3 tips to use the next time you are trolling for fish | Knapp
For the past two weeks, a certain area of the lake had been producing fish — mostly crappies, but some largemouth bass and channel catfish, as well.
Many of these fish were duped by the classic Beetle Spin.
But not this day. With the exception of a small largemouth bass, the Beetle Spin was largely ignored. The day was bright and windless. Perhaps this had the fish shut down.
Snapping some rod holders into their fixtures, I switched to trolling tactics, utilizing three spinning rods to present 2-inch Rapala Harvest Shad crankbaits. Within 50 yards of the first trolling pass, a nice-sized crappie nailed the small lure.
The pattern repeated itself, with over 30 other fish falling for the shad representation.
These were fish scattered throughout the water column, not necessarily relating to any particular cover or structure — rather, ones keying in on the glut of pelagic baitfish this lake features.
While the tactic was productive, one of the additional benefits was being able to be on the lookout for areas that did indeed hold a concentration of fish. This happened when I trolled near a sunken brush pile in 20 feet of water that showed numerous marks I suspected were crappies or good-sized bluegills. I made a mental note of the way-point that identified the spot.
Later, when I’d finished a long trolling run, I picked up and ran back to this area, creeping in with the trolling motor to minimize the disturbance. Casts of 30 feet or so allowed the jig/plastic combo to pendulum over the woody cover, providing a vulnerable target for the crappies to intercept. And intercept they did, including a half dozen in the 11- to 13-inch range that qualified as slabs.
The point here is trolling is not only productive in its own right, but provides the opportunity to learn more about what’s going on in the body of water you’re fishing. Here are a few random tips in regard to trolling.
The speed by which you troll can have a big impact on the results. For crappies, I’ve found a pace of around 1.5 mph most productive when trolling crankbaits such as Harvest Shad, Rapala Shad Raps and Berkley Flicker Shad. At times, trolling small plastic jigs can work well.
In this case I slow down to around .7 mph. These are speeds best accomplished by using an electric trolling motor. If you lack an electric one, you can slow down an outboard propelled boat by dragging a drift sock or five gallon bucket behind the boat on a short tether.
Walleyes respond best to speeds of around 2 to 2.5 mph. While it pays to experiment, in general the slower pace is appropriate during spring and fall when the water is cold, faster during summer when the water is warm.
Musky anglers often employ much faster speeds, often in excess of 4 mph.
Trolling is often most effective in lakes that feature pelagic, open-water baitfish such as gizzard shad, alewife, emerald shiners and rainbow smelt. These food fish can be positioned throughout the water column, so it pays to do the same when presenting baits. This can be accomplished by choosing lures that run at various depths, by varying the amount of line out (within limits, the farther the lure is let out the deeper it dives) or by providing additional weight.
During the outing described at the outset, I ran one lure back on a short cast to place it down around 5 feet, another on a long cast to hit the 10-foot range, and one via a weighted three-way rig to hit the 15-foot zone.
If you’re going to fish multiple rods, utilizing rod holders is a must. But there’s still something to be said for hand holding a rod. Often I’ll run two lines off of rods in holders but hand hold the third. This allows one to occasionally pump the rod slightly to impart a bit more action to the bait, often triggering a following fish to strike. Hand holding also allows you to feel the strike rather than just seeing the rod bend back. It’s special to feel the vibration of the lure disappear to be replaced by the weight of the fish a split second later.
Trolling is a means of presenting lures at various depths in a speedy manner. It also allows the attentive angler to observe other factors that can add to his or her success.
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
