Trolling Advice for Bass

[Captain Rhino]

I have done a good bit of searching, and cannot find much about lake trolling. Can anybody give me some pointers? I have a lot of gear, but not sure what is most effective (as far as line size, amount of weight used, and bait presentation). I usually throw lures on the move, and have never really been taught how to deep troll for bass (and possibly trout in the lake I'm going to). But I would like to try it.

The lake I'm going to is Laurel River-Lake. It is a man-made, clean lake, with steep drop-offs. Any help?

Thanks,

Rhino

[WRB]

You should read Buck Perry's spoon plug books.

Deep diving crank baits run about 75 feet back of the boat at a slow walking speed. Run the plug along side the boat and watch it's action, should be the same as when you reel it back when casting.

Bomber 6A & 7A, Normans DD15 & DD22 and your favorite lip less Traps all are good trolling lures.

Use a depth finder to keep the boat path near the depth the lures are running. Make slow S turns to change the pace of the lures.

WRB

[Captain Rhino]

I have some deep diving DT's and other cranks, I assume those will work just as well. What water depth should I run the boat at in this situation? And what pound test do you recommend using?

[WRB]

Near the depth the lures dive down to. When you make the S sweeps the lure should bump the bottom at the shallowest depth and move deeper, then repeat. Follow points out from shallow to deep and make a loop turn and follow the point back towards shore. Keep a eye out for bas near the bottom and run lures that run to that depth.

WRB

[Catt]

Any lure can be trolled

The key is depth control & speed control

Try to follow contour lines, weed lines, timber lines ECT

[Olebiker]

Check with some of the old guys are Northern Kentucky and see if you can beg some old Bombers from them.  They were great trolling lures and you should be able to buy them for a lot less than a DD will cost you.  You will lose lures.

[fishinfewl]

I've caught bass trolling for stripers w/ 3/4 oz Rat-L-Traps.  

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

If you think the fish are deeper than the running depth of your lure, you can use a three way rig with an appropriate sinker on the drop line. Use a lighter weight line to the sinker so it will break off if you snag it.

[Crestliner2008]

As mentioned by WRB, get Perry's book, "Spoonplugging". I want to just reemphasize his suggestion. If you study this book, your life as a successful fisherman, will be transformed - for the better! This book will teach you what "trolling" for bass is all about. From A - Z. If you read it cover to cover, you will catch more bass....and not just by trolling. It should be required reading by anyone starting out in the sport.

I read this book back in the 60's. Trust me....it's a winner.

[Tucson]

Interesting question, not much info on trolling for bass.  You can tie a floating Rapala (or similar) a Carolina rig to get the depth you want.  That way you're not dependent on the designed depth for that lure.

[J Francho]

I too will echo the Buck Perry recommendations. I did quite a bit of trolling for smallmouth in Lake Ontario with great success. We used snap on weights or Dipsy-Divers for added depth. High capacity reels and lots of line out are a must, for added depth. Rebel D74 Big Craw cranks were our go to bait. They ran true at various speeds. By using a single bait, we were able to adjust for depth quite easily.

[Chris]

With diving lures how far behind the boat and the speed of the boat effects the running depth the lure will reach. The farther you let the lure out the deeper it will go. What prevents the lure from continuing to dive is the stretch of the line, how buoyant the line is and the drag of the line, how much surface area the bill and lure effects depth. Also weight of lure and where it is weighted. (it effects the diving angle)This is one of the reasons why most use down riggers to combat this. Most lures have a max speed that the lure works best before you loose depth.

[WRB]

Running a deep diver further than 90 feet using standard bass tackle; rod, reel, line makes it very difficult to maintain good boat control and the lure isn't going to dive any deeper. 75 to 90 feet is about right 99% of the time when trolling for bass on most lakes and rivers.

If you want to fish deeper then 20 feet, then added weight, lead core or monel wire line, is needed. Adding a bead chain keel weight about 3' in front of the lure is easy and effective.

As mentioned you can troll any lure; even a plastic worm very slowly or on a controlled drift. Out west moving a soft plastic lure with the boat or trolling motor is called strolling and frowned on by tournament bass fisherman.

