Trolling Advice for Bass 2024

Captain Rhino reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

Any lure can be trolled

The key is depth control & speed control

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

Olebiker reply :

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 reply :

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

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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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 reply :

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 reply :

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 reply :

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

J Francho reply :

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 reply :

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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 reply :

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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 reply :

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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 reply :

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

JohnMac reply :

Lures that I found effective trolling for maine smallmouth were rapala original floater and original sinker with wieghts as well as the most productive bait which was a lc pointer 100.

J Francho reply :

Anyway, to the OP, you can go ahead and try an original flaoter Rapala trolled a little longer than a casts length behind the boat. The lure was originally designed to be trolled behind a rowboat. The pulsing, start-stop action is what triggers the bite. You can do this easily by holding the rod, and pumping it gently forward and back. You want to be totally throttle down. If the bait rolls, you're going too fast. Admittedly, I don't have a lot of experience trolling shallow divers for bass, but I have done quite a bit for northerns in spring. The baits are just much larger, but the concept is the same.

bassfanatick reply :

I can tell you to use pointer but I can't really give you any pointers To be specific, lucky craft pointer 78dd or 78xd in ghost minnow color. These are great for trolling because of the streamline body, less resistance, hence they dont roll over at really high speed if needed. Good luck.

Catt reply :

FYI Ray Scott's first Bass Anglers Sportsman Society tournament was called the All-American held on Beaver Lake, Arkansas June 1967. While I was not there I have two friends who were Jim Marsh Beaver Lake, Arkansas and USAF Colonel retired Paul Keys currently at Northrop/Grumman J-Stars facility Lake Charles, Louisiana. Trolling was banned from tournament competition because of the exploits of Buck Perry and while trolling was banned drift fishing using the wind as power is not.

J Francho reply :

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Hi J Francho, I can tell you to use pointer but I can't really give you any pointers To be specific, lucky craft pointer 78dd or 78xd in ghost minnow color. These are great for trolling because of the streamline body, less resistance, hence they dont roll over at really high speed if needed. Good luck.

That's a good tip. I have more than a few small pointers, and it never occurred to me to use them. I know its not bass related, but I'll be trying them out this spring when the dropback steelies and browns are on the alewife bite. Since I generally fish this bite from the yak, the inconsistent speed from paddling should be great with the suspending bait. In the past, I've generally used spoons, but the hard bait bite might be the ticket.

Josh Bassman reply :

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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.

What speed would you run the boat?

WRB reply :

Trolling for bass is a lot like anchoring, a lost art.

Think of trolling as a tool to locate bass and to catch bass. You can keep a lure in the strike zone depth for a long time period and cover a lot of water.

The S turn mentioned is used to both widen the trolling pattern and change speed and depth. Instead of dragging the lure straight behind the boat, make slow turns about 10 feet to one side then back to the other side as you move forward over a 100 yards or so. When you turn the lure slows down and either falls deeper and raises up depending if it's a floater or sinker, then as the belly of the line tightens the lure speeds up. Strikes usually occur as the lure speeds up after slowing, when using crankbaits.

I like to troll when teaching kids to bass fish. You can troll up to 4 lines by staggering the drop back distance, without much trouble and the new fisherman learns how the lure feels and catch bass at the same time.

Mentioned strolling; a controlled drift using the electric trolling motor a very slow dragging a soft plastic worms or creatures on a C-rig or slip shot rig ( mojo style cylinder weight) is another teaching method or technique to use.

Fisherman who rent boats and or fish new water, trolling, done properly, can save a lot time locating active bass.

WRB

Paul Roberts reply :

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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.

What speed would you run the boat?

Put the plug/lure in the water at boatside and observe its action.

Josh Bassman reply :

"Put the plug/lure in the water at boatside and observe its action. "

If it runs good at 2.5-3.0 mph, is that to fast for the fish?

Paul Roberts reply :

Ahhhh... Well, I'm no expert either (following J's lead), but...

In general (hate to say that but it saves lots of typing), depends on time of year. In summer NO! -not necessarily. We used to do what was called "speed trolling" -Paul Prorok I believe introduced that in Fishing Facts in the 70s. Bombers and Waterdogs at high speed. We didn't have a speedo but it was moving! We also found that by reefing on the rods to clear weeds, we'd trigger more strikes. Worked so well we would often rip those speed trolled plugs. The plugs would accelerate and often dart to one side. Nearby, or following, fish couldn't hack that.

