sea anchor comes inhandy here also. It gives me control over the stern of my boat so I can fish a given contour perpendicularly. By attaching the Drift Control to the stern cleat adjacent to the current it gives me a brake that slows down the drift of the back end of my boat and I can correct the angle with the bow mount trolling motor. Or I can also attach another one to the same side of boat in the bow giving me more drag and a slower presentation when I vertically jig this contour.
One reason that I like to use jigs while fishing for spring walleyes in a river system is the control an angler has. Vertically jigging for walleyes gets my blood pumping and believe me on those cool crisp spring days when it would be nice to be on shore burning a campfire. I need all of my blood pumping just to stay warm. With the proper head design and weight, jigs are the most versatile of all river techniques, from the shallowest flooded cover to the deepest, fastest current.
The majority of river fishing with jigs involves either slipping the current or drift fishing the current breaks. The presentation is a simple lift-drop-pause method of jigging, raising the jig some 3 to 6-inches as you slip downstream. The jigs that I prefer to use are Fireball jigs because of the rounded head. The rounded head allows the jig to bump along the bottom and not get hung up in snags or brush. If you are as vertical as possible, the jig will stand up allowing the hook to be exposed away from the floor of the river. When you tip the jig with a flathead minnow the minnow stands up and looks like it is trying to pick up the jig. As the minnow struggles against the weight of the jig it sends off wounded signals and the natural scent attracts the walleyes and allows them to hang on just that much longer. If the walleyes seem to be just biting the tails off the minnows the Fireball offers an additional eye so you can easily attach a stinger hook. The stinger hook is a great addition in thecold waters of spring and summer. Colors of the jigs should be bright in dingy water. Colors such as fluorescent orange, chartreuse and my all time favorite gold are great for fishing those spring walleyes. Anytime that you can bring attention to your bait it will help you up your odds for catching those spring walleyes. Weights may range from 1/8 to 1/2 ounces, but you should stay with the weight that is the lightest that will allow you have contact with the bottom. River walleyes have a tendency not to suspend as much as the walleyes in the lake and you don?t have to worry about missing a strike zone that is in the fish column. I will tip my jig with some plastic if I want to slow down the rate of fall, but current usually fights gravity faster and defeats the purpose of vertical jigging.
Slack water fish can also be found by pitching jigs of 1/16 to 1/8 ounce to shoreline or cover like flooded wood or boulders. The angler in this situation should use a lift drop retrieve to slip or quarter the jig downstream as it is retrieved back to the boat. This is a super tactic for fishing eddies, wing dams or shallow mid river shoals. Even in slack water areas I will use the Drift Control sea anchor to slow down my presentation and to stay with active feed walleyes. This same technique is also one that I use when I fish large bodies of water like Lake Erie. When you find the feeding fish and there is not a structural element to stay with you really want to throw a Drift Control sea anchor out and stay with those fish. Otherwise you could be blown off the spot and away from the active fish. Being in control whether you are fishing a trolling a contour, slipping the current or wind or fishing slack water or big expansive waters is the key to catching more fish. I hope these techniques produce for you and hope to see you on the water soon!
Forty years ago a derby-winning salmon or lake trout was almost certainly a plug-caught fish. More and more anglers today are switching to J-Plugs? because, as in the past, plugs are known to produce more and larger fish on a regular basis.
There is a special J-Plug? finish available today which will fit any fishing situation, whether you're after salmon, lake trout, stripers, brown trout or other large game fish.
BASIC MINNOW IMAGE Today's J-Plug? is even better-built and more effective than its predecessors as it's made of super-strong materials and designed for maximum action and strength. Another big difference is the availability of special J-Plug? finishes designed specifically for deep water trolling and low light conditions such as the special "Glo" patterns which pick up surface light and give it off down deep. [J-Plug]
J-Plugs? are fast-action, darting plugs ideally suited for trolling. They are effective because they project a basic minnow image in the water which all fish relate to in all water conditions. This is a basic, wounded minnow, fast darting action which comes from a combination of special swivel chain rigging and lure head chamber design. The precisely engineered tolerance between the rigging and head chamber allows the swivel chain to shift and reposition itself within the chamber. This constantly changes the plug's attitude and direction in the water and creates its fish-catching, erratic, darting action.
The swivel chain rigging also allows a direct rod to fish connection after the strike as the plug body will slide up the line, free of the chain and hook assembly and away from the fish. This eliminates head-shaking leverage against the plug body that causes many fish hooked with solid body-to-hook plugs to break free. Because the J-Plug? is buoyant and separates from the hook assembly, it will float to the surface where it can be retrieved in the case of a line break or bottom snag.
The J-Plug? is a trolling lure and can be fished successfully with a variety of techniques. Trolling is a most effective fishing method, particularly on big waters, as you can cover the greatest amount of water in the shortest time allowing you to locate concentrations of fish quickly and easily. Following are recommended J-Plug? trolling techniques.
FLATLINE:
With the surface or flatline technique, the plug is tied directly to 12- to 20-lb. test main line. No additional weights are used or, at most, a small 1/8- to 1/2-oz. keel-type sinker six feet up the line from the plug. The lure is let out behind your moving boat 50 to 100 feet (anglers fishing for lake trout or brown trout sometimes let out as much as 200 feet of line as these fish can be very skittish of the boat wake) and the troll started. This technique is effective when stripers, lake trout, salmon or brown trout are feeding near the schools of baitfish close to the top or when there is an obvious abundance of other surface activity.
SHALLOW/MEDIUM:
With the addition of a standard keel sinker four to six feet up the line from the J-Plug?, shallow to medium depths can be trolled effectively. Sinker weights, depending on the depth desired, for this kind of trolling usually run from 1 to 8 ounces with main line testing from 12 to 30 pounds. Note: Always attach a swivel chain-rigged keel sinker with the single swivel end knotted to your main line and the swivel chain end back to the plug. As in flatlining, let out 50 to 100 feet of line behind your moving boat and begin the troll.
DIVERS:
One effective way to get a plug deep without excessive lead weights, or if you don't have a downrigger, is with a diving sinker such as the Deep Six?, Pink Lady? or directional Dipsy Diver?. Standard rigging is with 4 to 6 feet of leader between plug and diver and 20- to 30-lb. test main line to your rod.
Set the diver to diving position, or in the case of the directional Dipsy? set both the depth and side angle desired, let out 50 to 100 feet of line behind your moving boat (slowly to ensure that no tangles occur) and begin the troll.
DOWNRIGGERS:
J-Plugs? often are fished off a downrigger, by themselves (the most popular way). With a downrigger you will be able to work all depths and will have the advantage of no weights between you and the fish once hooked. Anglers who troll J-Plugs? by themselves behind a downrigger often prefer 10 to 20 feet (some as much as 40 feet) between the line release and plug. The longer lengths add to the erratic, darting action of the plug.
Dodgers can be used as attractors in conjunction with a #3 J-Plug? behind a downrigger with good results. Size 0 or Size 1 Jensen Dodgers are recommended. Be sure to allow at least six feet of line between the dodger and downrigger line release so as not to inhibit the dodger's action. Allow 20 to 30 inches of leader between your plug and dodger (shorter leaders impart faster plug action and longer leaders slower action).
LARGE PLUGS / LARGE FISH
Larger fish do prefer large plugs. Big fish will spend the least amount of energy necessary to catch a meal . . . larger baitfish mean less energy expended to fill up. So, if you're after big salmon or lake trout, use the larger J-Plugs?. But, remember that smaller fish often will not attack a large plug so the use of larger plugs, although great for big fish, may prevent you from catching smaller ones.
Standard J-Plugs? are popular because they are especially effective in deep water trolling situations, although, as indicated, they may be successfully used in medium or shallow water as well. The J-Plug? features a basic minnow design with a darting, erratic, free-swimming action which all fish relate to. These plugs are easy to fish, require no tuning and the direct hook-to-rod connection prevents fish from obtaining leverage against the plug, resulting in more landed fish per number of strikes. J-Plugs? also come in a variety of sizes and finishes (rattle models are available) to fit every fishing situation and are versatile as they can be trolled either fast or slow, depending on the fish species you're after.
Some other features and additional tips on fishing and using J-Plugs? include: Keep them either in the water or in your tackle box. Extreme heat can deform a plug's shape and direct sunlight can cause the finish to fade. Before placing your plug in the water, check the swivel chain dacron harness for wear and to ensure the knot is cinched tight. If the harness need replacing you may obtain one from a dealer. The dacron harness is 80-lb. test doubled. The hooks that come with the harness are high quality, 4X strong and plated to resist corrosion.
J-PLUG? FINISHES / COLORS
One of the big reasons today's J-Plugs? are effective is because of the wide variety of finishes and colors available . . . one to fit every angling situation. Following is a rundown on a few of the more popular finishes and what each represents and accomplishes in the water.
METALLIC: Highly reflective metallic finishes match the flash and colors of baitfish. Silver, Silver Cut Plug and Silver/Blue Top feature the reflective look of baitfish.
GLO: J-Plugs? are offered in Glo/Blue Top Ladderback and Glo/Florescent Green Top Ladderback finishes. These are designed specifically for deep water trolling because they contain phosphor pigments that give off light down deep. Note that these finishes contain light-sensitive pigments that can be burned and which will turn gray if exposed to strong, direct sunlight. It's best to keep plugs painted with Glo finishes either in the water fishing or stored away in your tackle box so overexposure doesn't occur. For a quick and easy "glo charge" try Luhr-Jensen's handy Power Flash unit which can double as a camera flash attachment.
SPARKLE: Several new sparkle extra-attractive sparkle finishes are now available on J-Plugs?. These include Sparkle Chartreuse/Fire Tiger, Sparkle Chartreuse/Green Tiger, Sparkle Mother-Of-Pearl and Sparkle Fire Tiger. These highly-reflective finishes provide additional strike-enticing action.
J-PLUG? TROLLING TIPS
? Trolling a straight line between two points is the least successful path you can take, once fish have been located in an area. By trolling in zig-zag patterns or in "S" curves, you will impart regular changes in depth and speed to a trolled plug, creating the impression of a wounded, in trouble baitfish which fish will view as an easy meal.
? Vary your speed. While slow is the password, this does not mean slow all the time. A lure running through the water at a constant speed, at a constant depth and giving off the same vibration pattern will not catch many fish . . . there's just nothing there to indicate an easy meal is available or that something is in trouble. Slowly, yes, but adjust your speed every few minutes to change the lure's speed and vibration pattern.
? Troll Slowly. Big fish will not expend any more energy than necessary to catch a meal. Also, most lures will not perform correctly at fast speeds. The best advice is to troll slowly ? the slower the better.
