Thread: Corks for trolling?

How about sharing thoughts on when and when not to use corks while trolling jigs? As long as the fish you are marking are not too deep, it seems like they would help keep your jigs at the correct depth.

I wear them out using corks on Tobo as long as they are 12'-15' and up in the water column. It is a good tactic to keep your bait at a constant depth everytime.Any deeper than that an I switch to pulling a 1/8 oz jighead.

Had a older fellow at Tobo show me this several years ago and since I started using them while Long lining I have doubled my catch rate.

how fast you going????
and do you set a 1/16oz jig at about 9 to 10 feet.
you still use them when they in 10 foot???
and set them say at about 4 or 5 foot

Originally Posted by laserdoc

how fast you going????
and do you set a 1/16oz jig at about 9 to 10 feet.
you still use them when they in 10 foot???
and set them say at about 4 or 5 foot

Speed is anywhere from .5 to 2 depending on what the crappie want. I usually run my speed at .8, adjusting it as neccessary.

I try to keep the corks at a 1' -2' above where the fish are suspended. If they are at 10' I start at 5' and adjust till I catch fish. I troll them 10-20' behind the boat but you can troll them father back since the corks keep them from getting tangled in turns.

This is a good tatic for aggressive fish, I run-n-gun for them. I will usually make 2 passes in an area and if I don't pick up a fish or two, I head to the next hole and will come back later in the day and try the area again.

I was limiting out just about every trip last year using this method. Works with two jigs or one jig. Its especially effect when they hit the shallows during the spawn you can set the corks at 1'-2' and get in there after them. You will also lose fewer jigs this way.

I never thought of doing this until I watched the fellow who showed me wearing them out one day, I mean 3 and four at a time, and I am trolling behind him and barely catching a fish.

I never use corks while trolling. It seems like it would cause baits to drift and tangle. Though if it works for you, go for it.

It seems to me that a jig sitting 12 feet below a cork that's being towed 1.2 mph will actually only be 6 feet deep. Am I wrong??

well slow down??

I use em when they go shallow. By shallow I mean 10' or less like Dutch said and also keeps you from gettin hung up a lot.

Ya'll can try it or don't try it...it doesn't matter to me. I am just passing along something I was shown that helps put crappie in the boat.

I know, I can put them in the boat using this method. I know Monday me and my daughter were catching them while everbody else that was trolling without them wasn't catching anything.

What do you mean by "water column" ? Thanks.

Bill