To give you an inkling of what a LM is capable of I got onto burnin' lipless a while back. I found that I could not retrieve too fast for a bass to run it down. One time I had a big one appear behind my Spot, accelerate and overrun the plug, then keep on coming -I never caught up to her . She stopped in front of me, trailing some yards of my line behind her, then spit the plug >. I switched to a giant spinning reel that drew 36"/turn (Quick 440N -remember that one?), and it simply skipped the lure across the surface lol.

As to the speed you should be starting at, I would start at a moderate clip, with good plug action, and cover water -you'll most likely locate active fish. And play with triggers -mostly direction and speed changes -in warmer water these can be intense, but subtle changes work like a charm a lot of the time.

In summer I would not hesitate to speed troll.

J Francho reply :

No, but I usually trolled slower than that. Depends on the bait. Slower with deep divers, but with shallow divers, traps, and stick baits, you can vary the speed. More speed, incidentally, and you may draw strikes from toothy fish, so beware, if they are present in your water.

J Francho reply :

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Quick 440N -remember that one?

D.A.M. reels were the shizzlenit. I wonder why reel manus abandoned the wormdrive. That's another topic for another day....

And great answer, Paul.

Paul Roberts reply :

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No, but I usually trolled slower than that. Depends on the bait. Slower with deep divers, but with shallow divers, traps, and stick baits, you can vary the speed. More speed, incidentally, and you may draw strikes from toothy fish, so beware, if they are present in your water.

Speed trolling definitely drew a lot of pike.

WRB reply :

Bass can swim about 12 mph for about 100 yards, much faster than most lures are designed to run. Bass are built for sharp turns, not fast sustained forward speed. Musky and pike are built for straight forward speed; big tails with fins set near the tail.

Run the lure next to the boat (mentioned several times) until it runs like you would retrieve it when casting is your best speed to start trolling. This doesn't mean a bass will not strike fast moving lures, they will at times, just not very often.

WRB

Crestliner2008 reply :

The water temperature has little to do with trolling speed. Depth and speed control accomplishes only one thing. To keep your lure "ticking" the bottom contours and staying in the strike zone of the target species. To that end, you would go faster the shallower you are and slower the deeper you are; in order to maintain this critical bottom contact when trolling. Obviously, other factors come into play here as well, such as line diameter, the amount of line let out, the size/style of the lure you are presenting, etc..

I don't care how cold it is. Maintaining bottom contact is paramount. Randomly "S" trolling open water is not only less effective, but it is can reduce your catch ratio considerably. Bass are normally a bottom feeding/living species. Rarely do they suspend. And when they do, it is not for long periods of time and usually within close proximity to structure (defined as bottom contours....NOT trees!)

Yeah, I know when the water cools you're suppose to slow down. But you are not looking for a "bite" here, if you elect to troll. You are looking for a reaction strike. Two quite different animals. You cannot move your lure fast enough for a bass not to catch it (within reason of course), regardless of the season, if he is triggered to do so. So don't worry about that as much as keeping your lure on/near structure.

My apologies for rambling on.

Catt reply :

Exactly!

Some people here need to read Buck Perry

WRB reply :

Read reply #1 & #3 in regards to Buck Perry and S turns.

Also keep an open mind; bass don't always relate to the bottom when feeding and/or structure and cover, prey is the key.

You should also read Bill Murphy.

WRB

Catt reply :

Anglers must recognize from the beginning that not all good-looking structures harbor bass. But, never will bass be found that are not related to structure in some manner. Elwood Buck Perry

Yelp just like Ray Scott's All American format that became B.A.S.S. after 3 tournaments; the All American was not a format but what the tournament was call just like some were called Dixie Invitational, Rebel Invitational, and oh by the way the first All American was in 1967 while the last was in 1976 that's 10 years not 3 tournaments.

I've read Bill Murphy, got a copy right here on my desk

Glenn reply :

I've seen on many occassions where bass are just cruising around in open water, not relating to anything at all. The bass don't read the same books we do!

Paul Roberts reply :

Rambling Crestliner? You're a lightweight in the rambling department ;D But a heck of an angler -that much is apparent. Thanks for your clarity. Now I'm gonna take Glenn's lead and go muddy the waters..

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Exactly!
Some people here need to read Buck Perry

I have read Buck and very recently. In a recent post where Buck came up, BR member Jeff H challenged posters to read or re-read Buck. Since I hadn't read Spoonplugging in a long time, and didn't own a copy, I went ahead and ordered the whole shooting match his 7 volume course, and even got a very yellowed package of vintage spoonplugs with it LOL.