? Use a solid knot for connecting your plug to your line or leader such as the improved clinch (see illustration on page 2) and always use a premium quality monofilament line such as Trilene XT which has superior knot strength, small diameter in relation to pound test and is abrasion resistant.
? Purchase a quality depth sounder such as one of the Bottomline units which will help in locating fish as well as prime underwater fishing structure which can't otherwise be seen.
? Undoubtedly one of the easiest and least complicated things you can do to improve your fishing results is to make sure all hook points are sticky sharp. The majority of lost fish can probably be traced to dull hooks which prevent proper penetration into the fish's mouth. A small file, such as the Sharp Hook File is the absolute best tool available for sharpening fish hooks. Hold the file parallel to the hook point and, with gently one-way strokes, remove a small amount of metal from at least two sides of the point to obtain both a super-sharp point and a knife-like cutting edge.
? Keep your plugs above fish as they can't easily see downward. On sunny days fish will be deeper as their eyes are sensitive to strong, direct sunlight.
? When trolling plugs in salt water you'll find the optimum feeding and fish-catching times during low light periods and from an hour before, during and an hour after a tide change. Fish areas where birds are working on baitfish schools and troll the clean side of rips.
? In fresh water such as in the Great Lakes, the time of day isn't nearly as critical as the depth and the location of the preferred temperature level for the fish species you're seeking . . . the thermocline. Lakes stratify into three separate layers of water in the spring and stay that way until cold weather hits in the fall. The middle layer of water, where there is a large concentration of dissolved oxygen, baitfish and therefore predator fish, is called the thermocline and can generally be found from 10 to 80 feet down.
? The peak feeding and optimum temperature for coho and Chinook is 54 with an active range from 54 to 54 For lake trout the peak feeding and optimum temperature is 54 with activity from 54 to 54 Fish will rarely venture out of these zones once stratification has taken place, except to catch a meal and then will quickly return to it. One thing to remember when fishing temperatures layers such as the thermocline is that it can change from day to day in terms of depth because of wind and/or wave action. It may be several feet deeper or shallower one day from the next so you'll have to locate it each and every time you go out.
Those are several of the tips and techniques which will help you successfully fish J-Plugs? in your favorite waters and for your favorite fish species. Remember to experiment, troll zig-zag patterns or otherwise constantly change the plug's action, Keep hooks sticky sharp and go prepared with a variety of finishes and sizes . . . there's a J-Plug? for every fishing situation.
Trolling Yellowfin Bluewater trolling has made significant advances over the past few years with better lures, or seemingly better lures, better trace making systems and new ways of attacking what can be a complex subject.
Much recent trolling development has been aimed at billfish, but there has also been a significant spin-off of ideas for catching all types of surface fish, including yellowfin tuna.
Where to Find Them
Yellowfin tuna are great travellers and tend to turn up in certain areas at different times of the year. On the mid north coast of NSW they are thick from July to October with only odd fish turning up during summer.
Further south, Sydney seems to have some yellowfin on the continental shelf all year round with fish coming almost into the rocks from November to May. Further south, the Banks and Bermagui have yellowfin from October to June and this run of fish also travels down to Tasmania at times. There are also good runs of yellowfin in Western Australia and along the outer Barrier Reef during June, July and August.
By listening to the fishing reports anglers can usually work out if the yellowfin are around and whether it is worth putting in a bit of time to catch them. It also pays to note what depth of water the fish are coming from, as this can be important for small boat anglers.
Sometimes They Don't Eat
While some of the smaller tuna species get incredibly fussy about the lures they will or won't eat, yellowfin will eat just about any lure. The problem with yellowfin is that they spend a lot of their time cruising down deep and sometimes just won't come up for a lure or just show no interest in lures at all.
Throw a live slimy mackerel into the same situation and it will be instantly nailed. It is just a peculiarity of the fish. As a rule though, small to medium sized yellowfin show a great interest in eating lures while the big fish over 50 kg only occasionally get worked up over artificials. Again this is just a peculiarity of the fish.
Tackle
For the average angler who just wants to put a yellowfin on the deck all sorts of gear can be used. The best option is genuine game tackle with a lever drag reel and stroker type rod. Line class is a matter for the angler and it really depends on what other fish might be mixed in with the yellowfin. Our standard tackle is 15 kg with a couple of 24's and a couple of 10 kg outfits. If the anglers don't have a wide choice of tackle, a standard jig/live bait rod with a large overhead reel full of 15 or 10 kg line is perfectly functional. Lighter gear down to 6 kg is also useful. It just depends on what eats the lure and how much line and time the angler wants to invest in the fish.
Trolling lure selection for yellowfin. Right to left: Top Gun. Fenwick Psycho-Speed. Pakula Cockroach, Pakula Hornet, Pakula Mosquito, Wilson No 2 Sea Jet and Zuker red and white feather.
Boat Set Up
Any vessel trolling offshore needs to be able to set at least four outfits without tangling the lures as the boat moves around. This is usually achieved with two rods set at 45 degrees or more and two rods set straight in line with the sides of the boat. Trolling one or two lures is not nearly as effective as trolling a pattern of four or more lures. So if one lure goes out it is much better if four or more go out. If the boat can troll six, eight or ten lures all the better, as the more lures that are set the better the overall result.
The Lures
The first choice for all lure trollers are purpose designed trolling heads with some form of skirt fitted. These come in a hundred different patterns and a thousand different skirt combinations; they can also cost anything from a few dollars to a king's ransom. Cheapies Starting with the cheapies, a 60 gm red and white feather will still take a heap of fish. The lure is improved by running a file across the face of the lead head and removing 3 or 4mm of metal leaving a flat face. The next is the Wilson No. 2 Sea Jet in pink over Christmas tree. This lure, while quite cheap is devastating on tuna and small marlin. Don't go trolling without it. Both these lures are rigged with 8/0 Tarpons or Mustad 7732 stainless hooks and either 150 or 250 pound traces.
More Expensive
The next lot go from reasonably priced to expensive, it's just a matter of what takes the anglers fancy. The small to medium Pakulas like the Cockroach, Homet, and Mosquito are all well proven on yellowfin. Colours that work best are pink over mauve, black over blue and lime green over yellow. These are rigged with single 8/0 or 9/0 Mustad 7732 stainless hooks. Next in the selection are two Zuker trolling heads featuring red and white feather tails and blue-black tails. Pacific put out a model, which is rounded in the head and tends to get blown all over the place by the wind, but it still catches a lot of fish.
At the large end of the range the Tom Nairn made Top Guns in blue, silver and green take their share of the tuna and a fair number of marlin as well. This is rigged with two 10/0 Mustad 7732 hooks. Our best tuna-trolling lure by a wide stretch is an old Penn Fenwick Psycho-speed in pink over white. Despite its age it just keeps catching fish. It's just one of those lures that fish like to eat.
Almost all our tuna lures are rigged with a single hook. The trend to double hook rigs helps with billfish, but we seem to do better on yellowfin using single hook rigs and smaller sized hooks than for marlin. As can be seen from the selection, the lures are mostly small or long and thin. This seem to suit the yellowfin much more than the chunky, splashy models that work so well on marlin.
Most of our tuna lures are rigged on 250 lb trace material. The big lures on heavy tackle go out on 400 lb trace but 250 lb, is enough for most of the lures. The trace has little or nothing to do with yellowfin tuna, but with the striped and blue marlin that take the same lures in the same places as the yellowfin. The marlin wears out 150 lb traces fairly easily but it takes a lot longer to wear out the 250 lb.
Minnows
Apart from standard trolling heads, minnow lures are also readily attacked by yellowfin. Both the bibless and bibbed types will work and selection is a matter of personal choice. We have had good success with the CD 18 and CD 26 Rapalas and the big Haleo minnows. Best colours are red head white body and blue mackerel. The minnows are trolled on two metres of 80 lb trace rigged with a large snap swivel at the business end and a brass ring at the other. Billfish don't hit the minnows very often and when they do they usually unhook very rapidly, so the minnows can go out on quite light trace.
Trolling Tactics
One of the reasons it pays to troll multiple groupings of lures is that yellowfin are a school fish and are rarely alone. By providing a number of lures in the pattern the angler is inviting multiple strikes. In fact our system tends to both invite and encourage multiple strikes. The lures are selected on the basis of wind conditions first. If it's flat, calm and with little or no wind anything can go out. If it is windy only lures with flat faces like the Pakulas, the Wilson or minnows go out. These lures provide drag against the water and will hold their position relative to the back of the boat despite the wind. Round headed lures and others with no inherent drag will be blown all over the place and cause crossovers and tangles. This point is always worth remembering. Boat speed is between six and eight knots depending on what makes the lures work best. Somewhere either side of 7.5 knots is about perfect if accurate speed-readings are available.
Lure Patterns
Setting the lure pattern is very important. One of the reasons why large numbers of lures can be trolled for yellowfin is because they will come very close to the stern to grab that bit of plastic. We set the lures in matched pairs down each side of the pattern. The first two lures can be 15 metres back, then two at 25 metres and then two well back.
This allows even small boats to set six lures. If yellowfin is the main game the middle lures in the pattern should be the minnows and they may need to be dropped back to 30 metres. Because they run below the surface they won't foul the other lures or lines set further back. The lures are basically set in size order with the smaller lures closest to the boat and then bigger lures set on heavier gear as they move out. One point that should be noted is that sometimes the yellowfin will only hit the minnows. If this happens a couple of times in a given day the obvious answer is to clip a couple more minnows on to increase the strike rate.
Multiple Strikes
As said earlier, we aim for multiple strikes and the gear is set that way. On yellowfin it probably can't be avoided anyway. If there is a hand for every rod it is just a matter of avoiding crossed lines and staying cool, and everything work out. When there are two anglers and three or more fish on, the trick is to also stay cool. Wind in the gear that does not have anything on the end of it and then take the fish one by one. If the boat drifts downwind or is motored slowly straight ahead the tuna will actually pull against the rod and line tension, and basically just stay there until you get to them. It's a tuna trait that is worth learning and remembering.
The other thing worth remembering is to keep trolling on once one fish hooks up. This is particularly important if the lure closest to the boat goes off first. The rest of the school still hasn't seen the other lures out there. Usually the troll-on distance is about 100 metres or so. It's not a problem for the skipper, only for the angler on the first fish, who has to wind back those extra 100 metres or so. Despite the extra work, this little trick regularly hooks up an extra fish or two.
Covering The Ground
Yellowfin turn up in all sorts of places and the best way to find them is to have some lures out as you cover the water. Anglers just moving from spot to spot can always pay out a few lures. Often the trip home is in sloppy water anyway, so putting out the lures and burbling home at eight knots is an easy and productive way to finish the day. The best results though always go to anglers who are prepared to put the time in. By picking the right times when the fish are about, and being prepared to troll for four or five hours at a stretch, the results will come.
