Trolling tools /Questions

[pduquette]

I picked up a pair of "Fish seeker" trolling divers - anyone use these in salt water ? They say to troll @ 2 mph , any good suggestions to get my speed down ? my best slow speed (at idle) nets arround 4 by gps . I'm looking to hook Stripers blues and will be draggin squid / mackrel as bait. peter

 

[EddiePetty]

Re: Trolling tools /Questions

...the pictures indicated an outboard....what H.P.??
Do you have hydraulic trim tabs, a trolling brake ??
A kicker of approiate H.P. for your hull may be the solution.
...give us some feed-back.
Ed in 'ol Virginny

 

[thurps]

Re: Trolling tools /Questions

I love trolling, you just never know what you will catch. A trolling plate is probably the best way to control your low-end speeds and a little research can help you with specific species as far as speeds and lures are concerned. I'm not familiar with your waters but here you troll as slow as you can 1 ? - 2 mph. for salmon at 20? to 100? (downriggers) and about 7 ? mph for tuna on the surface. You can troll anywhere in between and catch anything from sharks to rockfish while traveling between fishing spots. Good luck.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Trolling tools /Questions

Trolling plates are a pain and hydraulic trim tabs don't go down enough to make a difference.

Easiest method is to drag a couple of buckets. Tie off 2-1 gallon buckets, one on each side of the boat. Works like a charm

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Trolling tools /Questions

4 mph for bluefish is good. We run 4-5mph for blues using deep diving Rapplas no weight. They may go down 10 feet when trolling.

I try to fish stripers at 1-1/2 mph. I have a hard time trolling under 2.7mph so I keep putting it in & out of throttle till I get down to 1mph and then put it in throttle.

You could use a Sea Anchor behind the boat. Before doing that take a 5gal. bucket tie a rope to it and troll it about 10ft behind the boatand that may get you under 2mph.

 

[pduquette]

Re: Trolling tools /Questions

Thanks for the input guys! I like the bucket idea - a good way to put my tow harness to use !! Oh the boat is 15' , 68" beam , and an '80 Johnson 50hp . no t/t or hydro tabs . Fly Rod , seeing lots of fish 25' + deep . More + bigger in ditch 35-40' . hopeing to get my gear to 20'-25'- and run paralel to the channel in Buzzards Bay...( No fishing In the channel ) peter

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Trolling tools /Questions

The trolling speed is determined by the type of fish and lure, not the recommendation by the diver manufacturer. Some divers may work better at certain speeds, so choose the fish, then the lure, then the diver that will work these first two choices.

If you do want to slow down, the easiest method is to add a kicker for trolling. This saves fuel, plus wear and tear on the main motor. Other low cost methods like a sea anchor or bucket work too, they?re just more of a hassle.

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Trolling tools /Questions

pduquette... Put my boat away for the season. There had been some nice fishing along the shore some 25lb plus. Have been plenty of mack's around.

 

[pduquette]

Re: Trolling tools /Questions

I only have about 6" of freeboard on my transom before I get wet.... so I've been reluctant to add my 9.8 merc there too. I've also recently picked up a bow mount elec troller (fw) that needs pedal repairs . I'm sure it's boating hieriacy , but maybe I need to put a smaller motor back on ...

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Trolling tools /Questions

I had a very similar boat with the same motor and had no problem trolling slow. Make sure the idle is turned down, if it still isn't slow enough a bucket will work well.