Is Trolling Cheating? ;) 2025

leadslinger reply :

It's that time of year, the water is 80+, grass is super thick down to 18ft. The bigger ones are holding at around 20+ feet (lake gets as deep as 100ft). I usually throw spinners (1+ oz), t-rig, and deep cranks. However, I seem to get so little time in the strike zone casting those baits just due to the nature of the fall and retrieve. Catch count is typically 1-4 over several hours.

A fellow fisherman mentioned he just trolls deep cranks and wally diver type lures this time of year to keep the bait down and to cover water.

Somehow I feel like that's going against some unwritten code of bass fishing :wink2: . However, I realize the idea is to CATCH fish.

So, I tried it, and landed a few nice ones marked at about 22 feet. It was cool to see the rod get bent so hard, but it seemed less satisfying.

What's the general opinion on trolling for bass? Cool, or uncool?

Other ideas for keeping the bait in their face at that depth?

Thanks,

Bill

George Welcome reply :

Nothing illegal or immoral about it. Fish the way you want within the law and don't worry about it.

J Francho reply :

Absolutely not cheating, unless it's a tournament and against the rules. I wish my boat didn't idle to fast for it, or I'd be doing a bit of it myself. We used to troll diving cranks and stickbaits on Lake Ontario to locate schools of smallmouth. Get three hits on a pass, and we'd drop a waypoint, anchor up and start tossing plastics. Another trick I use is to toss out a big, floating swimbait, either a Mattlures Hardgill or MS Slammer, and let it trail behind me while kayak fishing. I wasn't really "trolling" but the random movements of the boat catch quite a few fish on the secondary rod. Again, two rods are legal in NY, but not usually in tournaments, so follow your regs.

slonezp reply :

It's awful boring. My dad was a salmon fisherman and I used to spend some time on Lake Michigan trolling for salmon and trout. Unless you run thru a school, it's nothing more than a boat ride.

BrianinMD reply :

If fishing for fun, not in a tourney, and its not illegal then no its not cheating.

cast_and_destroy reply :

Have you thought of a modified drop shot rig with a heavier weight ? Just to keep the bait in the strikezone longer.

AK-Jax86 reply :

Trolling is a form of fishing I don't think it's cheating unless you are in a tourney and they state otherwise. No matter what way you fish fishing is meant to be fun.

If you want to get technical the all forms of fishing is cheating! Bring it back to the ancient times where you need your hands and a sharp stick to catch a fish. Now we have so many techniques and equipment to make it easier so that could be considered cheating

Catt reply :

Some times I'll drift a flat dragging a Carolina rig

.ghoti. reply :

Trolling is an excellent way to catch a lot of different species of fish. But, it bores me to tears.

roadwarrior reply :

Before there were depthfinders, this was a great way to locate structure. The trick is covering a lot of water.

Keep a couple of buoys handy so when you catch a fish you can mark the spot. Then slow down and fish

the area with jigs and soft plastics.

leadslinger reply :

On 8/21/2013 at 12:55 AM, .ghoti. said:
Trolling is an excellent way to catch a lot of different species of fish. But, it bores me to tears.

I roger the boredom thing. While trolling, I was casting cranks and heavy spinners ahead of me.

Fish Chris reply :

Personally speaking, trolling is likely the best way to "cheat myself" out of catching a big bass LOL

Not saying it can't be effective, just saying > I SUCK at it As many X's as I've tried trolling a swim bait, I've never caught 1 DD bass doing it.

Peace,

Fish

flechero reply :

Trolling is no more cheating than using a reel to work the lure. But like the rest, I usually find it pretty boring.

Dwight Hottle reply :

On 8/20/2013 at 10:40 PM, J Francho said:
Another trick I use is to toss out a big, floating swimbait, either a Mattlures Hardgill or MS Slammer, and let it trail behind me while kayak fishing. I wasn't really "trolling" but the random movements of the boat catch quite a few fish on the secondary rod. Again, two rods are legal in NY, but not usually in tournaments, so follow your regs.