These fish are great sport and top eating, so make sure there is plenty of ice on board for the catch. Lure caught fish are also easy to release, so once one good one or a couple of small ones are in the bag, the rest can go back to play with their mates. Just don't waste these beautiful and precious sports fish. The important point is to enjoy catching them and the challenge of finding them.
Schooled walleyes roaming open water, either suspending or lying over open basins, are the reason an angler would switch from a jigging approach to a bait delivery system that would include planer boards, snap weights, and crankbaits or spinners. Trolling boards arose out of the Great Lakes where they were used for lake trout and salmon. Walleye anglers were quick to use this application for big water walleyes as well. Boards spread multiple lines wide to the sides of the boat, to minimize spooking and to present a spread of lures at multiple depths. No longer are you limited to trolling a narrow path behind the boat. Instead you can now troll a path 150 feet wide, simultaneously experimenting with depth, lure size and action, color patterns, speed and more. This presentation is effective for eliminating unproductive water and zeroing in on walleyes, particularly at the 1 to 3 mph quick trolling range, which is productive in cool to cold water, and during summer as well. It?s simple in principle, complex in execution, in order to minimize tangles, maximize catches, and achieve desired results. But a properly run set of lines proceeds through open water like a giant rake, showing fish suspended at the target depth.
Board presentations evolved from traditional mast and ski systems popular on large Great Lakes boats, to small in-line planers easy to use in smaller craft. Planer boards clip onto line via simple friction releases, sending lines out to the sides of the boat while trolling. When a fish strikes, bobbing or dragging the board backward, reel in, detach the board release with a quick twist of thumb and forefinger, drop the board in the boat, and fight the fish unhindered by excess hardware. Planer boards are small and light enough to use on traditional walleye gear. Typically that would mean that you could use line as light as 10 pound test monofilament which maintains good lure action and diving depth, and promotes a good fight on light tackle. Anglers generally use long trolling rods about 7 to 8 footers to hold lines off the surface of the water while trolling, reducing drag and maximizing the spread. Long handled rods fit in rod holders until a fish strikes. A well placed spread of four lines effectively covers open water options. Crankbaits run at specific depths depending on size, diving lip, line length and trolling speed. Within the natural diving range of each lure, depth is fine tuned by adjusting line length. Trolling reels wit line length indicators have become popular for exact replication of productive depth and pinpoint control. Many manufacturers offer line counting reels now so anglers don?t have to count the number of throws a reel goes through to set a specific depth. Few crankbaits dive deeper than 25 feet, even on a long line.
To reach depths exceeding the natural diving ability of crankbaits, weight must be added to the line to drop lures down into the fish zone. This is just as true for presenting spinner-crawler combos. Walleye anglers have several solutions for increasing running depth while maintaining control. Traditional deep water trolling was once accomplished with leadcore line. This leadcore line is braided dacron with a thin lead core, creating a sinker running the entire length of the line. Leadcore was used to troll deep water for walleyes or trout. The answer to the solution of depth was to simply let more line out and the lure went deeper.
A monofilament leader between the lure and leadcore minimized spooking. When a fish hit, you simply reeled the leadcore up into a large capacity trolling reel. When leadcore was first used with planer boards, it was to heavy; anything more than about 30 yards of leadcore sunk a typical board. This was remedied by tying a 10, 20, or 30 yard segment of leadcore into the main line, 50 feet a head of the lure. The segmented leadcore approach took lures down to about 35 feet, but was somewhat confusing to most anglers. Multiple reels with different lengths of segmented leadcore were needed to effectively cover a variety of depths. The answer was attaching weights to the main line. Trouble was, a sinker placed too near the lure spooked fish, and too far up the line it interfered with netting. The solution came from tackle companies, that offered detachable snap weights. Simply let out some line, then with the same release clip used on planer boards, snap a weight onto a line 50 feet ahead of the lure.
Now let out as much additional line as necessary to reach a targeted trolling depth. Need more depth? Switch to a heavier sinker. Got a bite? Reel in until the sinker is within reach, then pinch it off your line and drop it in the boat. Experiment with weights from 1/4 up to 3 ounces with boards, heavier sinkers without boards. Open water trolling for suspended fish taught anglers that walleyes could be caught tight to the bottom. Run snap weights near bottom, or switch to three-way rigs or bottom bouncers to make lures or baits run just above bottom. Bouncers run the closest, while three-ways are adjustable by varying dropper length. Remember, anything more than 3 ounces can sink a planer board, though heavier weights can be used without boards for fishing on or near bottom with vertical lines, to cover many productive zones. Trolling large open water expanses has recently been applied to some areas that previously would not have been attempted with amazing results. This summer don?t keep pounding the shoreline in hopes of catching a few fish when you have all of that open water to troll.
Slashdot Mirror
Planning Yur Trlling Bat
When you rig a boat for trolling, you will want it to provide you and your fishing buddies with the most enjoyable fishing trips you could ask for. Here are some time proven trolling boat layouts.
If you fish alone in a small tiller boat, mounting the downriggers at the transom is a practical choice. You can keep everything in easy reach, eliminating the need to get up and move around the boat. (illustration 1)
If two or more people are fishing in a small tiller boat, try mounting the downriggers midship. Everybody can reach the downriggers and rods from either end of the boat.
Pedestal mounts may be needed for the downriggers to clear the gunwales and swivel mounting bases will make for easier docking. (illustration 2)
On larger console style boats, a pair of Captain's Paks on swivel mounting bases are a popular arrangement. The swivel mounting base allows you to spread your lines wider when fishing and can be turned inline with the gunwales when the boat comes to dock. (illustration 3)
If your boat is large enough for a large fishing party, mount a pair of Pro Sportsmen at the transom and a pair of Captain's Paks on swivel mounting bases futher forward on the gunwales. When you use the Captain's Pak electric downriggers as sideriggers, you will quickly appreciate the locking, tip-up booms make it easy to set your lines. With this many lines in the water, your lure presentation will resemble a school of bait fish. (illustration 4)
The same kind of presentation can be achieved by installing four Captain's Paks on a removable transom bar. The whole downrigging system can be easily removed as one unit when your boat is to be used for other purposes. The transom bar is also an ideal location to mount a secondary fish finder/graph. (illustration 5)
When installing a planer rigger system, remember two important facts. First, the taller your mast is, the greater distance your planers will travel from the sides of your boat.
And second, the futher forward you mount your mast, the less distance your planers will travel behind your transom. Both points effect navagation and line control. For the very best planer performance, use Big Jon's Otter boats. They are designed to produce a minimum of water resistance and out perform old fashion boards. They also will not stall in a turn. (illustration 6)
A popular method of mounting the planer mast is to use a pedestal seat mount (sold in our Parts Department). It fits Springfield seat bases, that are common on most boats.
The seat mount makes the mast easily removable for storage. This base also allows you to use your planer rigger system on more than one boat. (illustration 7)
Two single reel planer mast mounted on the gunwales just behind the cabin or canopy top are popular for larger boats where the bow is not easily accessable. Mounting the planer riggers on the gunwale decks will provide the height needed for the Otter Boats to perform at their best. (illustration 8)
Or you can upgrade your mast with pair of electric planer reels. Big Jon electric reels come complete with remote switches and circuit breakers, so you can operate them from the cabin. Big Jon Electric Planer Reels are built using the same powerful sealed motor found on Big Jon downriggers. You can count on them for years of reliable performance. (illustration 9)
Plan your boat for comfort and safety. Having too much equipment, or having it located in the wrong place can hamper your ability to move around freely. Before mounting any equipment, get in your boat with your fishing buddies and discuss the best location for each piece of equipment. All equipment should be easily accessable to all fishermen.
Any help with these would be greatly appreciated!
Ooopsie, I just wet myself.
handybundler's the name. Ass spanking is the game! How about some hot candle wax on those nipples of yours, too?
Very informative. Mod this up. Thanks for the update!
Subtlety is key. Good work. Now some one troll my troll.
Slurrrp! Smack! Slurrrp!
Yes, it's true. You have been CLIT Slapped.
free peanuts and such.
They better have some hot pants little stewardesses on the ride up and back. With a trip that long I'm gonna need some action!
and viewing one single, thin line with it. What is in view is representational of what our perception of our viewable area equates to. In reality the line stays the same but in our spherical scope of the distance between here and never, we see the distrotion of our meassurement.
Forty years ago a derby-winning salmon or lake trout was almost certainly a plug-caught fish. More and more anglers today are switching to J-Plugs? because, as in the past, plugs are known to produce more and larger fish on a regular basis.
There is a special J-Plug finish available today which will fit any fishing situation, whether you're after salmon, lake trout, stripers, brown trout or otherlarge game fish.
BASIC MINNOW IMAGE
Today's J-Plug is even better-built and more effective than its predecessors as it's made of super-strong materials and designed for maximum action and strength. Another big difference is the availability of special J-Plug? finishes designed specifically for deep water trolling and low light conditions such as the special "Glo" patterns which pick up surface light and give it off down deep.
J-Plugs are fast-action, darting plugs ideally suited for trolling. They are effective because they project a basic minnow image in the water which all fish relate to in all water conditions. This is a basic, wounded minnow, fast darting action which comes from a combination of special swivel chain rigging and lure head chamber design. The precisely engineered tolerance between the rigging and head chamber allows the swivel chain to shift and reposition itself within the chamber. This constantly changes the plug's attitude and direction in the water and creates its fish-catching, erratic, darting action.
The swivel chain rigging also allows a direct rod to fish connection after the strike as the plug body will slide up the line, free of the chain and hook assembly and away from the fish. This eliminates head-shaking leverage against the plug body that causes many fish hooked with solid body-to-hook plugs to break free. Because the J-Plug? is buoyant and separates from the hook assembly, it will float to the surface where it can be retrieved in the case of a line break or bottom snag.
The J-Plug is a trolling lure and can be fished successfully with a variety of techniques. Trolling is a most effective fishing method, particularly on big waters, as you can cover the greatest amount of water in the shortest time allowing you to locate concentrations of fish quickly and easily.
Following are recommended J-Plug? trolling techniques.
BFLATLINE: With the surface or flatline technique, the plug is tied directly to 12- to 20-lb. test main line. No additional weights are used or, at most, a small 1/8- to 1/2-oz. keel-type sinker six feet up the line from the plug. The lure is let out behind your moving boat 50 to 100 feet (anglers fishing for lake trout or brown trout sometimes let out as much as 200 feet of line as these fish can be very skittish of the boat wake) and the troll started. This technique is effectivewhen stripers, lake trout, salmon or brown trout are feeding near the schools of baitfish close to the top or when there is an obvious abundance of other surface activity.
