Summer is Trolling Time

                One of the most underused types of fishing is Trolling.  A lot of fishermen refuse to troll thinking it’s cheating.  In my bag of tricks trolling is one of my favorites when fishing gets slow.  It will always produce some kind of fish, large or small.

                Let's go over the BASICS for trolling in TN.  20lb test Spider Wire Stealth is probably the best all around line choice.  Line size dramatically controls the depths that lures dive to.  For example a 200 Bandit will run 9' to 12' on 20lb line but go up to 30lb Spider Wire and it will only run only 7' to 10'.  Go down to 8lbs and it will run 12' to 15'.

                Another control factor in lure depth is the amount of line you let out when you troll.  The more line out the deeper the lure runs.  A problem occurs when you let too much line out though you get so much line stretch you wont get as good a hook set and you have to reel the fish in so far you will loose some.

                Another option to get Shallow running lures down deep is put a 3-way swivel at the end of your line. Put a 3 foot leader to your lure on the second eye and on the third eye of the swivel put 2 foot of a little lighter line and a 3/4 to 1 1/2 ounce Bell Sinker straight down.  This will allow you to drag the bottom in 30' of water.  By using Lighter Line on the sinker leg if it hangs it will break off first.

                For lures there are so many choices.  First thing we must determine is how deep the fish are and match your lures to that depth.  Idle around in one of your favorite places and watch your depth finder, I use a Humminbird 997 Sidefinder.  You will notice one depth of water has a lot more fish than the rest.  Start trolling lures that run that depth.  Try round and flat sided baits.  Rattles are always a good thing, Bandits in all colors and sizes are my favorite trolling lures and they have rattles built in.

                My rod’s of choice are a 6 1/2' Lightning rod made with graphite with a medium action on the back of the boat and  16 foot BnM Trolling Rod’s on the front of the boat for a wide spread and it keeps the lure’s from tangling up.  Bait casting reel's work best I like Ambassadors 4600’s or 5500’s make sure you set the drag loose so you don’t rip the hooks out of the fish or break a rod if you get hung up and I use Driftmaster rod holders to put my rod’s in while trolling they are the best on the market.

            The best all around speed for trolling crank baits is 2 to 3 m.p.h.  For trolling live bait or jigs try the Minn Kota trolling motor and go about .5 MPH.  150 hp. Is the maximum you can effectively troll with I use a Yamaha 4 stroke and you don’t ever have to smell that 2 stroke smell and I never use more than 3 gallons of gas a day and some days just 1 gallon.

      I have found the best places to troll are the big pockets with about 15 to 20 foot of depth and with my 997 Humminbird and my Navionics chip I can follow the contour lines and the unit leaves a plot trail for me to repeat the exact trolling patterns.

                Hope you have a great time trying this and remember your going to lose some lures but it’s worth it. Don't forget set the hook; wear your life jacket and may the fish be with you.

Jim Duckworth

Ducktrail Guide Service