I'm pretty up to date on what Buck wrote.

Buck layed some significant ground work. He was a trained engineer who brought a fiercely analytical mind into fishing. It revolutionized fishing. But it is not the end in itself; the learning hasn't stopped there. He repeatedly put it out there, I am no expert; There is always more to be learned.

The 1980s were all about trying to make sense of the behaviors in bass that didn't follow what Buck thought was going on such as bass living in shallow slop fields, smallmouths that suspend over 100fow, or the realization that in most natural lakes, where bass are indigenous, the home of the largemouth was on vegetated flats. Depth can be important here, as are all the changes that make for breaklines. The definition of breaklines, likely originally pertaining to depth contours (the spoonplugs place in the world), has expanded to include almost anything that might contain bass movement or activity.

Interestingly, I found evidence of Bucks absorption of new information in Spoonplugging, written later than the original materials showing deviations from his original formulas. Buck continued to learn, as have we all.

Should people read, or re-read, Buck Perry? Absolutely, but not for his interpretations of fish behavior (which was limited), or even for his trolling system, but for the analytical and systematic methodology he applied to fishing, and what it brought to a world of anglers who couldn't see past the surface, or the next laydown.

Anyway, on to some nitty gritty

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The water temperature has little to do with trolling speed. Depth and speed control accomplishes only one thing. To keep your lure "ticking" the bottom contours and staying in the strike zone of the target species. To that end, you would go faster the shallower you are and slower the deeper you are; in order to maintain this critical bottom contact when trolling. Obviously, other factors come into play here as well, such as line diameter, the amount of line let out, the size/style of the lure you are presenting, etc..
I don't care how cold it is. Maintaining bottom contact is paramount. Randomly "S" trolling open water is not only less effective, but it is can reduce your catch ratio considerably. Bass are normally a bottom feeding/living species. Rarely do they suspend. And when they do, it is not for long periods of time and usually within close proximity to structure (defined as bottom contours....NOT trees!)

Yeah, I know when the water cools you're suppose to slow down. But you are not looking for a "bite" here, if you elect to troll. You are looking for a reaction strike. Two quite different animals. You cannot move your lure fast enough for a bass not to catch it (within reason of course), regardless of the season, if he is triggered to do so. So don't worry about that as much as keeping your lure on/near structure.

My apologies for rambling on.

No apologies needed. Excellent post, as usual Crestliner.

I'm no expert trolller would love to drop this thread into one of the walleye forums but I don't agree that speed and water temperature don't matter. Buck Perry didn't either. He designed the spoonplug to run well at different speeds. And he said (Sez) that you must check ALL depths and ALL speeds. He also said you can't predict it. You can get a ballpark idea through seasonal and weather conditions. But you gotta be testing it each day. I for one am not convinced it's not understandable enough to be predictive at some level. But I have not covered the water Buck has so maybe I'm on a fool's errand.

You are very right that bottom contact will catch you fish. But let's not limit ourselves.

Bottom contact is a trigger, but not the only one. It may be a really good one a lot of the time, but it's not always possible in a lot of waters. Buck avoided waters with too much cover. He wanted clean bottom, in part because the spoonplug sported open trebles and sunk like a hunk of metal. The spoonplug required clean bottom. He went so far as to clear wood cover from reservoirs during low water imagine that! He cut paths through weed beds on good structure. He also suggested that anglers if they had the choice -bypass waters that did not offer the proper layout such as those with soft bottoms and/or heavy cover. It would have been hard for him to tell, through spoonplugging, if bass NEEDED clean bottom, or the spoonplug did. Ditto for bass being bottom oriented. Buck interpreted the bass' world through the spoonplug, and it had its limitations.

In the mid 70s, the time structure fishing hit the masses, a guy named Bob Underwood donned SCUBA gear and went to see for himself. He found that bass were not bottom oriented, but suspended often, or were oriented to cover as if it were bottom. Most bass he observed were suspended over weedbeds, or along the edges of them. Ralph Manns followed with similar observations and took it much further.

As to S-turns n such: Most lures do not trigger strikes well dragged through open water, either cast or trolled, for a variety of reasons. Triggers matter, and bottom contact is one. Changing speed and direction can trigger too, and may be your only option in certain waters. There are also techniques such as Trolling through Space, the dragging of finesse worms through open water for suspended smallies, used secretly by Ron Lindner in tournaments on some large northern lakes. Bob Underwood describes prop-wash trolling for largemouths in canals in Florida.