SHALLOW/MEDIUM: With the addition of a standard keel sinker four to six feet up the line from the J-Plug?, shallow to medium depths can be trolled effectively. Sinker weights, depending on the depth desired, for this kind of trolling usually run from 1 to 8 ounces with main line testing from 12 to 30 pounds. Note: Always attach a swivel chain-rigged keel sinker with the single swivel end knotted to your main line and the swivel chain end back to the plug. As in flatlining, let out 50 to 100 feet of line behind your moving boat and begin the troll.
DIVERS:One effective way to get a plug deep without excessive lead weights, or if you don't have a downrigger, is with a diving sinker such as the Deep Six, Pink Lady? or directional Dipsy Diver?. Standard rigging is with 4 to 6 feet of leader between plug and diver and 20- to 30-lb. test main line to your rod.
Set the diver to diving position, or in the case of the directional Dipsy? set both the depth and side angle desired, let out 50 to 100 feet of line behind your moving boat (slowly to ensure that no tangles occur) and begin the troll.
DOWNRIGGERS: J-Plugs often are fished off a downrigger, by themselves (the most popular way). With a downrigger you will be able to work all depths and will have the advantage of no weights between you and the fish once hooked. Anglers who troll J-Plugs? by themselves behind a downrigger often prefer 10 to 20 feet (some as much as 40 feet) between the line release and plug. The longer lengths add to the erratic, darting action of the plug.
Dodgers can be used as attractors in conjunction with a #3 J-Plug? behind a downrigger with good results. Size 0 or Size 1 Jensen Dodgers are recommended. Be sure to allow at least six feet of line between the dodger and downrigger line release so as not to inhibit the dodger's action. Allow 20 to 30 inches of leader between your plug and dodger (shorter leaders impart faster plug action and longer leaders slower action).
LARGE PLUGS / LARGE FISH Larger fish do prefer large plugs. Big fish will spend the least amount of energy necessary to catch a meal . . . larger baitfish mean less energy expended to fill up. So, if you're after big salmon or lake trout, use the larger J-Plugs?. But, remember that smaller fish often will not attack a large plug so the use of larger plugs, although great for big fish, may prevent you from catching smaller ones.
Standard J-Plugs are popular because they are especially effective in deep water trolling situations, although, as indicated, they may be successfully used in medium or shallow water as well. The J-Plug? features a basic minnow design with a darting, erratic, free-swimming action which all fish relate to. These plugs are easy to fish, require no tuning and the direct hook-to-rod connection prevents fish from obtaining leverage against the plug, resulting in more landed fish per number of strikes. J-Plugs? also come in a variety of sizes and finishes (rattle models are available) to fit every fishing situation and are versatile as they can be trolled either fast or slow, depending on the fish species you're after.
Some other features and additional tips on fishing and using J-Plugs include: Keep them either in the water or in your tackle box. Extreme heat can deform a plug's shape and direct sunlight can cause the finish to fade. Before placing your plug in the water, check the swivel chain dacron harness for wear and to ensure the knot is cinched tight. If the harness need replacing you may obtain one from a dealer. The dacron harness is 80-lb. test doubled. The hooks that come with the harness are high quality, 4X strong and plated to resist corrosion.
J-PLUG FINISHES / COLORS
One of the big reasons today's J-Plugs? are effective is because of the wide variety of finishes and colors available . . . one to fit every angling situation.
Following is a rundown on a few of the more popular finishes and what each represents and accomplishes in the water.
METALLIC: Highly reflective metallic finishes match the flash and colors of baitfish. Silver, Silver Cut Plug and Silver/Blue Top feature the reflective look of baitfish.
GLO: J-Plugs are offered in Glo/Blue Top Ladderback and Glo/Florescent Green Top Ladderback finishes. These are designed specifically for deep water trolling because they contain phosphor pigments that give off light down deep. Note that these finishes contain light-sensitive pigments that can be burned and which will turn gray if exposed to strong, direct sunlight. It's best to keep plugs painted with Glo finishes either in the water fishing or stored away in your tackle box so overexposure doesn't occur. For a quick and easy "glo charge" try Luhr-Jensen's handy Power Flash unit which can double as a camera flash attachment.
SPARKLE: Several new sparkle extra-attractive sparkle finishes are now available on J-Plugs?. These include Sparkle Chartreuse/Fire Tiger, Sparkle Chartreuse/Green Tiger, Sparkle Mother-Of-Pearl and Sparkle Fire Tiger. These highly-reflective finishes provide additional strike-enticing action.
J-PLUG TROLLING TIPS
Those are several of the tips and techniques which will help you successfully fish J-Plugs in your favorite waters and for your favorite fish species.
Remember to experiment, troll zig-zag patterns or otherwise constantly change the plug's action, Keep hooks sticky sharp and go prepared with a variety of finishes and sizes . . . there's a J-Plug? for every fishing situation.
TROLLING - WHY?
In many bassin' circles, trolling is often considered the lowest form of fishing. However, itis positively one of the most effective way to rapidly locate and catch bass. Period.
Although trolling is not allowed during tournament competition, it is an acceptable method for locating bass during the practice days. This can be extremely valuable when on strange waters. Trolling for bass has four primary advantages: it allows you to cover a lot of water in a rapid manner and locate fish; it is effective for catching bass at depths where most of us are uncomfortable with normal cast-and-retrieve techniques; it provides very precise depth and speed control; and, the accuracy of lure presentation in relation to structure is maximized.
The reader should understand, at this point, that trolling is not a matter of simply dunking a lure in the water and dragging it around the lake or river in a haphazard manner. It is a very defined and exacting technique, just like precision casting and a good touch with a worm. The basics of trolling can be marginally taught through the written word, as we will attempt to do in this article. However, true proficiency is an acquired skill, gained through experience and application.
Trolling is always done in the close proximity of deep water and along a specific break-line or major structure feature. We should also take note of any adjacent structure and the possible movement routes from the deeper water to the shallows. The best of these have always proven to be the drops and ledges associated with the submerged river and feeder creek channels. Others which have proven good are long sloping points from the deep water which terminate in a large flat or major cover area. Still another is any water of 12 to 20 feet, which connects the channel areas to the shallow flats.
Once the locations are chosen, trolling becomes a matter of proper equipment selection and lure presentation. While the reel is of little significant importance, the type rod used in trolling is very much so. It should be short and stiff. There are two distinct reasons for this. First, the short rod is easier to handle (and we really have no use for a long one). Second, and most important, is the control factor. Trolling a lure places a constant tension on the rod and line, and a long, whippy rod will give the angler a soft, mushy feel of the lure. Because that lure will be encountering bottom objects occasionally, it is important that the angler be able to immediately distinguish between a strike and the bottom. He should actually be in what we might term 'direct contact' with his lure at all times. This means to be able to feel, quite clearly, the vibration and running pattern of the plug and any variation thereto.
Another significant advantage of a stiff rod is that it will 'give' very little when a snag, say a stump or log, is encountered. The lure will be quickly jerked away from the snag, rather than given the opportunity to become entangled with it. Still another factor in the use of a stiff, strong rod is that it allows the angler to apply pressure and quickly move the bass out of the school. This is important, in that a panicked fish often will spook the rest of group if allowed to remain in their midst too long.
Very closely tied (no pun intended!) to the advantage of the stiff rod is the type of line employed. 99% of us bass anglers use monofilament. Nearly all of these lines have a built-in stretch factor, usually in the neighborhood of 15-20%. The ability to stretch is a major advantage for most bass angling in that it provides a cushioning effect and precludes a lot of line breakage. However, in trolling, that quality of monofilament is a detriment. You can equate the stretch factor to using a soft rod-you lose a good bit of feel and control.
Until recently, the only decent trolling lines, those with little or no stretch, were Dacron or other braided materials. Recently, some of the major line manufacturers have started to produce and market 'low stretch' products. Silver Thread is an excellent example in mono. And, of course, Fireline and Gorilla Braid are the newer entrants.
Trolling almost exclusively dictates that you use lipped, diving crank plugs. Only in the very shallow zones can this be excepted. As in all other types of fishing, depth is the most important lure selection criteria. The simple fact is that if you don't get the lure down to the bass, he will not normally move up or down very far to capture it. Except when suspended (and that is a 'no-feeding' condition), a bass almost always stays near the bottom. That, then, is where the lure should be and what you base your selection on. My experience has shown that the Bagley Divin' B series and the Rebel Company's Fat Free Shad family are ideal choices for trolling. And, there are enough lure sizeswithin each group to adequately cover all appropriate depth zones.
Boat control is a critical part of effective trolling, as it obviously effects the presentation of the lure. The ideal trolling rig is a nice and stable 14 foot, V-bottom aluminum boat with a manually-steered five to 15 horse-power motor. It is easy to keep on track and provides for fast reaction when a snag or a fish is encountered. But, like many of you, I don't have one and have to contend with a big bass boat and a 'go-faster' engine. You can adequately troll from one of these rigs, but it wears the driver out trying to compensate for the continual low speed oscillation from one side and then the other. I only bring this up in the event you have access to both. Given the opportunity, troll with the smaller, more maneuverable rig.
The key to proper lure presentation is, as we have already said, depth control. However, remember that the depth must be in relation to the structure being fished. Boat control, therefore, must be utilized to keep the trailing lure properly positioned along the break-line, appropriate contour interval or in such a manner that the lure will climb overthe point at the proper location. Haphazard fishing, it is not. To be effective, trolling must be very precise.
Once bass are located by trolling, the angler has two possible choices, depending on the depth at which the fish were found. He may elect to stop and work the area with a conventional casting approach, or he might decide to make additional trolling passes. Either way, he should have tossed a marker buoy over the side when the first fish was hooked. Note that the marker is not placed exactly where the fish was caught, but rather should be positioned off to one side of the location. If it were dropped on the school, the descending weight might spook them. The marker is used strictly as a reference point.
Trolling is a highly effective bass locating and catching technique. It can often mean the difference between a full live well and just another day on the water.
Nope, I firmly believe it's a new trend. I've watched the weather patterns shift for the last 30 years. Soon we will be celebrating the beginning of Winter in January and be welcoming spring some time in June or July. Yep, we fucked up some where along the line. Great!
Most anglers that use an electric trolling motor, and use it often, have some sort of depth finder mounted on the boat as well. Often, it is desirable to have the transducer mounted on the trolling motor, but this can be a difficult task. It is important that the transducer and the routing of the cable does not interfere with the trolling motors operation. You must route the cable so that it does not get pulled, cut or crushed. On certain model trolling motors, especially bow mounts, this can be a challenge. First, you should have the right type of transducer for mounting to an electric trolling motors lower unit. This would, most likely, be a Puck style transducer. Other style transducers will work, but only the Puck is designed for this application. With this style, the only hardware you need is a heavy plastic cable tie or a metal hose clamp to strap the transducer onto the motor. The Puck has a curved top to fit the round shape of the motors lower unit and slots in it to accept the strap.