Sounds familar J random movements of the boat when the waves are pushing you. On erie in PA waters you can have three rods out. But if you get hit on all three at the same time life can become very interesting.

Raul reply :

Trolling is not simply stupidly dragging a lure with your boat to catch fish, it takes as much science and art as casting and reeling in to be consistent. You have to choose the right lure, the right location, the right speed, sounds familiar doesn´t it ?

I quite do some trolling when I go fishing, let´s look at it this way:

Your lures ain´t gonna catch nuthin´ if it ain´t in the water right ? the more they´re in the water the more chances you have they get bit.

You gotta move and try different places throughout the day right ? that mean you gotta move from place A to place B and so on .

I don´t see anything wrong in dragging my lures with my boat while I´m moving from spot A to spot B, who knows, maybe I can catch something and/or discover something that I wouldn´t have discovered if I hadn´t been trolling ( like that solitary hump in the middle of thousands of square feet populated by nothingness that has produced several hundred fish for me in the past decade )

There used to be a time long time ago when people like me living in a third world country did not have easy access to first world technology and even if you did have that access, the truth is that that first world technology wasn´t that super great if compare it to modern day technology, by trolling you discovered places that hold fish you never knew they existed.

Can it be boring ? I bet it´s a lot more boring not catching even a cold, and as usual, nothing is written in this sport, there´s been many times in my 3+ decades of practicing the obsession, where the only fish I´ve caught during the day were caught by trolling.

webertime reply :

On 8/21/2013 at 12:12 AM, Catt said:
Some times I'll drift a flat dragging a Carolina rig

Exactly!

Kevin22 reply :

Trolling for smallies when they are biting is FUN! Trolling for bass when they are not hitting like crazy would be extremely boring for me.

OkobojiEagle reply :

Although they were designed and marketed for the walleye guys, many smallmouth bass have been taken on a spinner rig trolled behind a bottom bouncer. If you want to stick strictly with artificial baits, pull a Rapala balsa minnow bait behind the same bottom bouncer.

Diablos reply :

Trolling is not a technique I use, but I will troll if I'm moving to a spot that's only 50-100yds away.

tatertester reply :

YES it is cheating!!!!!!!!

JeziHogg reply :

Its not cheating, but its extremely boring.

(='_'=) reply :

On 8/21/2013 at 1:34 AM, Raul said:

Trolling is not simply stupidly dragging a lure with your boat to catch fish, it takes as much science and art as casting and reeling in to be consistent. You have to choose the right lure, the right location, the right speed, sounds familiar doesn´t it ?

I quite do some trolling when I go fishing, let´s look at it this way:

Your lures ain´t gonna catch nuthin´ if it ain´t in the water right ? the more they´re in the water the more chances you have they get bit.

You gotta move and try different places throughout the day right ? that mean you gotta move from place A to place B and so on .

I don´t see anything wrong in dragging my lures with my boat while I´m moving from spot A to spot B, who knows, maybe I can catch something and/or discover something that I wouldn´t have discovered if I hadn´t been trolling ( like that solitary hump in the middle of thousands of square feet populated by nothingness that has produced several hundred fish for me in the past decade )

There used to be a time long time ago when people like me living in a third world country did not have easy access to first world technology and even if you did have that access, the truth is that that first world technology wasn´t that super great if compare it to modern day technology, by trolling you discovered places that hold fish you never knew they existed.

Can it be boring ? I bet it´s a lot more boring not catching even a cold, and as usual, nothing is written in this sport, there´s been many times in my 3+ decades of practicing the obsession, where the only fish I´ve caught during the day were caught by trolling.

i prefer to be casting, changing lures, trying different tactics, than just sitting in the boat cruising around hoping to get bit.... even if i dont catch a thing, i enjoy it more than just sitting still holding the rod....

Dwight Hottle reply :

Do what you want. Do what you like. Trolling is just one more technique in your arsenal if you chose to expand your expertise.

