How many of you troll?

[KSanford33]

I know you can’t do it in tournaments, but if you’re just out on the water, how many of you troll?

[Scott F]

I don’t do it often, but one lake I fish has a few big weedy flats that I’ll drift over and cast. If the wind isn’t blowing, I’ll troll the flats to cover more water faster. It’s been an effective way to catch ‘em.

[WRB]

Before tournaments outlawed trolling it was the primary technique for anglers to catch bass on plugs(diving crank baits).

I use trolling as a method to teach new bass anglers how to learn what diving crank baits feel like when a bass strikes or is hitting something like the bottom and how deep the lure actually dives.

Good technique fishing new lakes and covering lots of water in the strike zone.

So yes I troll at times for bass mostly trout in fresh water.

Tom

PS, strolling is trolling with the trolling motor😎

Tom

[Susky River Rat]

I have never done it for bass. Other species yes.

[GRiver]

Caught LM and crappie when trolling for stripers, when they run. Other than that, I once let a curly tail hang over the while repositioning the boat. The rod tuned and started over the edge, was able to catch it, after some fancy juggling and dancing on deck. Thought it was a snag, ended up being a dink large mouth.  

[Team9nine]

Yep - I’d safely guess about 250 bass caught trolling these past two years 😎

[Tackleholic]

Trollin' is borin', and unethical to this totally committed Bass Fisherman.

[MediumMouthBass]

I know trolling works, and ive caught fish by doing it. But to me trolling is the bluetooth hands free version of a drop shot. I dont like golf, i dont like watching paint dry, and i dont like drop shots. Its way to boring, i need to be casting/retrieving constantly to get my daily recommend dose of bass fishing.

3 hours ago, Tackleholic said:

Trollin' is borin', and unethical to this totally committed Bass Fisherman.

[bartnc37]

I'll pull some flicker shads over the weed edges on the one pothole we fish when the conditions warrant it but to be fair it's 50/50 bass or Walters  so I don't feel real bad about it.  It's fun with the daughter and nephew as well,  they grin like possums when they get hit by a nice bass or pike. 

[Scott F]

23 minutes ago, Tackleholic said:

Trollin' is borin', and unethical to this totally committed Bass Fisherman.

What makes trolling unethical? Because it’s not allowed in bass tournaments? Walleye and Muskie tournaments allow it. 

[bartnc37]

6 minutes ago, Scott F said:

What makes trolling unethical? Because it’s not allowed in bass tournaments? Walleye and Muskie tournaments allow it. 

If they allow scoping they should allow trolling, then you would really see some big bags and Randy crying

[Tackleholic]

5 minutes ago, Scott F said:

What makes trolling unethical? Because it’s not allowed in bass tournaments? Walleye and Muskie tournaments allow it. 

 

6 minutes ago, Scott F said:

What makes trolling unethical? Because it’s not allowed in bass tournaments? Walleye and Muskie tournaments allow it. 

Yep, and Yeppers.

[gim]

2 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

I have never done it for bass. Other species yes.

 

Same.  Did a lot of it years ago targeting walleyes.  My parents still do too.

 

My boat isn't really set up for it now.  Tiller boats are ideal for it, not console bass boats.

 

I honestly found it kind of boring myself, even though it was effective at times.

[softwateronly]

I don't enjoy trolling.  Just not the way I want to fish.

 

scott

[WRB]

Trolling for bass requires a developed skill to keep the boat in the same depth while varying speed to produce strikes. For example the life zone depth is 12’ you need to follow the 14’ contour line doing a lazy S pattern crossing over the 12’ line back to 14’ while the structure is constantly changing.

You are going along a fairly straight shoreline approaching a point what do you do? If you go straight the depth will get too shallow and snag the lures! 
You change direction going an out deeper so the lures continue along the 12-14’ depth. This often requires going straight away from the point while looking for bass or bait dragging the trolling lures through the fish.

If you catch bass work the point before continuing along the opposite side of the point then continuing following the contour depth. 
This takes skill and keeping on top of where you are going.

Boring catching bass…hardly!

Tom

[Rockhopper]

I troll and back bounce for salmon all the time

[Catt]

I grew up fishing offshore, I have drug a lure or two behind a boat. I use another outlawed technique I learned offshore, the Alabama Rig. It was just a little bigger.

 

Do not under any circumstance troll an Alabama Rig behind your boat!

[papajoe222]

I troll for other species, but for bass the closest thing to trolling is drifting while dragging a jig or worm. I like a little more control of my presentations than trolling offers, like changing speed, direction, depth, etc.

[Jar11591]

I might throw a line with a crankbait over the side while I’m changing spots, but that’s about all the trolling I do for bass. 

[TnRiver46]

All the time. Caught this 21.5” SMB pulling a crankbait downstream 3 mph on dec 20, 2016. 

 

 

My buddy then got this one at 20” next pass thru the same spot 

 

We fished that same area casting all kinds of baits with no bites. The same scenario plays out all the time. Trolling baits fast will make inactive fish bite, if you’re not trying it you are missing out on fish! Swallow your pride 

[Craig P]

Not a fan of it. It’s just boring to me. To each their own though, a day on the water is what you make of it. 

[the reel ess]

When I was a kid we chased stripers & white bass that schooled. We would troll when they were in the area, but weren't surfacing. There were the occasional catches of bass, often good ones off structure. My buddy has caught some of his biggest bass trolling for crappie on the trolling motor in colder months. He's also seen some big bass chase the crappie to the surface while he's reeling them in.

[Jig Man]

By its purest definition I guess I do troll.  I rarely stop my boat unless fish are congregated.  I keep it moving from .3 to .5 mph.  As I work the bait back I usually let it get behind the boat for a while in case I am not fishing deep enough, especially with jigs and Neds.  I think of this as dragging instead of trolling.

[padon]

i dont troll per se but i will drift big flats on windy days and use the trolling motor to help correct course to cover where i want to fish.

[scaleface]

I troll some. There are people that say catfish dont show up on sonar because they lack an air bladder. I have trolled crankbaits  through fish arches many times and caught channel cats.