We recommend the cable tie over the hose clamp because it has proven to be more forgiving when the motor crashes into an underwater object. Instead of breaking the transducer, the cable tie allows it to "slip" out of the way. Puck transducers come in different sizes, depending on the cone angle of the transducer, but they are all meant for the trolling motor. For your most accurate readings the transducer should be pointing straight down.
Some anglers like to position it so that they are shooting in front of the boat so that they can see what's up ahead. This sounds good in theory, but in reality, you are creating a large amount of Dead Zone which will make anything near the bottom vitally invisible. Don't worry about being
perfectly level, though. The wave action makes that almost impossible. Just get it as close as you can. You can, however, side scan with a puck transducer. This works on any depth finder, although you need to interpret what you see (we'll go into that some time in the future). Simply rotate the transducer on the motors lower unit so that it is pointing just down from horizontal. Set the depth finder to it's maximum range and steer the motor around. This works better in deeper water. Ideally you don't want to see bottom or the surface at all. Again, dead zone will make anything near the bottom invisible. Narrow beam transducers work best for side scanning.
With the Puck transducer mounted, you now need to route the cable up the motor shaft, down the motor bracket, and to the back of the depth finder. Foot control trolling motors provide the most challenge when routing the cable. All of the motors movements make it hard to keep the cable from being pulled, crushed, or cut. Refer to the images here to help in the routing of your cable.
With electric trolling motors getting more powerful and complicated all the time we are seeing more and more interference on the displays of our depth finders. In the past, interference has mostly been due to noise in the power lines of the boat. This can usually be solved with fairly simple grounding. Now, we are seeing interference that is being radiated directly from the motor shell into the transducer. This can more difficult to solve. You can identify the type of interference by simply moving the transducer away from the motor shell. If the interference disappears, you have a radiation problem. If not, you have a power line problem. In either case, if you have an interference problem that you cannot solve please contact us and we will try to help you out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.) What Is A Trolling Bobber?
A.) It is a 2.0" diameter plastic fishing bobber, with a DC motor unit attached underneath. Used for fishing from boats, docks, piers, and elsewhere.
Q.) How Does It Work?
A.) Just turn on the motor, set the rudder, and drop it in the water. Then watch it go.
Q.) How Do You Use It?
A.) Connect your fishing line to the top of the fishing bobber; hook a leader to the swivel under the motor unit. Attaching your bait to the leader.
Q.) What Type Of Bait Do I Use With It?
A.) It will pull any small bait, but the bigger the bobber you buy, the bigger the bait you can use.
Q.) Is It Safe For Children To Use?
A.) Much safer than regular fishing tactics, the Trolling Bobber does away with the need for casting. No more flying hooks ready to snag the unwary.
Q.) How Long Does Delivery Take?
A.) Usually, Delivery Takes 1 To 2 Weeks, And Are Shipped As Soon As Possible.
Q.) What Sizes Of Bobbers Can I Order?
A.) Currently, We Have Three Sizes Available: Small Duty Bobber
Medium Duty Bobber
Heavy Duty Bobber
Q.) Is There Any Special Deals I Can Get?
A.) Currently, We Are Selling Complete Packages Which Will Have All Your Needs:
Complete Package 1: light duty bobber, pole, and assembly. Ready to go and drop in the water.
Complete Package 2: medium duty bobber, pole, and assembly. Ready to go and drop in the water.
Complete Package 3: heavy duty bobber, pole, and assembly. Ready to go and drop in the water.
"My son and I purchased a regular Trolling Bobber and its great. We thought the sound of the motor would scare the fish, but it doesn't. We are purchasing a second one, so we each have our own!"
M. Fitzgerald
"I bought the Heavy-duty Trolling Bobber and it works great. Who needs a boat anymore, the Trolling Bobber goes where ever I want it!"
C. Melton
"The Trolling Bobber works great, I no longer use anything else!"
D. Cook
"Thanks to the Trolling Bobber, there's no more slimy bait hitting you in the face when you take the kids fishing. Fishing is fun for all of us again."
M. Jacobobson
"I'm surprised no one thought of it sooner, fishing has taken on a whole new meaning."
T. Fredricks
It may not be first, but It's better than the rest of you wankers!
Planning Your Trolling Boat
When you rig a boat for trolling, you will want it to provide you and your fishing buddies with the most enjoyable fishing trips you could ask for. Here are some time proven trolling boat layouts.
If you fish alone in a small tiller boat, mounting the downriggers at the transom is a practical choice. You can keep everything in easy reach, eliminating the need to get up and move around the boat. (illustration 1)
If two or more people are fishing in a small tiller boat, try mounting the downriggers midship. Everybody can reach the downriggers and rods from either end of the boat.
Pedestal mounts may be needed for the downriggers to clear the gunwales and swivel mounting bases will make for easier docking. (illustration 2)
On larger console style boats, a pair of Captain's Paks on swivel mounting bases are a popular arrangement. The swivel mounting base allows you to spread your lines wider when fishing and can be turned inline with the gunwales when the boat comes to dock. (illustration 3)
If your boat is large enough for a large fishing party, mount a pair of Pro Sportsmen at the transom and a pair of Captain's Paks on swivel mounting bases futher forward on the gunwales. When you use the Captain's Pak electric downriggers as sideriggers, you will quickly appreciate the locking, tip-up booms make it easy to set your lines. With this many lines in the water, your lure presentation will resemble a school of bait fish. (illustration 4)
The same kind of presentation can be achieved by installing four Captain's Paks on a removable transom bar. The whole downrigging system can be easily removed as one unit when your boat is to be used for other purposes. The transom bar is also an ideal location to mount a secondary fish finder/graph. (illustration 5)
When installing a planer rigger system, remember two important facts. First, the taller your mast is, the greater distance your planers will travel from the sides of your boat.
And second, the futher forward you mount your mast, the less distance your planers will travel behind your transom. Both points effect navagation and line control. For the very best planer performance, use Big Jon's Otter boats. They are designed to produce a minimum of water resistance and out perform old fashion boards. They also will not stall in a turn. (illustration 6)
A popular method of mounting the planer mast is to use a pedestal seat mount (sold in our Parts Department). It fits Springfield seat bases, that are common on most boats.
The seat mount makes the mast easily removable for storage. This base also allows you to use your planer rigger system on more than one boat. (illustration 7)
Two single reel planer mast mounted on the gunwales just behind the cabin or canopy top are popular for larger boats where the bow is not easily accessable. Mounting the planer riggers on the gunwale decks will provide the height needed for the Otter Boats to perform at their best. (illustration 8)
Or you can upgrade your mast with pair of electric planer reels. Big Jon electric reels come complete with remote switches and circuit breakers, so you can operate them from the cabin. Big Jon Electric Planer Reels are built using the same powerful sealed motor found on Big Jon downriggers. You can count on them for years of reliable performance. (illustration 9)
Plan your boat for comfort and safety. Having too much equipment, or having it located in the wrong place can hamper your ability to move around freely. Before mounting any equipment, get in your boat with your fishing buddies and discuss the best location for each piece of equipment. All equipment should be easily accessable to all fishermen.
TROLLING WIRE: HOW TO USE WIRE LINE TO IMPROVE RESULTS
In today's world of colorful electronics, fancy downriggers and high tech fishing it's easy to overlook wire line. That's a shame. For wire remains a budget choice for deep water trolling.
I still have a roller guide (bamboo!) rod and a large spool Penn reel filled with Gladding's Mark Five wire, and a newer solid fiberglass rod fitted out with rollers for monel solid wire. One summer we took this along on a couple of striper trips down to Lake Mendocino. I slow-trolled a Lucky 13® I've owned since 1955 off 20 feet of mono leader from my Scanoe® with a 1.2 H.P. 12 pound Cruise N' Carry® motor with the help of what must be the oldest Hummingbird® flasher unit in California. Annette caught two more fish than my buddy who owns a boat with more electronics than Silicon Valley. As usual when we troll, I only caught undersized stripers.
Years ago my uncle Frank and I took stripers trolling salmon-style plastic squids on wire 150 feet deep at the South Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. This system still works, but apparently not at the South Tower in today's scarcity of San Francisco striper.
Such deep trolling suits lakers and buddy catches inLake Tahoe at up to 250 feet deep with copper line. In most states with decent warm weather, landlocked stripers, even black bass, hide deep in the summer months so you need to follow them down to do well. Fish that prefer cooler water, like lake trout or even kokanee, call out for wire.
It's often overlooked that wire also suits deep river trolling in strong currents that would otherwise require two or three pound sinkers and a release. Priced sinkers lately?
Granted, wire line is not for everyone. It does kink and can rust or stretch and let go when you least expect it. At times I hate the stuff. However, it gets deep. It even suits downriggers because you have less slack than with mono. Whether you use solid or stranded wire and materials such as monel, stainless or copper, or go with lead-core, you face challenges. Fortunately, the solution to wire line problems is a right choice of line and tackle, decent upkeep and proper technique.
A roller-guide rod with a soft action stands up to the abrasion of wire best. I wrap my own on "refurbished" solid fiberglass or bamboo rods. Roller guides and wire tend to punch through today's thin wall rods under heavy tension, so an underwrap and solid bamboo or glass rods work well. Note: old bamboo rods sometimes have hidden rot so check them carefully.
If you buy a new rod, check those designed for saltwater and/or wire line. If you can't go all roller guides, at least invest in a roller top as that's the spot with the most potential to kink or wear line.
Soft rod action helps avoid line stretch if you use a long monofilament leader. Stretched wire doesn't recover well, so you need to avoid this. Soft rods also offer a bit of give that's handy with lively fish on rather inflexible line.
Traditionalists feel a conventional reel with a large diameter spool helps keep line from kinking and helps speed retrieves. Another school claims wide spools are easier to "unkink" and high-speed reels retrieve fast enough. I own and use both types.
I run 100 yards of wire in freshwater and 200 wards of wire in saltwater or when trolling for lakers 250 feet deep in Lake Tahoe. I spool wire on top of 100 or more yards of braided Dacron which forms a springy bed that helps the reel stand up to the pressure of tight wire. Backing line should be at least 40 to 50 percent heavier than the wire so you don't loose all that expensive metal on a snag.
Don't use wire on level-wind, spinning or any other reel with plastic spools. Wire tends to abrade and jam level-winds and eats pickups on spinning gear. It can burst plastic spools.
Line test need not be excessive. I use 25 and 30 pound test for most app
TROLLING TO FIND FISH: THE CASE FOR FASTER TROLLING
Trollers divide into two major classes -- dedicated and desperate. The former run to fancy electronics, exotic downriggers and esoteric explanations why fish didn't bite. The later prefer to cast and complain bitterly about the boredom of trolling, so they troll only when all else fails.
