Trolling Fishing For Beginners

Fishing is one of the favorite hobbies of Americans. Moreover, it is counted in most profitable businesses.

But do you know the correct fishing method? While most of the people don’t know. 

Here is the solution to this problem. If you are really willing to learn the most profitable method of fishing. Then read the following paragraphs carefully.

In the upcoming paragraphs, you will find the trolling method. Once you have mastered this fishing method, it will help in your whole career. 

Trolling Fishing Basics

Trolling fishing is a method of catching fish through a number of lines. These lines are drawn into the water behind and along the boat. These lines have lures which can be artificial or natural. The lines keep these lures at a certain depth. These lines are attached to the boat, either moving or stationary. 

This method is preferred for both beginners and experts at the same time. Trolling fish is considered as one of the most effective and most popular fishing methods.

The trolling method has been used for centuries and for generations. But now it is updated and has many innovations. Which makes it more useful than it was. 

Although it is modernized, the basic rules of trolling remain the same. The one basic rule is “the more fish you will get your offering in front of, the more you will catch”. Therefore, trolling covers as large an area as you can. 

Yes, it requires a skill set, knowledge, experience, and patience but at the same time, it is rewarding and interesting. 

Yes, there is an involvement of luck in this process. Thus, for fruitful results, you have to cover a large area to increase the chances of encountering fish. And according to the golden rule, “Fish where the fish are”. You have to cover the area where the fish hangs mostly.

Essential Gear for Trolling Fishing

In this trolling fishing gear, there are trolling lines, boats, rods, and rod holders. Each trolling line has a bait or lure attached. There are several lines which are towed at the same time. Lines are also attached with rubber for shock absorption. 

• Trolling Fishing Setup

When setting up a trolling fishing setup, consider the quality and strength of the tools. There are incredibly strong tools available in the market. So make sure to buy from good tackle stores. Following are the tools that are used in making a trolling fishing setup.

• Down riggers
• Trolling boards
• Online side planners
• Diving planes
• Wire fishing lines 
• Snap-on weights 
• Inline trolling weight

• Trolling Fishing Boat

These are known as trollers. Trollers include small boats and canoes to large 25 to 30-meter refrigerated vessels. These boats or vessels can be used for day trips or long voyages of months. For carrying out trolling, the trollers use power engines. There are vessels that are designed especially for trolling purposes. These will prove efficient and economical. 

• Trolling Fishing Rod

Trolling fishing rods are the specialized parts of gear. These are extra-long rods made up of fiberglass or graphite with foam handles attached to the boat. Rigid bottom part and upper soft part for gripping form this fishing rod. 

• Fishing Kayak with Trolling Motor

Basically, kayaks are narrow-tapered boats. Fishing kayaks are specifically designed for trolling the fish. It will be a little difficult to fish in the kayak as it has little space. At the same time, there are some advantages of kayak over other boats. You can go anywhere by using a kayak, especially to the places which were inaccessible otherwise.

When you are using a kayak, try to have a trolling motor installed in it. It will help you to speed up your trolling process. 

• Lines 

Trailing lines are lines with hooks attached to baits. These are attached to the rods. These lines are trailed in the water at a certain depth. Different lures or baits are attached to the lines to attract different fish. 

If you want to buy the line, then prefer to buy the monofilament.

Lures and Bait for Trolling Fishing

• Bait For Trolling Fishing

Bait can be anything that is used to attract and trap fish. These are attached with a hook and line during angling. Artificial plastic made of live fish or worms can be used as bait. These baits actually attract fish from far distances. So, using bait, you can catch more fish. There are a lot of baits used in the market. You should first prefer to use live baits such as worms, leeches, grasshoppers, minnows, crayfish, eels, crabs, shrimps, and cut-off pieces of fish. 

• Trolling Fishing Lures

Lures are designed to imitate the live baits for fishing purposes. Some most used trolling fishing lures are made up of plastic, hardwood, metal, or glass. There are many brands that are making the lures. But make sure you buy the right lure for the type of fish you are trying to catch. 

There are different types of lures depending on the type of water, species you are using, and techniques you are using. You must select lures made of plastic, hardwood, metal, or glass for hard saltwater. Some commonly used lures are the following;

• Plunger
• Darknob
• Chugger
• Scoop face
• Dive plug
• Soft head
• Bullet head

Advanced Techniques and Tips

• Types of Trolling Fishing

Trolling is considered an easy and profitable method of fishing at the same time. Not only a good business, it is also considered an interesting game. So, here are some types of trolling fishing.

• Recreational Trolling 

Recreational fishermen are using this method to catch fish from lakes and rivers for recreational purposes. 

• Commercial Trolling 

When trolling is used to catch fish from a commercial point, it is called commercial trolling.

• Historic Trolling

In the past, people used only hand hooks and lines for catching fish. People used this method for commercial purposes successfully. In this method, fishermen catch fish before spawning when they are feeding.

 Trolling Fishing Tips

• Rod Holders are designed to hold multiple rods at the same time. These rod holders will help in trolling the rod in the water naturally. It is used for multiple purposes. There are different types of rod holders according to the angle at which they are casting the rods in the water.

• The 0-degree rod holder keeps the trolling rod straight. Due to this, the line remains closer to the bottom. If you want to keep it at 0-degree, place holders on the side or corners of the vessel.

• A 15-degree rod holder is best for trolling the rods. It allows placing the rods at any place on the boat, as it keeps the rod away from the boat. 

