Basic Tips and Techniques

Trolling lures or baits applies in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs throughout the open-water season. Trolling is the basis for covering lots of water fairly quickly (not rapidly), with some efficiency.

Begin your sweep of a potential area by selecting a crankbait that runs at the approximate depth of the fish when trolled on a longline behind the boat. Place the lure in the water, disengage your spool, and run out enough line (say, 100 feet) to reach the desired depth. Then engage the spool, and either place the rod in a rod holder or hold on tight. Note whether the rod tip is wiggling or if you feel vibration, indicating that the lure is running properly. If not, it may be tangled or have snagged a piece of weed. Give it a forward wrist snap to try to unfoul the lure. If it doesn't resume running, reel in and begin again.

Maneuver your boat toward the drop-off and begin running parallel to it. Shift position slightly shallower until you feel your lure ticking bottom, which interrupts the regular motion of the rod tip.

Most anglers typically troll between one and two mph, which is still relatively slow, but significantly faster than casting jigs or crankbaits, or rigging with livebait. In a few hours, you can longline troll large sections of water.

Minnow-imitating lures, like a Storm ThunderStick or a Rapala Floating Minnow, are popular for trolling shorelines and reefs, for example. Natural silver or perch patterns are favorites in clear water. Fluorescent colors like chartreuse or orange increase visibility and often are the colors of choice in dingy water. Sometimes a specific crankbait brand and color-trolled at the same speed, through the same area, and at the same depth-outproduces other crankbaits.

Lure color, size, action, and sound produced can make a difference. It's hard to say why. The bait may closely imitate a key forage, like the rainbow dace, or it may just have the right flash and be more visible than other lures depending on the conditions of the water and time of day. So experiment with designs and colors and let the fish decide which lure they prefer.

Use a medium-power, fast-taper baitcasting rod ranging between 61⁄2 and 9 feet, and reels spooled with either 8- to 12-pound mono or 14- to 20-pound superline. Let out the correct line length to place lures at the proper depth. Some situations require up to 150 feet of line, while other crankbaits and varied situations-like shallow boulders or the tops of weeds-call for less than 75 feet of line, depending on depth and cover. Line-counter reels easily monitor the amount of line out. But you can also place a slip-bobber knot along the line (say 100 feet from the lure) which at night can be felt with your thumb as line passes off a baitcasting reel.

Superlines, like Berkley FireLine, have become popular for trolling crankbaits. Superline's sensitivity helps detect the tops of weeds or a fouled lure. The no-stretch qualities of superlines also allow you to rip your rod tip forward several times to free weeds, leaves, and other debris that foul crankbaits.

Superlines aren't always the answer, especially in the extreme shallows. On superline, your lure may dive too deep, snagging weeds or wood or wedging between rocks. So mono still offers benefits. Mono has more water resistance; therefore, crankbaits don't dive as deep-an advantage when working over cover like weeds. In the shallows, more mono can be let out than superline, positioning the lure lure farther behind the boat.

When fish seem to be hugging bottom, adjust boat position and speed, along with line length, so your crankbait tracks close to the bottom. When fish seem to be cruising up off bottom, make sure your crankbaits aren't running below the fish. If the fish are deeper or seem to be holding tight to bottom, say 7 to 10 feet, add a split shot on the line about 16 to 20 inches ahead of the lure, which gets your lure tracking down near bottom in the strike zone. Again, superline cuts through water better than mono, allowing crankbaits to dive deeper.

Position the boat in the right place at the right speed and let out enough line to position crankbaits near fish hanging at specific depth. It's not difficult. Just get out there and start poking around and let the fish tell you what they want. In each case, the fundamentals are the same: cover water, catch fish.