A more temperate approach seems in order. Troll fast and shallow and you cover the water. No other method can find fish so fast. Pick water at the proper temperature for the species you seek and use appropriate tackle and technique and you can find action without a major investment in gear or a long learning curve. High speed trolling produces!
For me, the realization that fast trolling works was accidental. I started catching fish with a hand line off the back of a sailboat. Today, when we houseboat or cruise on displacement hull craft which get there most efficiently at speeds from 5 to 10 knots, we always troll something even if our primary intention is passage rather than fishing. So when we fish seriously we troll at high speed too.
Ever cranked a lure too fast for a fish to catch? I doubt it. Many baitfish swim one MPH per inch of length and gamefish such as brown trout or muskie have no trouble at all catching lures whipped along at six or seven MPH. Retrieving that fast quickly kills wrists and arms, but you can troll fast without problems. If you troll at least three MPH you clearly cover three times as much water as is the case for slow trollers who poke along at one MPH. Covering more water improves your chance of whipping a lure past fish, such as black bass, pike or muskie that stake out an ambush position. High speed trolling also just about eliminates light hits from fish, such as trout, salmon or steelhead that cruise the middle of lakes. Such fish see dinner escaping and pounce. At least this happens more often than not.
As a guide and outdoor writer with 40 years experience as a fisherman, I see all sorts of high tech solutions to the basic problem all fishermen face -- locating willing fish. But traditional "low tech" methods work too!
If you troll fast and shallow you can catch most fish species without fuss if you take the time to think about basics. For example, gas-saving 6-knot hull speed on pontoon houseboats seems just right to troll up brown trout or stripers in the spring or fall. Sailboats under full sail offer perfect trolling speed for offshore species.
Do realize that most of the need for high tech gear comes when fishermen insist on taking a particular species from a certain water no matter what. If you spend more time searching for water where fish bite best, you can take more fish.
Water temperature remains the most important single factor. If the water is colder than optimum, fish slow their activity and feed less frequently. If water is warmer than optimum, fish head for cool springs or colder, deeper water.
Granted, there are apparent exceptions to this rule. The temperature preferences of gamefish and some of the bait fish and insects which those gamefish eat may not jibe. So gamefish will enter water warmer than their optimum to feed at times.
In summer, this period is usually after sunlight leaves the water and before the sun hits in the morning. This tendency is reinforced by the fact that fish can't contract their pupils. So they are often photophobic and avoid bright sunlight. This is one reason why we find fish under the edges of weedbeds or floating cover such as docks.
Water temperature also varies during the day. It peaks in late afternoon and reaches its minimum around dawn. So, if the temperature is lower than optimum, fish from late afternoon until dark. If water temperature is higher than optimum -- as is usual in summer -- launch before dawn and troll until the light hits the water.
Water temperatu
The reason isn't hard to fathom: more fish are caught trolling than all other methods of fishing combined. Two factors unite to give trolling the edge.
From November to May, over half the year, only two species of salmon present themselves in coastal waters: Chinook and Blueback coho. Both these resident species disperse across large areas in winter and thus a moved lure contacts more fish in a shorter period of time than a stationary one. Regardless of time of year, it makes sense to search out the fish; trolling has a clear advantage here. A simple comparison of the size of a school - seldom more than 100 yards wide for most species - and the size of the ocean, leads to the realization that only a small portion of the available fishing space actually contains fish. Trolling thus provides a method for finding small fishy pockets in otherwise salmonless expanses of water.
Not surprisingly, more gear finds its way onto the trolling sector of the market than those for other forms of saltwater angling. Water is a dense medium, and drag on trolled gear increases with depth. Much of the variation within a single product and the array of individual products counteracts the drag and resulting stress arising from simply trying to get a lure down to the depth at which the fish lie.
Three distinct types of trolling rods have evolved:
Each rod type has specific applications. The grandfather of all saltwater rods, the roller-guided variety is the only one that can withstand the pressure of heavyweight fishing year in and year out without breaking. Typically used with a planer - essentially an upside-down kite that pushes the line down into the ocean - these rods utilize wire line. Wire proves necessary because the pressure of a planer either breaks monofilament line or results in too much line stretch for tripping the planer. These rods will take a lure to 150 feet deep. At this point line drag prevents further gains.
Although gear for the Terminator, roller-guided rods come into their own in calm waters - fjords and bays with little or no tidal flow - where engine noise serves to scare the fish. (Planers often out fish other rod types 3 to 1 in such conditions). The reason is that the lure is 375 feet from the boat at 150 feet of depth. In comparison, lures attached to downrigger lines at the same level are 160 feet from the boat.
The second rod type, the medium-strength fiberglass rod, is used with weights.
Three types of weights may be purchased:
Each type of weight has a specific purpose. Lead balls are used to reach depths of 125 feet. A 2-pound ball reaches this depth at 250 feet of line, or a ratio of 1 foot down for every 2 feet let out. Main line should be 40 pound test. Alternatively, a wire line roller-guided rod makes a perfectly reasonable alternative. In either case, the gear set up is the same ( See Diagram ). The main line attaches to a seven bead swivel with a Palomar knot. Over the bead swivel a large barbless hook is strung. Attached to this hook is two feet of dacron line and a lead ball. This arrangement allows for a weight to be removed and for a fish to be played right to the boat. Below the swivel attaches 20 to 25 feet of 25 pound monofilament and then a ball bearing end-changer at the tackle end.
Lighter than lead balls, sliding weights come into their own when fish reside in the top layer of water, roughly the first 30 feet. The advantage with these weights is that they trip when a fish bites, and travel down the line to the terminal end, allowing the fish to be played right into the boat. Great sport indeed to catch a fall northern coho that smacks a small spoon with only a one ounce weight on the line. It's even more fun when the rod is a 6 foot trout rod adapted with a salmon reel for saltwater use!
Due to their construction, sliding weights may be added to the main line at any point; the line slips under the rails and inserts into the brass clip at a weight's front end (See Diagram) . Note that the brass clip must face toward the lure or the weight will not trip free. Although simple implements for weighting trolled lines, sliding weights have one disadvantage: they nick and weaken the main line where it inserts into the brass clip. This problem can be alleviated by clipping 6 feet from the main line each time out and retying the ball bearing end-changer on the tackle end. The third type of weight used in saltwater trolling is the banana variety, so-called because it resembles the yellow fruit in shape. With a swivel at both ends, a banana weight ties to both the main line and leader with a Palomar knot. Primarily a piece of mooching gear, banana weights have the nice quality of rarely tangling in fishing line. (They become a trolling weight when a cut plug bait is pulled behind a moving boat). They also afford the use of lighter longer rods, distinctly improving the sport of playing salmon. And sport - large doses of adrenaline - is what fishing is all about.
Read Trolling Part Two : Downrigger Tips, Electric Potential, Reels, and Finding the Fish.
Controlled Contour Trolling and Slipping
Contour trolling is something that I really enjoy.
Contour trolling will allow you to present your bait right in front of the walleyes nose. In cold front conditions this is essential. What you're trying to do is stay on a particular depth, or contour, where it looks like the walleyes are holding.
Walleyes are a structure oriented fish, most of the time. You might find large schools on some Great Lakes that don't relate to specific structure, but by an large they seek out structure. These walleyes will be tight to the bottom, laying in the holes between rock and cuts in the bottom. They may be feeding, or waiting in ambush to find an easy meal that comes their way. When fishing structure, you have to be able to stay tight to the structure or your lure presentation will not be in the strike zone of the fish. Move just a boat length away and you will be out of luck.
The key to locating walleyes in the river in the spring and early summer starts with locating a series of obstacles and then allowing your bait or lure to present itself in a natural manner so the walleye can race from behind the obstruction to acquire the offering and then race back into the slack water area to digest his meal and await another.
In the spring of the year the turbidity of the water subsides and walleyes are more visually stimulated as they see food floating by the slack water areas. This is not to say that all walleyes see their food before they strike and in some cases they strike more out of vibration and smell than they do from visual identification.
Although the backtrolling technique is still ideal for vertical jigging and live-bait rigging in deep water, walleye professionals today favor trolling forward with a small ?kicker,? typically a 9.9 to 15 hp outboard. Why? It allows them to fish large bodies of water such as reservoirs more effectively at higher speeds that electric trolling motors can sustain. Trollers commonly use crankbaits, bottom bouncers or weighted three-way rigs with crankbaits, spinners or spoons. To really slow down and follow the contours I use the sea anchor tied off the bow or starboard side of the boat. This acts like a brake and if I have to keep the rpm?s up a little on my kicker or big motor it still gives me control to make an inside curve or to allow the lure to track evenly behind the boat on the contour. If I want to jig a productive area for walleyes the Drift Control sea anchor comes inhandy here also. It gives me control over the stern of my boat so I can fish a given contour perpendicularly. By attaching the Drift Control to the stern cleat adjacent to the current it gives me a brake that slows down the drift of the back end of my boat and I can correct the angle with the bow mount trolling motor. Or I can also attach another one to the same side of boat in the bow giving me more drag and a slower presentation when I vertically jig this contour.
One reason that I like to use jigs while fishing for spring walleyes in a river system is the control an angler has. Vertically jigging for walleyes gets my blood pumping and believe me on those cool crisp spring days when it would be nice to be on shore burning a campfire. I need all of my blood pumping just to stay warm. With the proper head design and weight, jigs are the most versatile of all river techniques, from the shallowest flooded cover to the deepest, fastest current.
The majority of river fishing with jigs involves either slipping the current or drift fishing the current breaks. The presentation is a simple lift-drop-pause method of jigging, raising the jig some 3 to 6-inches as you slip downstream. The jigs that I prefer to use are Fireball jigs because of the rounded head. The rounded head allows the jig to bump along the bottom and not get hung up in snags or brush. If you are as vertical as possible, the jig will stand up allowing the hook to be exposed away from the floor of the river. When you tip the jig with a flathead minnow the minnow stands up and looks like it is trying to pick up the jig. As the minnow struggles against the weight of the jig it sends off wounded signals and the natural scent attracts the walleyes and allows them to hang on just that much longer. If the walleyes seem to be just biting the tails off the minnows the Fireball offers an additional eye so you can easily attach a stinger hook. The stinger hook is a great addition in thecold waters of spring and summer. Colors of the jigs should be bright in dingy water. Colors such as fluorescent orange, chartreuse and my all time favorite gold are great for fishing those spring walleyes. Anytime that you can bring attention to your bait it will help you up your odds for catching those spring walleyes. Weights may range from 1/8 to 1/2 ounces, but you should stay with the weight that is the lightest that will allow you have contact with the bottom. River walleyes have a tendency not to suspend as much as the walleyes in the lake and you don?t have to worry about missing a strike zone that is in the fish column. I will tip my jig with some plastic if I want to slow down the rate of fall, but current usually fights gravity faster and defeats the purpose of vertical jigging.
