Trolling For Smallmouth 2024

FishingDM reply :

I am looking for some lures and/or presentations to use trolling for smallmouth bass. I have carpal tunnel in both wrists and it has been giving me some trouble when casting lures. Looking for some alternative fishing methods, thought I could give trolling a shot.

Thanks

TnRiver46 reply :

I troll for them with small squarebill crankbaits. They dive about 10-12 ft at around 2.0 mph

Arcs&sparks reply :

I have never targeted bass while trolling, but I have picked up a few out in the middle of nowhere on trolling spoons like mooselook wobbles, and shiners behind flashers/dodgers. Flashy baitfish imitations should work hugging structure.

Mbirdsley reply :

Chartreuse spoons or any spoon would work. But, you would Probally have to use a three way rig with like a 2-3 oz sinker. Or a tadpol in-line wieght or other in line wieght These spoons are made in Dearborn Mi.

Or those pre rigged worms would work too. My one grandpa is famous for throwing any thing out to troll with a night crawler attached to the treble whether it’s a spoon, twister tail, in-line spinners or whatever. Catches a variety of fish though.

Start at about 2.0 mph and go up in speed untill you catch fish.

A-Jay reply :

Jerkbaits ~

There are enough makes & models to dial in the right running depth.

A-Jay

basscatcher8 reply :

^What he said. If you still want to keep the rod in your hand you can troll jerk baits around popping the rod still and find em.

Dwight Hottle reply :

Storm Hot 'n Tots are killer baits for smallmouth. Troll them from 1.8 to 2.5 mph. They dart left then return to center & then dart right always hunting. They sometimes need tuned out of the box. Run them just behind the boat around 3 mph. If they blow out or only run to one side they need tuned by gently bending the line tie opposite of the way they are running. If the bait is running left as you face it bend the line tie to the right as you hold it facing you. Use small increments until it runs straight at higher than trolling speeds. They will run between 15 to 20 deep on 10lb braid with a mono/flouro leader.

J Francho reply :

I always had good luck using Rebel Deep Craws. Sometimes I'd add some weight to the line, a few feet from the bait, to get some extra depth. I definitely agree with Dwight, 1.8-2.5 mph is the sweet spot for many diving baits.

Way north bass guy reply :

A-Jay has the right idea for sure. I use jerkbaits behind inline planer boards for lake trout as soon as the ice goes out in spring, and we always catch huge smallies that are just coming shallow. Ive never trolled specifically for bass but im sure if you used a planer board, you could work baits over shoals and points etc and keep the boat off the structure so you don't spook them. Works great for spooky lakers in gin clear water.

FishingDM reply :

Thanks guys! I will give some of these a try.

Gundog reply :

Don't forget the grubs.

rejesterd reply :

A Rebel Big Craw has worked really well trolling for me. Even if you don't reach the bottom when trolling.. they come up for it. I've seen so many crawfish down smallies' throats in my lake that look exactly like this lure.. just get one in every color, and try them.

mattkenzer reply :

A high quality ball bearing swivel attached to an In-Line Spinner .... Blue Fox

B-Dozer reply :

Blade type baits work well

Binsky

Heddon Sonar

Silver Buddy

Further North reply :

The thing about this is...when all is said and done...It's still...trolling.

????

Dwight Hottle reply :

On 7/13/2018 at 8:51 PM, Further North said:

The thing about this is...when all is said and done...It's still...trolling.

????

And your point is?

J Francho reply :

On 7/13/2018 at 9:17 PM, Dwight Hottle said:

And your point is?

My point is....trolling sure as heck beats searching an endless desert of lake to no avail. I can't think of too many times I've been skunked when using this technique. Plus, you never know what you might catch. Jacob had two big lakers on, simply trolling with his kayak, and it didn't take him long. Meanwhile, I made about ten thousand casts to scrape two bass.

FryDog62 reply :

Best I’ve ever used trolling for smallmouth (and many other species) by far is a Salmo Hornet. Gold Perch and Sick Perch, Holo Gold. Almost a cult following in our area. Sshhh...

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Salmo-Floating-Hornet/1392311.uts?slotId=2

Further North reply :

On 7/13/2018 at 9:17 PM, Dwight Hottle said:

And your point is?

No point. I was trying for humor.

On a personal level...I'm not wired for trolling...or jigging like folks do for walleyes...As a life long hunter, I've never been able to have any fun with the forms of hunting that involve staying still. No ducks, geese, deer, turkey...any of that stuff.

I envy the folks who can do it, but it's just not me. I need to be moving, doing something (even if that something is jst reading)

On 7/13/2018 at 9:25 PM, J Francho said:

My point is....trolling sure as heck beats searching an endless desert of lake to no avail. I can't think of too many times I've been skunked when using this technique. Plus, you never know what you might catch. Jacob from Anglr Tour had two big lakers on, simply trolling with his kayak, and it didn't take him long. Meanwhile, I made about ten thousand casts to scrape two bass.

It's a good technique, if you can do it. I tried to learn it and love it really, really hard when I thought I wanted to catch walleye...but I just can't.

...what I'd do, were I stuck "...searching an endless desert of lake to no avail." ...is go to another lake. But I can do that here, and some folks can't, in any practical way.

J Francho reply :

On 7/13/2018 at 9:51 PM, Further North said:

...what I'd do, were I stuck "...searching an endless desert of lake to no avail." ...is go to another lake. But I can do that here, and some folks can't, in any practical way.

I have an endless supply of lakes within an hour of me. However, not too many offer up smallmouth fishing like Great Lakes.