Deep diving crank baits are the most popular lure to troll for bass and trolling along the break lines is the highest % method to catch bass trolling.

WRB

[Catt]

Around big grass flats that are not matted to the surface try trolling a Texas Rig or Carolina Rig about 25-30 yards behind the boat.

Another key target area is timber lines or if your lake has boat lanes through timber.

The water does not have to be deep to troll lures

[RoLo]

In saltwater, downriggers and planer boards are commonly used,

but on inland waters the most common trolling method is "flatlining".

Oddly enough, flat-lined lures such as spoons, spinners and non-diving plugs will ultimately reach a maximum depth.

After the lure reaches its maximum depth, if more line is paid astern the lure will rise increasingly higher

in the water column. If enough line is paid astern, the lure and trolling sinker may ultimately be running

just inches below the surface, sometimes unbeknown to the captain.

This phenomenon is caused by cumulative line-drag that forms a U-shaped belly in the line.

The bottom of the "U" represents maximum depth, which is closer to the boat than the lure.

Line-belly is made worse if the boat speed, distance astern or line diameter is increased.

Roger

[BassThumb]

A heavy spinnerbait would work as well, but I'm thinking Carolina Rig.  You can cover some water with that and find some fish.  Then stop trolling and cast.

[J Francho]

The water does not have to be deep to troll lures

Yes!!!!

Its like the attack of wiki-anglers. Guys, I don't know what the heck bass hang at 75-90' deep, but around here on the great lakes, trolling DIVING cranks, with snap weights or Dipsies in 20-40 FOW is very effective at finding pods of smallmouth in the vast openness of the lake. As far as planers and down riggers go, planers get your baits away from the boat, they do not add depth. Down riggers are used by many walleye, smallmouth, trout and salmon fisherman. They allow precise depth presentation along with distance behind the boat, anywhere from 5' to 60'+ below the boat. Most guys that flatline do a lot of trolling, and no catching, through there are times when this can work. I've used all methods over the years, my uncle being a charter captain, and could go on and on about some different techniques. Suffice it to say, it only takes some simple tackle, and as Catt said, if they are shallow, use something shallow.

[WRB]

Bill Murphy was a pioneer in trolling for big bass in open water. Bill theorized that some bass lived off shore year around and only moved into shallow water during the spawning cycle.

Finding bass that do not locate near structure or cover, but tend to suspend in thermal breaks and bait fish lanes can be time consuming and trolling is a good technique to cover a lot of water.

Today you will see bass boats trolling swim baits during the cold water period searching for off shore bass, when casting the known structure areas isn't working.

Down riggers don't work well in lakes where the depth changes constantly, unless the lure depth stays above the shallowest areas. Striper and trout fisherman will use down riggers often and stay out in the deep main lake basins away from the main lake points and humps.

Flat line trolling is by far the most popular technique for bass.

A trolling technique known as ripping is popular; ripping the rod back like you are setting the hook every few yards as the lure is flat lined behind the boat. I'm not a fan of ripping as bass tend to be snagged often, prefer the S turn to change lure speed.

WRB

[J Francho]

Most of the guys I see flat lining around here fail. Their baits don't get down deep enough. Then when the reel in to check their baits, they are fouled with weeds. Its not as simple as just dragging your line behind you.

Only fishing basins, and not structure? Huh? Use your graph and work each depth contour thoroughly. Points are what you should be attracted to when trolling. The best know how to turbo troll a point in order to fish it wityh their baits in the zone the longest. This involves a speed increase, a turn, an idle period, then a turn and goose of the throttle and return to normal trolling speed. You will get a strike on the pause, and after the goose. Lure action behind is delayed through mono stretch.

Ripping? I don't have much more or less foul hooked bass, by manipulating bait speed via rod input or throttle. Its no different than working a rip bait, like an X-rap.

I'm not going to try and pretend I'm an expert, as there are much better trollers than I, though they are probably after other species. But this was how I fished the big lake for many years, and successfully. I've recently begun to add this technique to my kayak fishing as well. It hasn't been nearly as successful, but there's some adjustments.