Slack water fish can also be found by pitching jigs of 1/16 to 1/8 ounce to shoreline or cover like flooded wood or boulders. The angler in this situation should use a lift drop retrieve to slip or quarter the jig downstream as it is retrieved back to the boat. This is a super tactic for fishing eddies, wing dams or shallow mid river shoals. Even in slack water areas I will use the Drift Control sea anchor to slow down my presentation and to stay with active feed walleyes. This same technique is also one that I use when I fish large bodies of water like Lake Erie. When you find the feeding fish and there is not a structural element to stay with you really want to throw a Drift Control sea anchor out and stay with those fish. Otherwise you could be blown off the spot and away from the active fish. Being in control whether you are fishing a trolling a contour, slipping the current or wind or fishing slack water or big expansive waters is the key to catching more fish. I hope these techniques produce for you and hope to see you on the water soon!
Check out this Expanded Universe
Forty years ago a derby-winning salmon or lake trout was almost certainly a plug-caught fish. More and more anglers today are switching to J-Plugs? because, as in the past, plugs are known to produce more and larger fish on a regular basis.
There is a special J-Plug? finish available today which will fit any fishing situation, whether you're after salmon, lake trout, stripers, brown trout or other large game fish.
BASIC MINNOW IMAGE
Today's J-Plug? is even better-built and more effective than its predecessors as it's made of super-strong materials and designed for maximum action and strength. Another big difference is the availability of special J-Plug? finishes designed specifically for deep water trolling and low light conditions such as the special "Glo" patterns which pick up surface light and give it off down deep. [J-Plug]
J-Plugs? are fast-action, darting plugs ideally suited for trolling. They are effective because they project a basic minnow image in the water which all fish relate to in all water conditions. This is a basic, wounded minnow, fast darting action which comes from a combination of special swivel chain rigging and lure head chamber design. The precisely engineered tolerance between the rigging and head chamber allows the swivel chain to shift and reposition itself within the chamber. This constantly changes the plug's attitude and direction in the water and creates its fish-catching, erratic, darting action.
The swivel chain rigging also allows a direct rod to fish connection after the strike as the plug body will slide up the line, free of the chain and hook assembly and away from the fish. This eliminates head-shaking leverage against the plug body that causes many fish hooked with solid body-to-hook plugs to break free. Because the J-Plug? is buoyant and separates from the hook assembly, it will float to the surface where it can be retrieved in the case of a line break or bottom snag.
The J-Plug? is a trolling lure and can be fished successfully with a variety of techniques. Trolling is a most effective fishing method, particularly on big waters, as you can cover the greatest amount of water in the shortest time allowing you to locate concentrations of fish quickly and easily. Following are recommended J-Plug? trolling techniques.
FLATLINE:
With the surface or flatline technique, the plug is tied directly to 12- to 20-lb. test main line. No additional weights are used or, at most, a small 1/8- to 1/2-oz. keel-type sinker six feet up the line from the plug. The lure is let out behind your moving boat 50 to 100 feet (anglers fishing for lake trout or brown trout sometimes let out as much as 200 feet of line as these fish can be very skittish of the boat wake) and the troll started. This technique is effective when stripers, lake trout, salmon or brown trout are feeding near the schools of baitfish close to the top or when there is an obvious abundance of other surface activity.
SHALLOW/MEDIUM:
With the addition of a standard keel sinker four to six feet up the line from the J-Plug?, shallow to medium depths can be trolled effectively. Sinker weights, depending on the depth desired, for this kind of trolling usually run from 1 to 8 ounces with main line testing from 12 to 30 pounds. Note: Always attach a swivel chain-rigged keel sinker with the single swivel end knotted to your main line and the swivel chain end back to the plug. As in flatlining, let out 50 to 100 feet of line behind your moving boat and begin the troll.
DIVERS:
One effective way to get a plug deep without excessive lead weights, or if you don't have a downrigger, is with a diving sinker such as the Deep Six?, Pink Lady? or directional Dipsy Diver?. Standard rigging is with 4 to 6 feet of leader between plug and diver and 20- to 30-lb. test main line to your rod.
Set the diver to diving position, or in the case of the directional Dipsy? set both the depth and side angle desired, let out 50 to 100 feet of line behind your moving boat (slowly to ensure that no tangles occur) and begin the troll.
DOWNRIGGERS:
J-Plugs? often are fished off a downrigger, by themselves (the most popular way). With a downrigger you will be able to work all depths and will have the advantage of no weights between you and the fish once hooked. Anglers who troll J-Plugs? by themselves behind a downrigger often prefer 10 to 20 feet (some as much as 40 feet) between the line release and plug. The longer lengths add to the erratic, darting action of the plug.
Dodgers can be used as attractors in conjunction with a #3 J-Plug? behind a downrigger with good results. Size 0 or Size 1 Jensen Dodgers are recommended. Be sure to allow at least six feet of line between the dodger and downrigger line release so as not to inhibit the dodger's action. Allow 20 to 30 inches of leader between your plug and dodger (shorter leaders impart faster plug action and longer leaders slower action).
LARGE PLUGS / LARGE FISH
Larger fish do prefer large plugs. Big fish will spend the least amount of energy necessary to catch a meal . . . larger baitfish mean less energy expended to fill up. So, if you're after big salmon or lake trout, use the larger J-Plugs?. But, remember that smaller fish often will not attack a large plug so the use of larger plugs, although great for big fish, may prevent you from catching smaller ones.
Standard J-Plugs? are popular because they are especially effective in deep water trolling situations, although, as indicated, they may be successfully used in medium or shallow water as well. The J-Plug? features a basic minnow design with a darting, erratic, free-swimming action which all fish relate to. These plugs are easy to fish, require no tuning and the direct hook-to-rod connection prevents fish from obtaining leverage against the plug, resulting in more landed fish per number of strikes. J-Plugs? also come in a variety of sizes and finishes (rattle models are available) to fit every fishing situation and are versatile as they can be trolled either fast or slow, depending on the fish species you're after.
Some other features and additional tips on fishing and using J-Plugs? include: Keep them either in the water or in your tackle box. Extreme heat can deform a plug's shape and direct sunlight can cause the finish to fade. Before placing your plug in the water, check the swivel chain dacron harness for wear and to ensure the knot is cinched tight. If the harness need replacing you may obtain one from a dealer. The dacron harness is 80-lb. test doubled. The hooks that come with the harness are high quality, 4X strong and plated to resist corrosion.
J-PLUG? FINISHES / COLORS
One of the big reasons today's J-Plugs? are effective is because of the wide variety of finishes and colors available . . . one to fit every angling situation. Following is a rundown on a few of the more popular finishes and what each represents and accomplishes in the water.
METALLIC: Highly reflective metallic finishes match the flash and colors of baitfish. Silver, Silver Cut Plug and Silver/Blue Top feature the reflective look of baitfish.
GLO: J-Plugs? are offered in Glo/Blue Top Ladderback and Glo/Florescent Green Top Ladderback finishes. These are designed specifically for deep water trolling because they contain phosphor pigments that give off light down deep. Note that these finishes contain light-sensitive pigments that can be burned and which will turn gray if exposed to strong, direct sunlight. It's best to keep plugs painted with Glo finishes either in the water fishing or stored away in your tackle box so overexposure doesn't occur. For a quick and easy "glo charge" try Luhr-Jensen's handy Power Flash unit which can double as a camera flash attachment.
SPARKLE: Several new sparkle extra-attractive sparkle finishes are now available on J-Plugs?. These include Sparkle Chartreuse/Fire Tiger, Sparkle Chartreuse/Green Tiger, Sparkle Mother-Of-Pearl and Sparkle Fire Tiger. These highly-reflective finishes provide additional strike-enticing action.
J-PLUG? TROLLING TIPS
Those are several of the tips and techniques which will help you successfully fish J-Plugs? in your favorite waters and for your favorite fish species. Remember to experiment, troll zig-zag patterns or otherwise constantly change the plug's action, Keep hooks sticky sharp and go prepared with a variety of finishes and sizes . . . there's a J-Plug? for every fishing situation.
Trolling Yellowfin Bluewater trolling has made significant advances over the past few years with better lures, or seemingly better lures, better trace making systems and new ways of attacking what can be a complex subject.
Much recent trolling development has been aimed at billfish, but there has also been a significant spin-off of ideas for catching all types of surface fish, including yellowfin tuna.
Where to Find Them
Yellowfin tuna are great travellers and tend to turn up in certain areas at different times of the year. On the mid north coast of NSW they are thick from July to October with only odd fish turning up during summer.
Further south, Sydney seems to have some yellowfin on the continental shelf all year round with fish coming almost into the rocks from November to May. Further south, the Banks and Bermagui have yellowfin from October to June and this run of fish also travels down to Tasmania at times. There are also good runs of yellowfin in Western Australia and along the outer Barrier Reef during June, July and August.
By listening to the fishing reports anglers can usually work out if the yellowfin are around and whether it is worth putting in a bit of time to catch them. It also pays to note what depth of water the fish are coming from, as this can be important for small boat anglers.
Sometimes They Don't Eat
While some of the smaller tuna species get incredibly fussy about the lures they will or won't eat, yellowfin will eat just about any lure. The problem with yellowfin is that they spend a lot of their time cruising down deep and sometimes just won't come up for a lure or just show no interest in lures at all.
Throw a live slimy mackerel into the same situation and it will be instantly nailed. It is just a peculiarity of the fish. As a rule though, small to medium sized yellowfin show a great interest in eating lures while the big fish over 50 kg only occasionally get worked up over artificials. Again this is just a peculiarity of the fish.
Tackle
For the average angler who just wants to put a yellowfin on the deck all sorts of gear can be used. The best option is genuine game tackle with a lever drag reel and stroker type rod. Line class is a matter for the angler and it really depends on what other fish might be mixed in with the yellowfin. Our standard tackle is 15 kg with a couple of 24's and a couple of 10 kg outfits. If the anglers don't have a wide choice of tackle, a standard jig/live bait rod with a large overhead reel full of 15 or 10 kg line is perfectly functional. Lighter gear down to 6 kg is also useful. It just depends on what eats the lure and how much line and time the angler wants to invest in the fish.
Trolling lure selection for yellowfin. Right to left: Top Gun. Fenwick Psycho-Speed. Pakula Cockroach, Pakula Hornet, Pakula Mosquito, Wilson No 2 Sea Jet and Zuker red and white feather.