Further North reply :

On 7/13/2018 at 9:57 PM, J Francho said:

I have an endless supply of lakes within an hour of me. However, not too many offer up smallmouth fishing like Great Lakes.

Yep, and you enjoy that kind of fishing.

I've looked at fishing the great lakes for smallies...and it's generally a trolling/jigging game. That's cool...but not for me. I'd rather catch smaller fish...or even no fish...fishing the way I enjoy.

It's why there's chocolate and vanilla...Cadilacs and Porsches...and Jeeps and trucks. Something for everyone.

NHBull reply :

My buddy troops for Lakers and salmon. He ususes a lot of Ling hair jigs and catches large bass on the turns where the bait slows and falls. Many days he catches more bass than anything else. As a kid I did a lot of trolling, but that was an excuse to drive the boat ????

J Francho reply :

On 7/13/2018 at 10:08 PM, Further North said:

Yep, and you enjoy that kind of fishing.

Who wouldn't!

Further North reply :

On 7/13/2018 at 10:15 PM, J Francho said:

Who wouldn't!

Me. I can't do it.

...but I love hearing about when you do it!

Krux5506 reply :

Usually I will troll crankbaits when I'm having trouble finding fish with my usual go-to methods. I don't troll much but sometimes it's nice to change things up and cover water this way.

portiabrat reply :

On 7/13/2018 at 10:08 PM, Further North said:

I've looked at fishing the great lakes for smallies...and it's generally a trolling/jigging game. That's cool...but not for me. I'd rather catch smaller fish...or even no fish...fishing the way I enjoy.

I fish Lake Michigan all the time, and I rarely see anyone trolling for smallmouths, except for a technique I'll describe below. Here, in the summer, it's all drop shot/tubes unless it's very windy, and the fish get shallow and aggressive. Fortunately, it's often windy.

To the OP, I don't think anyone's mentioned that you can troll tubes and drop shots. Maintain bottom contact, and keep your speed under 0.8 MPH. Normally, people do this on very windy days. Point your bow into the wind, use your trolling motor to stay under 0.8 MPH, and try to drag your lure through interesting areas.

Neil McCauley reply :

Or other baitfish patterns. Rapala "Dive-to" series works well too, at whatever depth you want.

If you need to reach deep fish, trolling at 3mph with 100-150 yds of 6-8lb flurocarbon line out can get you down 30-40 feet or more. I have brought lakers up from 90ft doing this.

Dwight Hottle reply :

On 7/14/2018 at 9:22 PM, Neil McCauley said:

Or other baitfish patterns. Rapala "Dive-to" series works well too, at whatever depth you want.

If you need to reach deep fish, trolling at 3mph with 100-150 yds of 6-8lb flurocarbon line out can get you down 30-40 feet or more. I have brought lakers up from 90ft doing this.

Good advice. Just to let you know trolling tables state that 270-280 feet of line out is maximum depth achievement. After that the drag of the excess line out starts to pull the bait back up. So 100 yards of line out would be the maximum not 150 yards.

Vilas15 reply :

On 7/14/2018 at 5:19 PM, portiabrat said:

To the OP, I don't think anyone's mentioned that you can troll tubes and drop shots. Maintain bottom contact, and keep your speed under 0.8 MPH. Normally, people do this on very windy days. Point your bow into the wind, use your trolling motor to stay under 0.8 MPH, and try to drag your lure through interesting areas.

Similarly a Lindy rig with a leech or some plastic would be great. Ive also caught a lot of smallmouths pulling what is basically a carolina rig with livebait around 0.7 or 0.8 MPH.

TnRiver46 reply :

Trolling has opened up my eyes to Fishing so many areas that I normally wouldn’t fish. It’s really amazing

FishingDM reply :

On 7/13/2018 at 9:37 PM, FryDog62 said:

Best I’ve ever used trolling for smallmouth (and many other species) by far is a Salmo Hornet. Gold Perch and Sick Perch, Holo Gold. Almost a cult following in our area. Sshhh...

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Salmo-Floating-Hornet/1392311.uts?slotId=2

I was on vacation last week and was able to try out some trolling for smallmouth. It turned out to be one of the most productive techniques of the week. Nothing big but still fun. I tried one of the salmo Hornets and that worked the best.

Thanks all for the help! Going to try some more this weekend.

basscatcher8 reply :

I like having trolling as a tool in my pocket when I'm somewhere on vacation or something and I've only got a couple days to figure it out. Check with your electronics then drop down the baits and hunt. If you get into something then pull em up and start casting and see if you can't find a group of em to sit on.

That grid feature on the humminbirds comes in handy here as well. Lets you do what JF was talking about a bit easier with sectioning off areas.

Fishingmickey reply :

As a kayak fisherman that can't go anywhere fast. I am always dragging a lure or two. I have found numerous "spot's" trolling that I go back and fish. It's a great way to find those productive area's that often are less pressured.

Tizi reply :

Rapala shad rap, these troll great and you might catch something other than a bass on it!

TnRiver46 reply :

I have trolled through areas many times and caught smallmouth. Then I thought “well that’s a good area, I’ll go back and cast to those fish.” Guess what: I literally never catch them when I cast to them. Make another trolling pass and you guessed it: fish on! Trolling not only covers water and allows you to watch electronics, it is also the best way to get a bite from my experience. They can’t resist a crank slamming bottom at high speed, even when it’s snowing. Me and a buddy got a 21.5” and then a 20” trolling squarebills 3.11 mph on December 20th, water temp 50, air temp hovering around 32

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