I hear what you are saying, and agree. Buck said You gotta MAKE em hit, and trolling does require fairly open water even the C-rig shines in open areas. Certainly, if the bottom will support it be bumping it it'll trigger strikes. And if you cover enough water, and systematically, you're bound to run into some bottom oriented bass. Your advice is sound. But it's not the only possibility.

WRB reply :

The late Bill Murphy did OK trolling San Vincente reservoir back in the early 80's. He trolled a 2 mile area between the big island and the dam that was about 300 feet deep main lake basin. Yes there was structure, none shallower than 150'. Bill's best 5 bass stringer weighed an incredible 72 lbs, the heaviest 5 bass limit I know of.

There is so much we don't know about suspended bass in deep structure reservoirs, it's really a frontier for those who wish to develop the skills to catch these bass.

Occasionally when fishing some outside deep structure, like a major point or under water island (hump) during the winter I see big bass feeding on trout out in the middle of very deep water. A surface or wake bait type trout swimbait worked very slowly near the surface will get a strike from those deep water bass feeding on trout. Go figure, maybe the bass are looking for an injured trout out in the middle of nowhere.

Getting way the topic.

The 3rd All American was held at Lake Eufaula in 1969. Rip Nunnery, the SoCal rep for Maxima and Eagle Claw, caught a 15 bass limit that weighed 98 lb-15 oz. Rip passed away a few years ago.

WRB

Paul Roberts reply :

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The late Bill Murphy did OK trolling San Vincente reservoir back in the early 80's. He trolled a 2 mile area between the big island and the dam that was about 300 feet deep main lake basin. Yes there was structure, none shallower than 150'. Bill's best 5 bass stringer weighed an incredible 72 lbs, the heaviest 5 bass limit I know of.
There is so much we don't know about suspended bass in deep structure reservoirs, it's really a frontier for those who wish to develop the skills to catch these bass.

Occasionally when fishing some outside deep structure, like a major point or under water island (hump) during the winter I see big bass feeding on trout out in the middle of very deep water. A surface or wake bait type trout swimbait worked very slowly near the surface will get a strike from those deep water bass feeding on trout. Go figure, maybe the bass are looking for an injured trout out in the middle of nowhere.

Getting way the topic.

The 3rd All American was held at Lake Eufaula in 1969. Rip Nunnery, the SoCal rep for Maxima and Eagle Claw, caught a 15 bass limit that weighed 98 lb-15 oz. Rip passed away a few years ago.

WRB

I wonder if a trolled wake-bait, like off a board, might find some use in such waters. New frontier? Or needle in a haystack? Interesting thought anyway.

WRB reply :

Tinkering around with lures and presentations is part of the sport, you never know what those green fish may do.

Ever wonder where those big females go after the spawn? Every lake has them and very few are caught. Most anglers are pounding the same shoreline or structure because it's obvious and well known.

WRB

Catt reply :

In accordance with Bassmater web site

ALL AMERICAN (3rd)

Tournament 6909AR

Reservoir: LAKE OUACHITA

City/State: HOT SPRINGS, AR

Tournament Winner: BILL DANCE

Winning Weight: 36.4 lbs

RIP NUNNERY

Hometown: LOS ANGELES, CA

Classic Titles: 0

Times in the Classic: 0

Times in the Money: 1

Total Entries: 1

ALABAMA NATIONAL

Tournament 6907AL

Reservoir: LAKE EUFAULA

City/State: EUFAULA, AL

Finish: 3rd

Paul Roberts reply :

Can we stay on topic? (I should talk eh? lol).

Glenn reply :

Stay on topic please.

Paul Roberts reply :

Quote
Tinkering around with lures and presentations is part of the sport, you never know what those green fish may do. ...
WRB

You know, I can't help but feel that you can know, or have an inkling of something that might pan out. It might be called "thinking out of the box", but I think it's about expanding your box. If one didn't know what the walleye, or salmon, or muskie, or... you name it, guys are doing, you'd be missing out on a lot of really good potentials.

Trolling may be a "forgotten science" in bass fishing, but it's not in a lot of other angling realms.

