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Thread: Trolling questions

  1. #1
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    Jun 2011
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    Default Trolling questions


    I have had some decent success trolling Ragetail plastics on 1/16 jigs lately. I just drop the line over till it hits the bottom, reel it in some, and then start trolling. I wonder if I could improve my odds if I added a weight about 1' up the line to keep the bait at the desired depth better. I really don't know how deep these baits are running when I'm running the trolling motor. I run it for about 5 seconds and stop for a about 5-10 seconds. Then I bump it again. I'm in 8-14 ft of water. I wonder if corks would help? I've only used curly-tial type grubs, are there others I should look at? Trolling crankbaits? I'm in a small pond in south Georgia and the areas I fish in those ponds are small because the water is so low.

  2. #2
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    Hi Throwback,

    Sounds like we do the same kind of fishing on similar lakes. I troll in about 13 ft of water with a 3/8 oz. weight 18" ahead of my jig. The weight keeps the jig down and also keeps in close to the transom (some long-line trollers will run 75-100 feet of line off the transom...to much for me since I'm on a small lake).

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    In addition to curly-tail grubs, I've added tubes, minnow-shaped and feather/hair jigs to my arsenal. They all catch fish and I can't say any of them do any better than my original grubs. But the variety makes it interesting. The only time I tried to troll with bobbers my lines got very tangled together. I was probably doing it wrong, so don't write it off as a technique based on my experience.

    An inexpensive fish finder can be very useful, just to let you know whether or not there are any fish under your boat. They also help in finding structure that crappie like to hang out at. I got this portable Humminbird 160 for $130 at Amazon.com. It also helps me know the depth of water I'm in so I can know that I have to raise my jigs before they snag on the bottom.

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    Have fun!

  3. #3
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    Thanks. I feel like going home and rigging up my combos this way. May even get fancy and do flouro between the 3/8 oz weight and the bait. I do use a $100 fishfinder with the transducer mounted on the trolling motor. It works really well. I've seen that diagram before and meant to use it, but kinda forgot about it.

  4. #4
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    I troll with 1/16, 1/24,1/32 round ball heads these depths are based on the round ball heads... I start my troll then cast out each rod about 25 yards or so, then I use my gps to control my speed...keep my boat between .85-.95 mph...less than a mile per hr. the 1/6th head runs around 10' at that speed, using curly tail grubs, hal fly, or hand tie. the 1/24th jig head runs about 6' deep and the 1/32 jig head about 3' deep...thats how I do it. I know my home lake and have followed the patterns of the fish as they move in to pre-spawn...feed up...by trolling the feeding flats (must be bait present) in a big way or I won't enven throw out in that area till I see the bait balls, then follow the fish back in the creeks and go lighter jig weights as the fish shallow up...oh also based on 6lb test line...this is the system I learned here and through a pro guide on my home lake.
    A Proud member of Lake Allatoona and Lake Weiss (Team Geezer)

  5. #5
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    I'm guessing on a shallow lake as the water warms the fish will move up. Not getting bit, you might try to use a lighter jig w/no weight. I liked the diagram for deep water fishing and agree a lot of baits work well but if your using a bait w/a ripple tail you need to move fast enough to get some action. I get more bites when the water is cold with baits w/little or no action like Bobby Garland & panfish assassins, and crappie magnets. You might try tipping them with crappie nibbles or some kind of scent.

  6. #6
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    Question is, are you catching fish? If so carry on. I don't think there really is a wrong way unless you are not catching fish that day. I usually use a
    1/16th oz cast about 25 yards behind the boat and turn on the trolling motor and cover water. Gradually increasing speed till I find the sweet spot.

  7. #7
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    When I troll I use a 1/16 oz, 1/24 oz. or 1/32 oz. and two 1/16 oz rig on same line. When I find out the depth I will change them all to that depth. I troll at .9 to 1 mph using my gps never stopping. I start trolling before I ever cast a line. I cast as far as I can (maybe sometimes let a little line out). I can troll two 1/16 oz jigs on same line in 9' of water at that speed and not bunp bottom.
    "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." Abraham Lincoln

  8. #8
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    Thanks. I'm thinking I may try a little lighter bullet weight. I may try a couple of different things you have mentioned.

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