Boat Set Up
Any vessel trolling offshore needs to be able to set at least four outfits without tangling the lures as the boat moves around. This is usually achieved with two rods set at 45 degrees or more and two rods set straight in line with the sides of the boat. Trolling one or two lures is not nearly as effective as trolling a pattern of four or more lures. So if one lure goes out it is much better if four or more go out. If the boat can troll six, eight or ten lures all the better, as the more lures that are set the better the overall result.
The Lures
The first choice for all lure trollers are purpose designed trolling heads with some form of skirt fitted. These come in a hundred different patterns and a thousand different skirt combinations; they can also cost anything from a few dollars to a king's ransom. Cheapies Starting with the cheapies, a 60 gm red and white feather will still take a heap of fish. The lure is improved by running a file across the face of the lead head and removing 3 or 4mm of metal leaving a flat face. The next is the Wilson No. 2 Sea Jet in pink over Christmas tree. This lure, while quite cheap is devastating on tuna and small marlin. Don't go trolling without it. Both these lures are rigged with 8/0 Tarpons or Mustad 7732 stainless hooks and either 150 or 250 pound traces.
More Expensive
The next lot go from reasonably priced to expensive, it's just a matter of what takes the anglers fancy. The small to medium Pakulas like the Cockroach, Homet, and Mosquito are all well proven on yellowfin. Colours that work best are pink over mauve, black over blue and lime green over yellow. These are rigged with single 8/0 or 9/0 Mustad 7732 stainless hooks. Next in the selection are two Zuker trolling heads featuring red and white feather tails and blue-black tails. Pacific put out a model, which is rounded in the head and tends to get blown all over the place by the wind, but it still catches a lot of fish.
At the large end of the range the Tom Nairn made Top Guns in blue, silver and green take their share of the tuna and a fair number of marlin as well. This is rigged with two 10/0 Mustad 7732 hooks. Our best tuna-trolling lure by a wide stretch is an old Penn Fenwick Psycho-speed in pink over white. Despite its age it just keeps catching fish. It's just one of those lures that fish like to eat.
Almost all our tuna lures are rigged with a single hook. The trend to double hook rigs helps with billfish, but we seem to do better on yellowfin using single hook rigs and smaller sized hooks than for marlin. As can be seen from the selection, the lures are mostly small or long and thin. This seem to suit the yellowfin much more than the chunky, splashy models that work so well on marlin.
Most of our tuna lures are rigged on 250 lb trace material. The big lures on heavy tackle go out on 400 lb trace but 250 lb, is enough for most of the lures. The trace has little or nothing to do with yellowfin tuna, but with the striped and blue marlin that take the same lures in the same places as the yellowfin. The marlin wears out 150 lb traces fairly easily but it takes a lot longer to wear out the 250 lb.
Minnows
Apart from standard trolling heads, minnow lures are also readily attacked by yellowfin. Both the bibless and bibbed types will work and selection is a matter of personal choice. We have had good success with the CD 18 and CD 26 Rapalas and the big Haleo minnows. Best colours are red head white body and blue mackerel. The minnows are trolled on two metres of 80 lb trace rigged with a large snap swivel at the business end and a brass ring at the other. Billfish don't hit the minnows very often and when they do they usually unhook very rapidly, so the minnows can go out on quite light trace.
Trolling Tactics
One of the reasons it pays to troll multiple groupings of lures is that yellowfin are a school fish and are rarely alone. By providing a number of lures in the pattern the angler is inviting multiple strikes. In fact our system tends to both invite and encourage multiple strikes. The lures are selected on the basis of wind conditions first. If it's flat, calm and with little or no wind anything can go out. If it is windy only lures with flat faces like the Pakulas, the Wilson or minnows go out. These lures provide drag against the water and will hold their position relative to the back of the boat despite the wind. Round headed lures and others with no inherent drag will be blown all over the place and cause crossovers and tangles. This point is always worth remembering. Boat speed is between six and eight knots depending on what makes the lures work best. Somewhere either side of 7.5 knots is about perfect if accurate speed-readings are available.
Lure Patterns
Setting the lure pattern is very important. One of the reasons why large numbers of lures can be trolled for yellowfin is because they will come very close to the stern to grab that bit of plastic. We set the lures in matched pairs down each side of the pattern. The first two lures can be 15 metres back, then two at 25 metres and then two well back.
This allows even small boats to set six lures. If yellowfin is the main game the middle lures in the pattern should be the minnows and they may need to be dropped back to 30 metres. Because they run below the surface they won't foul the other lures or lines set further back. The lures are basically set in size order with the smaller lures closest to the boat and then bigger lures set on heavier gear as they move out. One point that should be noted is that sometimes the yellowfin will only hit the minnows. If this happens a couple of times in a given day the obvious answer is to clip a couple more minnows on to increase the strike rate.
Multiple Strikes
As said earlier, we aim for multiple strikes and the gear is set that way. On yellowfin it probably can't be avoided anyway. If there is a hand for every rod it is just a matter of avoiding crossed lines and staying cool, and everything work out. When there are two anglers and three or more fish on, the trick is to also stay cool. Wind in the gear that does not have anything on the end of it and then take the fish one by one. If the boat drifts downwind or is motored slowly straight ahead the tuna will actually pull against the rod and line tension, and basically just stay there until you get to them. It's a tuna trait that is worth learning and remembering.
The other thing worth remembering is to keep trolling on once one fish hooks up. This is particularly important if the lure closest to the boat goes off first. The rest of the school still hasn't seen the other lures out there. Usually the troll-on distance is about 100 metres or so. It's not a problem for the skipper, only for the angler on the first fish, who has to wind back those extra 100 metres or so. Despite the extra work, this little trick regularly hooks up an extra fish or two.
Covering The Ground
Yellowfin turn up in all sorts of places and the best way to find them is to have some lures out as you cover the water. Anglers just moving from spot to spot can always pay out a few lures. Often the trip home is in sloppy water anyway, so putting out the lures and burbling home at eight knots is an easy and productive way to finish the day. The best results though always go to anglers who are prepared to put the time in. By picking the right times when the fish are about, and being prepared to troll for four or five hours at a stretch, the results will come.
These fish are great sport and top eating, so make sure there is plenty of ice on board for the catch. Lure caught fish are also easy to release, so once one good one or a couple of small ones are in the bag, the rest can go back to play with their mates. Just don't waste these beautiful and precious sports fish. The important point is to enjoy catching them and the challenge of finding them.
Open Water Trolling
Schooled walleyes roaming open water, either suspending or lying over open basins, are the reason an angler would switch from a jigging approach to a bait delivery system that would include planer boards, snap weights, and crankbaits or spinners.
Trolling boards arose out of the Great Lakes where they were used for lake trout and salmon. Walleye anglers were quick to use this application for big water walleyes as well. Boards spread multiple lines wide to the sides of the boat, to minimize spooking and to present a spread of lures at multiple depths. No longer are you limited to trolling a narrow path behind the boat. Instead you can now troll a path 150 feet wide, simultaneously experimenting with depth, lure size and action, color patterns, speed and more.
This presentation is effective for eliminating unproductive water and zeroing in on walleyes, particularly at the 1 to 3 mph quick trolling range, which is productive in cool to cold water, and during summer as well. It?s simple in principle, complex in execution, in order to minimize tangles, maximize catches, and achieve desired results. But a properly run set of lines proceeds through open water like a giant rake, showing fish suspended at the target depth.
Board presentations evolved from traditional mast and ski systems popular on large Great Lakes boats, to small in-line planers easy to use in smaller craft. Planer boards clip onto line via simple friction releases, sending lines out to the sides of the boat while trolling. When a fish strikes, bobbing or dragging the board backward, reel in, detach the board release with a quick twist of thumb and forefinger, drop the board in the boat, and fight the fish unhindered by excess hardware. Planer boards are small and light enough to use on traditional walleye gear. Typically that would mean that you could use line as light as 10
pound test monofilament which maintains good lure action and diving
depth, and promotes a good fight on light tackle. Anglers generally use
long trolling rods about 7 to 8 footers to hold lines off the surface of the water while trolling, reducing drag and maximizing the spread. Long handled rods fit in rod holders until a fish strikes. A well placed spread of four lines effectively covers open water options. Crankbaits run at specific depths depending on size, diving lip, line length and trolling speed. Within the natural diving range of each lure, depth is fine tuned by adjusting line length. Trolling reels wit line length indicators have become popular for exact replication of productive depth and pinpoint control. Many manufacturers offer line counting reels now so anglers don?t have to count the number of throws a reel goes through to set a specific depth. Few crankbaits dive deeper than 25 feet, even on a long line.
To reach depths exceeding the natural diving ability of crankbaits, weight must be added to the line to drop lures down into the fish zone. This is just as true for presenting spinner-crawler combos. Walleye anglers have several solutions for increasing running depth while maintaining control. Traditional deep water trolling was once accomplished with leadcore line. This leadcore line is braided dacron with a thin lead core, creating a sinker running the entire length of the line. Leadcore was used to troll deep water for walleyes or trout. The answer to the solution of depth was to simply let more line out and the lure went deeper.
A monofilament leader between the lure and leadcore minimized spooking. When a fish hit, you simply reeled the leadcore up into a large capacity trolling reel. When leadcore was first used with planer boards, it was to heavy; anything more than about 30 yards of leadcore sunk a typical board. This was remedied by tying a 10, 20, or 30 yard segment of leadcore into the main line, 50 feet a head of the lure. The segmented leadcore approach took lures down to about 35 feet, but was somewhat confusing to most anglers. Multiple reels with different lengths of segmented leadcore were needed to effectively cover a variety of depths. The answer was attaching weights to the main line. Trouble was, a sinker placed too near the lure spooked fish, and too far up the line it interfered with netting. The solution came from tackle companies, that offered detachable snap weights. Simply let out some line, then with the same release clip used on planer boards, snap a weight onto a line 50 feet ahead of the lure.
Now let out as much additional line as necessary to reach a targeted trolling depth. Need more depth? Switch to a heavier sinker. Got a bite? Reel in until the sinker is within reach, then pinch it off your line and drop it in the boat. Experiment with weights from 1/4 up to 3 ounces with boards, heavier sinkers without boards. Open water trolling for suspended fish taught anglers that walleyes could be caught tight to the bottom. Run snap weights near bottom, or switch to three-way rigs or bottom bouncers to make lures or baits run just above bottom. Bouncers run the closest, while three-ways are adjustable by varying dropper length. Remember, anything more than 3 ounces can sink a planer board, though heavier weights can be used without boards for fishing on or near bottom with vertical lines, to cover many productive zones. Trolling large open water expanses has recently been applied to some areas that previously would not have been attempted with amazing results. This summer don?t keep pounding the shoreline in hopes of catching a few fish when you have all of that open water to troll.