OK Glenn... How about a mutli-species methodology/techniques exchange forum?? Would that be like putting cats with dogs, and throwing in some chickens and cows too?? ;D

RoLo reply :

For the record, I read "Spoonplugging" by Elwood Buck Perry (hot off the press), around the same time I read

Bill Binkleman's Nightcrawler Secrets. To my mind however, that's all broken bubbles and ancient history today.

Not to become trapped in complacency, I feel that we've come a loooong way since that time.

This thread has visited left and right-field, but in the interest of the original topic, I feel compelled to revisit my former post.

I've done more than my share of downrigging with cannonballs in the ocean, but flatlining is still the most popular

trolling method on inland waters (with the obvious exception of the Great Lakes). Unfortunately, flatlining is highly inefficient

because it deals with a host of untamed variables. Among the many variables encountered with flatline trolling:

> Lure Type (floating, neutrally buoyant, sinking, diving, non-diving),

> Line Type (monofilament, braid, monel, lead-core, copper, etc)

> Line Diameter (breadth of cumulative water resistance)

> Distance Astern (lineage of cumulative water resistance)

> Trolling Sinker (may be increased, reduced or omitted)

> Boat Speed (RPMs will vary as the boat travels upwind, cross-wind and downwind)

> Trolling Direction (with the tide, cross-tide or against the tide - Only applicable in tidal waters).

Further exacerbating the depth equation above is the line-belly phenomenon, which I alluded to in my former post.

When flatline trolling, there's a point of vanishing returns when paying more line astern will actually send the lure

higher in the water column due to cumulative line-drag. In short, there's no shortcut to ascertaining lure depth,

which should be predetermined via the litmus test.

With regard to flatlining trolling, it's probably best to throw away the calculator, because there's no "dependable" shortcut.

Start by locating a hard, flat bottom in known water depth. Attach your lure of choice to your line of choice

then vary the trolling speed, trolling sinker and length of line astern.

When the rod-tip begins to bounce due to bottom contact, record all the variables in your log (good for a lifetime).

This same process is repeated for each trolling depth and although it's very time-consuming

it's valuable data that will not change until one of the many variables is changed. Nobody said it was easy

Roger

whistlepig reply :

I read Buck Perry's book on trolling (spoon plugging). I remember one quote that he made about trolling during the summer months. "Troll at a speed that you think is to fast, then increase youre speed". I troll a lot for muskies, play around with youre speed until you have found the correct speed. Keep in mind not all lures can be trolled at a fast speed.

WRB reply :

I believe the best source for modern trolling tactics can be found in the In-Fisherman archives, for those interested in fresh water trolling.

My personal background with fresh water trolling is limited to deep small highland reservoirs and Canadian shield natural lakes where flat lining works well using mono, lead core and monel line.

Back in the mid 70's In-Fisherman introduced me to the back trolling concept when fishing from smaller aluminum boats with tiller stirring outboard motors is used to improve boat control.

In the years before the modern bass boat with front operated electric trolling motors, it was not that uncommon to use the outboard motor to control the boats position when casting and standing in the back of the boat with the motor idling in reverse was the best way to troll the boat and cast to shoreline targets. I just never thought of back trolling until reading about the technique.

WRB

PS; off topic correction; http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/fishingtips/news/story?page=b_story_rip_nunnery

Rip suffered from neophobia and never fished again outside of his home area lakes.

Raymond de Leur Jr. A.S. reply :

When I trolled in Wyoming here is what we used:

Penn Level Wind Reel (9m or 209m)

Med or Med/Hvy 6' - 8" trolling rod (Eagle Claw Star Fire or Shakespeare Ugly Stick Big Water)

Cabela's Lead Core line (it has color indicators to indicate 10 yard intervals..also available lead free) available in 12-45# test

Cowbells/Pop Gear/etc. (Kokanee Trolls or Luhr Jensen Lake Trolls)

Worm Harness's

Typically for Trout or Kokanee Salmon you do not want to go above 3 MPH. You can actually rip the hook right through their jaws if you go to fast or set the hook hard. Typically with trolling you won't need to set it at all. The constant pull of the boat generally does it for you.

Hope that helps.

NOTE: The pull from the above mentioned Cowbells/Pop Gear/etc is pretty wild...think 12-18ft deep diving crank bait x5 in addition to the speed and/or fish. Also, pay close attention cause when you troll the fish will go nuts and run, dive, jump, etc. We just had a "fish on" system. Everyone reeled in while the angler with the fish on slowly brought it in. Otherwise....say hello to tangle from hell.

10484

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