EvanT123 reply :

When I fish with my buddy that's all he likes to do. Do we catch fish; yes. Are they generally on the smaller side; yes. Could we be doing it wrong ;yes. Do I find it boring ;yes. There is definetly a technique to it. read this article and it might change your mind on its effectiveness or if its cheating.

http://www.bassmaster.com/news/david-hayes-and-world-record-smallmouth-bass

NWBasslover reply :

On 8/21/2013 at 9:01 AM, tatertester said:
YES it is cheating!!!!!!!!

How is it cheating? I bet you think that A-rigs are cheating too, don't you?

SirSnookalot reply :

Main difference between casting and trolling, you cast to a specific spot and you troll to cover more water. As kid at our cottage I trolled a lure behind the boat as I was rowing, not only did I catch a lot of fish it was a nice workout too.

I only troll offshore now and I love it. Either I'm trolling with the engine looking for wahoo, tuna or sails, having one on the line is anything but boring. As we are drifting with live or cut bait I'll have a second rod with a sling jig on as well, slow drift about 2.5 mph it really produces some nice fish.

WRB reply :

Trolling was as common as casting for bass before Ray Scott outlawed it for his tournaments.

Not catching bass is boring. I grew bass fishing using both casting, trolling and live bait because catching fish was the goal. There is skill envolved in all presentation techniques, location is still the key to success.

Tom

Dwight Hottle reply :

On 8/21/2013 at 10:00 PM, WRB said:

Trolling was as common as casting for bass before Ray Scott outlawed it for his tournaments.

Not catching bass is boring. I grew bass fishing using both casting, trolling and live bait because catching fish was the goal. There is skill envolved in all presentation techniques, location is still the key to success.

Tom

And to twist Tom's words trolling is a technique to help locate fish as well as to catch them.

J Francho reply :

Locating was always the name of game when I trolled Lake Ontario. I'd much rather been anchored up, and casting to them, than trolling. Trolling isn't really as easy as it sounds. You need to have good graph reading skills, understand how your baits behave under different speeds, as well as know how to tune them. Throw in special equipment like inline planers or dipsies, lead weights, etc., and you get the picture. I had a good teacher in my uncle that ran a salmon charter, and I applied a lot of that to locating smallies in a lake bigger than most could imagine.

lanzbass reply :

Cheating is when you use a net ! With me as long as your using a pole any way you fish is your prerogative

merc1997 reply :

catching fish is fun and the name of the game. trolling is a geat way to cover water and catch fish. there is also a lot of technique and knowledge to trolling, especially to be very precise with it. most bass tournament do not allow trolling though. however, since they allow multiple lures to be fished at once, i really do not know why they just do not allow trolling, and the use of live bait.

Team9nine reply :

Is trolling cheating? - No, unless you're in a tournament. Otherwise as has been mentioned, fishing is about catching fish, so if it works in your situation, why not try it? Not as "easy" as some might think if done right.

-T9

SirSnookalot reply :

The only cheating is stopping off at the market and telling your wife you caught it.

Catt reply :

Buck Perry's Spoonplugging (trolling) taught us more about understanding structure than depth finders.

Depth finders gave us a picture of what we already knew was there.

If aint where the fish are it don't matter what you're doing!

leadslinger reply :

Thanks for all of the comments. I went out yesterday and experimented with trolling 2 lines, while casting a third. Slow day, but caught a couple each way. The bigger ones (smallies and large) were from trolling a deep diving crank/wally diver ticking bottom @ 20ft. Marked a lot, but not much biting my offerings. As others have said, location is key. I was trying areas fairly new to me.

One thing I realized about trolling this time of year is being able to recognize when the lure is fouled with grass. That issue created a bit more maintenance than I liked. I was trolling clear areas away from the grass, but there was still surface/suspended grass that had broken loose and worked it's way down to the lure quite often.

Thanks again.