Anyway, get out there, and start watching your graph, and holding a depth. You'll want to going less than 2 mph, more like 1.5 mph. Pick a bait that runs close to that depth, and pay out enough line for it to get there. If that is too much, just troll an Original Rapala through the shallows outside or inside the weedline. That WILL get bit, and only requires navigating via visual cues, like shoreline and weedline.

Good luck!

[Paul Roberts]

Now this is talkin' fishin' -gettin' down to the nitty gritty. Good stuff. 8-)

[J Francho]

My uncle: "Why would you sit there and cast all day, when you can troll more water?"

Me: "Why would waste all that gas trolling all day when you could cast to productive spot."

LMAO

[WRB]

Anyway, most of the guys I see flat lining around here fail. Their baits don't get down deep enough. Then when the reel in to check their baits, they are fouled with weeds. Its not as simple as just dragging your line behind you.

Only fishing basins, and not structure? Huh? Use your graph and work each depth contour thoroughly. Points are what you should be attracted to when trolling. The best know how to turbo troll a point in order to fish it wityh their baits in the zone the longest. This involves a speed increase, a turn, an idle period, then a turn and goose of the throttle and return to normal trolling speed. You will get a strike on the pause, and after the goose. Lure action behind is delayed through mono stretch.

Ripping? I don't have much more or less foul hooked bass, by manipulating bait speed via rod input or throttle. Its no different than working a rip bait, like an X-rap.

I'm not going to try and pretend I'm an expert, as there are much better trollers than I, though they are probably after other species. But this was how I fished the big lake for many years, and successfully. I've recently begun to add this technique to my kayak fishing as well. It hasn't been nearly as successful, but there's some adjustments.

Anyway, get out there, and start watching your graph, and holding a depth. You'll want to going less than 2 mph, more like 1.5 mph. Pick a bait that runs close to that depth, and pay out enough line for it to get there. If that is too much, just troll an Original Rapala through the shallows outside or inside the weedline. That WILL get bit, and only requires navigating via visual cues, like shoreline and weedline.

Good luck!

Good advice, posted a lot the same earlier.

The type of ripping I'm talking about uses short stiff rods and cranks with over size hooks, tends snag a lot fish. Agree that using the rod to speed up the lure normally or the boat to change pace is a good practice.

Trolling is a good method to learn how a strike feels verses fowling the hooks with weeds, hitting rocks, bottom, etc. Back in the dark ages we trolled a lot before electric trolling motors and bass boats were developed. Trolling is not a common practice anymore in most of the country due to tournament bass fishing.

Main lake basin trolling isn't common for bass, however that doesn't mean bass are not out there. The world record smallmouth was a flat lined trolled bass in the main lake basin for example.

WRB

[J Francho]

Trolling is not a common practice anymore in most of the country due to tournament bass fishing.

It was my understanding that Ray Scott was sick of seeing the trollers win all the tournaments, so he banned it.  Same with jigger-poling.  Interesting that such an effective option should fall to the wayside for apparent "cultural" reasons.

[Paul Roberts]

Trolling is not a common practice anymore in most of the country due to tournament bass fishing.

It was my understanding that Ray Scott was sick of seeing the trollers win all the tournaments, so he banned it. Same with jigger-poling. Interesting that such an effective option should fall to the wayside for apparent "cultural" reasons.

I think power fishing with a big TM is the tournament fisher's answer to that ban.

[WRB]

Trolling was never an option with Ray Scott's All American format that became B.A.S.S. after 3 tournaments. Bass contests prior to Scott's blind draw system was rampant with cheating from fisherman seeding bass in cages. Trolling and live bait was considered low skill techniques, therefor ruled out to promote higher skilled presentations.

Trolling is a good technique for novice bass fisherman to catch fish and a skilled fisherman to learn the lake while surveying and fishing at the same time. Casting is a skill that makes bass fishing more enjoyable and opens up more places to fish and a wider variety of lures and presentations to use.

We often would troll with 2 lures; a deep diver (Bomber or Hellbender) with a floater (Rapala) tied about 2' above with a 3' leader called a search rig.

WRB