What lure? Trolling behind kayak/boat?

[JustJames]

What lures normally you guys use for trolling behind kayak. I tried chatterbait and Keitech swing impact on 1/4 oz hook with no luck. Amyone wanna give me some tip and trick?

[CroakHunter]

When I did this we were in a 16ft Jon boat, but we were tourney fishing and starving so we got on the upwind side of the pit (about 100 acres) and drifted slowly with the wind while we ate a sandwich to our next spot. I bombed my carolina rig out with rod in one hand and ham sandwich in the other, drew a few strikes in the small stretch we floated while we took a break. 

[Catt]

Texas Rigged plastic

[JustJames]

Thanks both but im not too sure if Carolina or Texas rig weight/weightless would work while moving from spot to spot, it might get snag or moving too fast. I would try to soak second rod while fishing but I did not buy second rod stamp. 

Anyway my plan for trolling when I go kayaking/boating with my wife around my lake.

[flyfisher]

1 hour ago, JustJames said:

Thanks both but im not too sure if Carolina or Texas rig weight/weightless would work while moving from spot to spot, it might get snag or moving too fast. I would try to soak second rod while fishing but I did not buy second rod stamp. 

Anyway my plan for trolling when I go kayaking/boating with my wife around my lake.

What is a second rod stamp?  Have never heard of that before.

As far as trolling goes i prefer crank baits at the depth i want to target.

[fishballer06]

Shad Raps are the go to whenever we troll for walleye. Catches plenty of bass too.

[GetBent]

Crankbaits for the depth you're in. 

[scaleface]

I have trolled a crankbait  over a deep whole in a small river from a canoe with success . I cant recall the brand  . 

[J Francho]

Trolling behind a kayak is a bit of a pain.  1 to 1.5 mph is optimal for most baits, and that's a VERY slow paddle.  I generally get 3.5+ with minimal paddling effort.  What I do best with is throwing a large, suspending jerk bait or a big jointed floating swimbait off to the side, or behind me when I'm fishing a spot.  The random movement of  the boat moves the baits along, and I often catch on the second bait.  A MS Slammer or Mini Slammer are my favorites to use for this.

[JustJames]

42 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

What is a second rod stamp?  Have never heard of that before.

As far as trolling goes i prefer crank baits at the depth i want to target.

In ca, you allow to only have one rod in the water per fishing license unless you buy a second rod stamp. 

Seem like everyone recommend deep driving crank. How fast do I have to go? Shad rap might work for me too but it won't get that deep. Any plastic swimbait would work for stop and go type?

[BassinFoCo1417]

Second rod stamp here in CO allows you to have a second line in the water. For a few extra bucks ($5) its definitely worth it. On the tough days here ill often be freelining a bluegill with one rod and working artificials with the other

[JustJames]

23 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Trolling behind a kayak is a bit of a pain.  1 to 1.5 mph is optimal for most baits, and that's a VERY slow paddle.  I generally get 3.5+ with minimal paddling effort.  What I do best with is throwing a large, suspending jerk bait or a big jointed floating swimbait off to the side, or behind me when I'm fishing a spot.  The random movement of  the boat moves the baits along, and I often catch on the second bait.  A MS Slammer or Mini Slammer are my favorites to use for this.

That sound interesting since I have some floating rapala and savage 3D bluegill. I might really have to buy a second rod stamp so I can soak some plastic or leaving jerkbait behind while fishing other rod.

10 minutes ago, BassinFoCo1417 said:

Second rod stamp here in CO allows you to have a second line in the water. For a few extra bucks ($5) its definitely worth it. On the tough days here ill often be freelining a bluegill with one rod and working artificials with the other

CO is pretty cheap, In CA it would cost 14 bucks for second rod stamp on top of 45 bucks I already paid for license and if I ever wanna fish saltwater then I'd have to buy another stamp for it, but I might get it after all.

[Doelman]

I'm strictly a paddle fisherman and I always troll a bait while moving between spots.  I do not troll crankbaits while I'm moving spot to spot, because I don't want to have to worry about getting snagged on the bottom, also some cranks can create a lot of resistance and that slows you down.  I do troll crankbaits when I'm actually trying to troll though.

 

I've caught bass on a large number of lures while moving around.  Up north, Mepps spinners have been the best bait to troll and almost anything will bite them.  Down here in the south, I've had excellent luck trolling swim jigs, shallow running jerk baits, some top water baits like wake baits, plastics, swim baits.  Really anything that has action with a simple retrieve can be trolled behind the boat, it just depends on what they want that day. 

[J Francho]

40 minutes ago, JustJames said:

That sound interesting since I have some floating rapala and savage 3D bluegill.

 

Perfect baits for what I described.