Bill

J Francho reply :

When I trolled, I preferred to have the rod in hand, with the other hand on the tiller. I could feel subtle changes in the bait, detect short strikes, followers, and when the bait became tangled or fouled. A tiller style boat works great for this, as you can control speed and direction with one hand, and have the rod in another.

leadslinger reply :

On 8/22/2013 at 10:14 PM, J Francho said:
When I trolled, I preferred to have the rod in hand, with the other hand on the tiller. I could feel subtle changes in the bait, detect short strikes, followers, and when the bait became tangled or fouled. A tiller style boat works great for this, as you can control speed and direction with one hand, and have the rod in another.

Yeah, my setup is not ideal for trolling. Rod holders in back, trolling motor up front. If I constantly watched the rods, I could see the change in behavior, but casting while up front manning the trolling motor made that hard to do. I'd eventually notice the rod tips not acting right. Thanks!

Gotfishyfingers? reply :

I've trolled lake Okeechobee before.. I've found grass patches and rock structure like that as well. Usually do it while I eat some lunch . and no it's not cheating..

Raul reply :

One thing I forgot to mention, trolling your cranks makes them dive a lot deeper than what you can achieve by casting.

South FLA reply :

No, its an efficient method to cover water

Broc reply :

not cheating but boring as hell.

mddrew88 reply :

I caught a nice crappie today by trolling it off my canoe. lol

It was totally unexpected, I wasn't even thinking about my lure being in the water until something tried running off with my entire rig!

pbizzle reply :

Guy in my bass club fishes in tournaments were trolling is not allowed, but he found a way around it. He calls it strolling. He throws a deep diving crank as far as he can, puts his reel in free spool, trolls out all of his line, stops trolling, and then starts to retrieve his lure.

Diggy reply :

A kid I met told me he was trolling a lure behind his kayak at the state park, then all of a sudden he started going in reverse. 20lb snook on the line

Chris reply :

A countdown lure will cover any depth. I have a heavy sinking crankbait that I use for that situation but there are other options. The key is depth control and location. I was prefishing a tournament and located fish at a depth I couldn't reach. So I went home and carved a lure that would. I have also found fish in areas where I don't have enough running room (casting room) to get the bait down to them and still be effective. This kind of lure fits the bill.

powerduster reply :

I never liked the idea of saying a certain tecnique is cheating, especially when that person doesn't completely understand it. I started out saltwater fishing from both boat and shore and it always bothered me when people say boat fish don't count or that particular way is cheating, because most times they never been on a boat if maybe just a couple times that turned out really well. Of course it has it's advantages, but for me personally fishing for so long I honestly can't distinguish which areas I had the most luck.

livetofish28 reply :

On 8/31/2013 at 2:37 AM, pbizzle said:
Guy in my bass club fishes in tournaments were trolling is not allowed, but he found a way around it. He calls it strolling. He throws a deep diving crank as far as he can, puts his reel in free spool, trolls out all of his line, stops trolling, and then starts to retrieve his lure.

I read an article written by Jonathan Vandam that talks about doing this when bass are deep as it allows you to get to the desired depth and stay in the strike zone much longer and its not as boring as trolling as your casting and retrieving with my trolling motor on high i can empty my spool in about 20 seconds

tight lines

Andrew

NBR reply :

Nothig wrong at all if I'm having a tough day fun fishing I'm apt to troll to try to find the fish. I just think trolling is super boring so I don't do it much.

senile1 reply :

On 8/21/2013 at 1:34 AM, Raul said:

Trolling is not simply stupidly dragging a lure with your boat to catch fish, it takes as much science and art as casting and reeling in to be consistent. You have to choose the right lure, the right location, the right speed, sounds familiar doesn´t it ?

Raul is right. From reading the posts above I suspect most of us really haven't considered what is involved in productive trolling. I am really weak in this area. A guy on another forum that I frequent posted the information below about trolling. Read this first before you decide if trolling is "cheating" or easy. (Thanks to Feathers and Fins at the Ozark Anglers Forum.)

http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/topic/38769-trolling-for-begginers/

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