Trolling, general how to?

[tekmunki]

Got a flats boat recently and have taken it out quite a few times since for some inshore fishing--- I've heard a lot of local talk regarding success catching spanish mackerel trolling clark spoons.

The back of my boat has 4 gunwale rod holders that would allow me to drop 4 lines off the back... I tried running a single line and rolling about 8mph around some known spots in 6-8ft waters, got nothing--- after about 20minutes I gave up- I was clearly doing something wrong. All I caught was a ton of grass and was scared the rod was going to jump out due to the way the rod was tipping and flayling about.


Basically... if I could have these questions answered I'd be much better off- there doesn't seem to be any "trolling for dummies" and every real-life response says "go drop a line-in and go faster than you'd think you should go"... obviously that didn't work for me at all...

1) how far back do I drop the line? I see my wake for a good 200 yards, is this OK?

2) do I move in straight lines or slight turns?

3) how deep of water? how far out?

4) how fast is a good starting speed?

5) how many lines do I drop out and how do I keep them from getting tangled with the other lines when one gets hit?

6) do I stop the boat when I get a bite or keep trucking and let someone else on-board reel it in?

7) clark spoons catch pretty much everything?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Trolling, general how to?

Got a flats boat recently and have taken it out quite a few times since for some inshore fishing--- I've heard a lot of local talk regarding success catching spanish mackerel trolling clark spoons.

The back of my boat has 4 gunwale rod holders that would allow me to drop 4 lines off the back... I tried running a single line and rolling about 8mph around some known spots in 6-8ft waters, got nothing--- after about 20minutes I gave up- I was clearly doing something wrong. All I caught was a ton of grass and was scared the rod was going to jump out due to the way the rod was tipping and flayling about.


Basically... if I could have these questions answered I'd be much better off- there doesn't seem to be any "trolling for dummies" and every real-life response says "go drop a line-in and go faster than you'd think you should go"... obviously that didn't work for me at all...

1) how far back do I drop the line? I see my wake for a good 200 yards, is this OK?

2) do I move in straight lines or slight turns?

3) how deep of water? how far out?

4) how fast is a good starting speed?

5) how many lines do I drop out and how do I keep them from getting tangled with the other lines when one gets hit?

6) do I stop the boat when I get a bite or keep trucking and let someone else on-board reel it in?

7) clark spoons catch pretty much everything?

1. Experiment with length of line out, if you're running 4 rods start the closest one at about 30 yds. and then put the rest out 10-20 yds further than the last one. Note which one get's bit the most and adjust the others accordingly.

2. I like making a serpentine run, smooth turns left and right. This will speed up the lures and raise them in the water column on the outside of the turn and the lures will slow and fall on the inside of the turn. Note which side get's the most bites, if you get bit more on the outside increase your trolling speed. If the inside get's more bites slow down.

3. 20-35' of water

4. Between 5-10 mph experiment with your speed and the serpentine turns.

5. Experiment with different weight lures on each line, this will help reduce tangles... but you will tangle when a big fish hits. You can also try planer boards to keep your lines further apart.

6. Never stop the boat when trolling, reel the fish in under power. This adds to the fight and will make those little Spanish feel bigger.

7. Spoons will catch about anything.

Here's a vid that might help you, check out the similar ones on that page too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPsu4mkzrkY

If you're going to troll grass bed, troll the outside edge of the bed. The fish will come out of the grass to ambush your lure and then try to swim back into the grass.

 

[Beefer]

Re: Trolling, general how to?

I'll add that when you have more then one line out, make all turns very wide and slow. Watch your lines as you make the turns, and if it looks like they're gonna tangle, they probably will, so correct as necessary.

Inshore trolling... interesting....

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Trolling, general how to?

I guess ol' tekmunki didn't like our answers Beefer.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Trolling, general how to?

It's funny how people fish the same species differently from area to area. We troll for them in deep water (50+' ) using #2 in-line planers and Clarke spoons directly behind the boat ~ 7 knots. Anything slower and the Bluefish start crashing the party.

 

[tekmunki]

Re: Trolling, general how to?

I guess ol' tekmunki didn't like our answers Beefer.

Sorry for the late reply, I wanted to give it a shot before replying- but thank you both for the input...

I went out yesterday for a day on the water with the family... To start I ran 2 lines out, one about 20 yards out, the other varied between 30 and 40 yards out. Both clark spoons, I had my wife doing the serpentine runs at 5 to 11mph, granted - we were relatively close to in-shore, we did this in 15-20ft of water, the only boat in the area - this particular location was recommended by a veteran fisherman in the area who claims to constantly reel in Spanish mackerel there.

After about 30 minutes with trolling with no action, we decided to just drift and fish... Perhaps 30 min was too little time and we weren't patient enough. I did have some fun when we stopped, I dropped a jig in some 15ft water and grabbed my first-ever Sea Robin- what an odd looking fish. LOL Back on topic though...

My 21' CC puts out some serious wake at over 8mph, I had the hardest time even seeing the lures (with amber berkley +1 sunglasses, anyways). I can only imagine that it's probably just as hard for the fish to see- I'm hoping when my trim tabs come in, they'll help out the wake and keep the lure more visible. FWIW, I saw another boat trolling in the same fashion making much less wake- However, they were also fighting a massive fish for about 10 minutes before I lost sight of them going the opposite direction...

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Trolling, general how to?

Just keep at it TM and you'll get it. You really aren't giving it enough time, but as soon as you catch a couple of fish doing it... you'll be addicted!

The best way to troll is to kick back, enjoy the ride and hope you don't catch anything... then you'll be busier than a cat covering squat on a hot tin roof.

I notice your location is Lake City, are you going over to the gulf side around Suwannee?

 

[tekmunki]

Re: Trolling, general how to?

Just keep at it TM and you'll get it. You really aren't giving it enough time, but as soon as you catch a couple of fish doing it... you'll be addicted!

The best way to troll is to kick back, enjoy the ride and hope you don't catch anything... then you'll be busier than a cat covering squat on a hot tin roof.

I notice your location is Lake City, are you going over to the gulf side around Suwannee?

Yes! North, mostly Horseshoe Beach and Steinhatchee areas.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Trolling, general how to?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPsu4mkzrkY

 

[tekmunki]

Re: Trolling, general how to?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPsu4mkzrkY

thanks, i caught that vid in jigngrubs post earlier, and yes, I use swivels to the wire leader... LoL