• A 30-degree rod holder is used to keep your lines further away from the boat. This will help you to put your lure deeper.
• In the market, there are several types of rod holders that are made for different purposes. Stainless steel rod holders, swivel rod holders, and cup holder fishing rods are mostly used. 
• A trolling Rod is a thin, long rod attached to a line with a hook on one end. These rods are longer than other types of rods. It has a longer handle and longer length. It is made of graphite or fiberglass. On one end they are mounted on the rod holder and the other is spread over a wide area of water.

The trolling rod is flexible on its tip, while stiff and thick on its handle. 

• Rod pulls the bait behind the boat
• And keeps the lures trolling over the large area
• It also helps to spread the lures in front of more fish, even in the deeper water

• Trolling speed is an important factor during fishing. Not the same speed is optimum for every fish species. Different fish species are caught at different speeds. For example, if the speed of the lure is faster than the fish, it will be a big blunder. You will not be able to fish a lot. So you must learn the exact speed that is required for each species. This is a hard thing to learn, but necessary to do. Following are examples of the speed of lures for different species. 

• In freshwater, move your lure between 2 and 3.5 mph for walleye.
• Move with the speed up to 4 mph to catch Bass
• You can use 1.5_2.5 mph for catching trout
• The Blue marlin fish will bite the lure at a speed of 8 knots in saltwater
• For Wahoo fish, use even higher speed of about 11 knots
• When fishing Tuna fish, the speed of the lure must be 5 knots

• Zigzag movement is necessary if fish are not biting your lures. You must change your speed, direction, or turn to appear natural. Actually, all these tricks are used to make a natural impression in front of fish. The lures must appear alive and moving at a normal speed. 

• Another tip is to consider the currents and weather conditions. Before trolling, take note of the currents and observe the lure’s movement. And try to make a balanced speed of the lure. It should not be too fast to give a crazy impression. And not too slow to sink in the water. 

• Lure presentations will change the results of fishing. When you are trawling, present the lure as it is alive. So use different techniques which are given below. 

• Keep your boat slower to keep your bait alive
• Let your bait move naturally
• In bad weather conditions, keep your lure far behind the boat
• If your boat motor is disturbing the lure movement, keep it on the side of the boat
• Twitch your rod from time to time, this will keep your lure changing its position and will appear alive
• When your boat is moving along the currents in up and down movement. You must keep your bait in crosscurrent movement to keep it in water in sight of fish for more time. 

• Fishing lines must be presented skillfully. If you are using multiple lines, place them at different places, and run them at different lengths. Here you must spread the fishing lines in such a manner that it covers more area. It should be in front of more fish. Some lines must be close and some must be far away. Some on the sides of the boat and some running behind the boat. 

Here is a special tip for you. If you have more than 5 lines, then keep one a bit deeper and one a bit shallower from the desired depth of fish. This will definitely increase your chances of fishing more fish. 

• Weather conditions and time of the day also affect the results of trolling. There are specific times of the day in which you will find more fish than others. Sunset and sunrise are the best times for trolling. In the same manner, cloudy weather conditions are better than sunny days for fishing by trolling.

• Planer boards will help you to use multiple lines at the same time. This device will keep them away from the tangling. This device floats on the water while being attached to the multiple lines. Planer boards come in different sizes.

• Mini size for catching small crappie fish using small baits
• The standard for presenting versatile options of baits for fishing walleye
•  Magnum is specially designed for fishing large species such as catfish, musky, salmon, etc. 

• Targeting Specific Species

In different types of water, trolling can capture different species of fish. Here is the list of target species that you can catch easily through the trolling method. 

• Salmon
• Trout
• Bass 
• Walleye
• Wahoo
• Barracuda
• Mahi Mahi
• Tuna
• Sailfish 
• Marlin
• Kingfish

• Optimizing Trolling Fishing for Success

Electric Trolling Motors Fishing is an electric device that is used in the trolling boat to propel it. It helps the boat to keep moving at a consistent speed or move slowly or in a specific direction. Actually, electric motors had helped the anglers or fishermen to optimize trolling fishing. Following are some of the main functions that have helped a lot in trolling. 

• It can stop the boat at a place. It has a GPS installed in it which can keep the boat in place. 
• Autopilot mode will keep the boat moving in a specific direction.
• A variable speed motor will control the speed of the boat and will change the speed at various points. 

So by using these features of the trolling motors, we can set the exact speed which is the same as that of specific fish. For slow-moving fish, the motor will keep the boat at a slow speed and keep your baits at a certain depth. 

Electric trolling motors are used particularly during strong currents and winds. These motors will help you to spot locks at a specific place and to turn automatically from the exact place. In this way, you can avail every opportunity in the best way possible. 

• Troubleshooting and Common Mistakes

There are a number of negatives which are faced by the people who are using this method. Following are some of them. 

• Breakage of lines 
• Getting stuck with the underwater obstructions 
• Changing water conditions 
• Neglecting the inspection of equipment used during trolling

So, before you start fishing, make sure that you have each and everything of the trolling setup correct, along with favorable weather conditions. 

Conclusion

This was all about trolling fishing. This blog has covered all the details that a beginner needs to know. After reading this blog, not only newbies but experienced fishermen or anglers will enjoy different new tricks and techniques that will boost their productivity. 

This blog article covers every hook and crook that a fisherman should consider before and during trolling.

Hope you enjoyed this!

Which thing do you think is the most helpful for you? 

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