When I started fishing tournaments on bigger waters, on practice days I did a lot of trolling to find schools of fish. I dragged Bombers and Hellbenders over and around points and just off the deeper edges of weed lines. Rapalas above submerged weed beds. Things like that. It was a way of finding fish faster when I decided that I was turning my back on the shallows. I used Ande mono or braided nylon line because it didn't stretch like stren or the other monos. A med heavy rod and an Ambassaduer reel. Any old timers that still speed troll or deep troll and might like to volunteer some tips they have developed over time. I haven't done much trolling since the late seventies and I dragged out my old lures to get back into it. I'm hoping to shorten the relearning curve a little.

I used to do the same. I remember the days of paddling in Blydenburg and having very much success. I even trolled worms. Ever since I started tournament fishing I have not trolled. Has to be 10 years now. One of the rules of the club is NO trolling. How would they know if I was with an ugly girl...lol. It really is a rule though. By the way did you check out the link in my post on the new strain of Bass?

Nunz, Frank is talking about during practice.... not in a tournament... that rule is just about ANY bass tournament you fish.

I understand that. Just was saying haven't done it much since I started tourn fishing. Sort of like not using live bait in freshwater. Trolling is a great way to locate fish. A process we all forget about.

Hang up with a crankbait while under power with the gas motor a few times and you'll rethink your lure selection in a hurry. Best tip I can give is "Keep your drag loose" if your going to try this.

I'll bet Johnnie Crain has played around with this "scouting" method... You out there Johnnie?

Since no one is jumping in, I'll get some things out there for discussion. I would use my flasher to find the drop and then zig zag over the drop. I would drop a marker bouy at whatever depth the break was most defined at. So if the bottom took a sharp drop at 12 feet I would drop a bouy at 11' every time I came across it. I would try to keep them about 100-200 feet apart. After setting out 4 or five I would back off and look at the line to see where it bent out into deeper water or bend in to shallower water. Then I would troll just off the bouys with a deep diver like a bomber or hell bender or mudbug that would get down to 12 or 13'. If I found fish, they were where the line bent. It was a quick way to find breaks on a break. Another thing I did was follow a visual weedline dragging a lure the was just touching the bottom every so often. When I got a hit I dropped a bouy. Came back and fan casted the spot with a texas style worm to find out why the fish was there. It was faster than worming a weedline that might be a half mile long. When I troll I want a bait that dives quickly to the depth I'm running and hits bottom once in a while. I don't want to dig a channel by using a bait that dives 18' in 12' of water. I also like a bait with a big metal bill to stand up to the pounding and kick over logs and snags. Just some things I did.

Frank,

Do you have a GPS combo unit these days? If so, you could save yourself the trouble of dropping markers and just drop waypoints. You'll cover more water faster and you never have to go back and wind up the markers. Make one pass zigzagging the break (marking waypoints) and then turn around and follow your waypoints back. The nice part about using your GPS is that you can drop a lot more waypoints than you would markers. You also get the same "visual" effect on your screen as you do when looking at your markers in the water. Once you get used to doing it this way, you never take a marker out again, unless you’re on fish with windy conditions.

I also made a habit of dropping a waypoint the moment after I set the hook on a bass and I take a visual reference point so that I can line up my cast once I land the fish I have hooked. If I was trolling in practice, I would do the same thing.

Thats something I have to work on. As much as I get from my Fishfinder, I get very little help from my GPS. I used it alot when I trolled for offshore fish and when I troll for salmon or trout. But when I get into the smaller precise environs of Bassin, I tend not to use it as much or as aggressively. Sounds like more trips out east to Fort on the agenda!

I've seen what you can do with your sonar and markers... There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to both ways. If you have the time, marker buoys are nice because you have visual targets to cast at and around (as you know). Where I think the biggest benefit in using a GPS is the time savings. It's like putting permanent marker buoys on all your favorite spots and never having to pick them up. You can always go back to them and even transfer them from one unit to another (if you ever upgrade/replace).

Even though GPS waypoints are very accurate, marker buoys give you an exact reference point. I personally have found using them in conjunction with another really helps me dial in on key structures and also my boat positioning as related to structure and schools of fish relating to the structure.

As you like to say Frank "They are each a tool in our tool box... they each have their time and place".

Back to trolling... have you ever used grubs or swimbaits to troll during practice and use the boat speed and weight to determine the depth of the lure?

BC

This is all very interesting reading. I personally have never trolled for LMB, only striper.