[Dorado]

I kayak fish a lot in AZ and rarely troll when I'm targeting LMB. However, for trout (Kastmasters/Mepps Comet Minnos), stripers (4" Paddletails),  and white bass (Wiggle Warts) I troll with a VERY slow paddle and at least 75 ft of line behind like someone said earlier. It's very effective whether you are parallel to the shore or circling islands. 

 

@JustJames do you have a sonar? This time of the year it's all about finding those schooling shad. 

 

If you solely targeting LMB from a kayak, IMO, I would focus more on using your confidence baits at places that have structure and places with steep drop offs and rocky cliffs. 

 

Last thing. I usually bring a buddy along who loves to paddle more than fish and he just trolls a lipless crank (Rapala Rippin' Rap - Chrome w/ Blue Back) and ALWAYS catches something (LMB, catfish). I have a tandem kayak and I'm neurotic about only one person paddling at a time to ensure a slow speed when trolling.    

[jr231]

I second the jointed minnow, and inline spinner for multi species action.. 

 

Try a rapala tail dancer. 

[Subaqua Adinterim]

You can have success with a variety of lures - Rapalas, Thin Fins, various crank baits.  Also spinners, gitzit tubes, whatever you can retrieve below the surface when you cast, you can use trolling from a kayak.

 

Don't try to win races when trolling, just go at a slow, leisurely pace.  Initially, take a look at your lure in the water, close to the side of your kayak, to see how it's tracking and try to maintain that pace.  With crank baits, you can see the rhythm and bend of the rod tip which will indicate that the lure is tracking properly when it's behind your kayak.  Don't be afraid to let a lot of line out, particularly if you are trolling a shallow running lure such as a small floating Rapala.

 

Have your rod holder in front of you and your rod horizontal to the water, with the tip close to the water, maybe a few feet or less  from touching it.  It's good to have the rod on a mount in front of you so you can see it pull back when you get a strike.  You will also be able to see if your lure stops tracking properly, due to weeds or whatever else may happen.

 

Trolling from a kayak can be very successful, because of the inherent difference between a motorized craft and a human powered one.  For the most part, a motorized craft will travel at a constant speed when trolling.  A human is not machine like, and will from time to time, pause and/or vary paddling speed.  This will cause irregularities in the travel of your lure and can trigger a strike.

 

I have caught many bass when trolling in my kayak; also, pike, pickerel, pan fish and surprisingly brown trout and even more surprising lake trout.  Trolling is not the primary tactic that I use; however, if I'm traveling from one place to another on the lake and am not in any hurry, I might as well have a lure in the water and give myself a chance to catch something.

 

Good luck with your efforts.

[JustJames]

Thanks @RichPenNY I do have Scotty rod holder on my kayak which I plan to do as you suggested. Lay it across of kayak in front of me not to one side. I also do stop and go type when trolling but not success yet.

 

[Subaqua Adinterim]

7 hours ago, JustJames said:

Scotty rod holder on my kayak which I plan to do as you suggested. Lay it across of kayak in front of me not to one side. I also do stop and go type when trolling but not success yet

James - I like your set up.  If you turn your rod holder to the left, so it faces the water, depending on the length of your rod, you will get approximately 7' of separation from your kayak.  While paddling doesn't create the noise and turbulence of a motor, it wont hurt to get some separation from your paddling action.  Also, no need to completely stop paddling, just pause or vary your speed slightly, Trolling parallel to the outside edge of weed lines is very productive.  Good luck

[J Francho]

Look at the back drop in James' picture! Wow!

[Deleted account]

If you are going to troll between spots, just put out what you have tied on. If you are really going to troll. a crank, JB, or plastic paddle or curly tail on a jighead or swim jig will get bit. It really depends how much stuff (mostly grass and such) there is to hang you up which determines what would be best, or a spoonplug....

[Crestliner2008]

I second "reason's" post above. A simple 3" curly tailed grub on a 1/8 oz. ball head jig with get you bit, regardless of the species you are targeting.....trout.....bass.....catfish.....you name it. Probably the most effective lure ever created by man.

[JustJames]

Thanks again, I'll try that next time since I happened to have plenty of 1/8 oz jig head and Zman 3" grub. I know there is crappie in this lake but I have not caught one yet.

[Crestliner2008]

24 minutes ago, JustJames said:

Thanks again, I'll try that next time since I happened to have plenty of 1/8 oz jig head and Zman 3" grub. I know there is crappie in this lake but I have not caught one yet.

 

If it's crappie you are specifically targeting, then I would alter the suggestion slightly. I'd go with a 1/16 oz. jig with 2" curly tails instead. Slightly smaller profile and more appealing to the majority of crappie.