Re: Info on fresh water trolling?
Hey Marty, I agree with the last comment by Mountainboy...Lead Core line is a great alternative to downriggers. It's tough line, and 12-15 pound test will handle just about any fish to 15 pounds. It actually has a lead center, and the line sinks 1 foot down, per 6 feet off your reel. An easier math is 5 feet down per 30 feet out. Lead core line is colored, so you count by the 10 colors on the reel. There's 300 feet on a spool, so, 10 colors, 30 feet per color, 5 feet deep per color. Also, there are spools you can buy at 200 yards, but there becomes a small problem. Lead core line has a very thick diameter. You will most likely not be able to use traditional spinning reels unless you're into slatwater or massive line content on your reels. A good standard is to find a reel that holds at least 120 yards of 40 pound test of traditional line. If it doesn't hold at least that much, you probably won't be able to fit all the lead core on your reel. Most trolling reels are very expensive, $100.00 and up, but, any kind of reel will do since there's no casting involved. Walmart carries some giant spinning reels that really work great, and they're only $30-$40.00. Reel all the lead core onto your reel, then at the end of the line attatch a barrel swivel, medium sized depending on the size of fish and pound test you're using. Then, I use a 10-15 pound test spider line leader about 3 feet in length to black snap swivel. Make sure you know the brand of snap swivel you're using as they take a huge brunt of action because there's no sretch in the lead core or spider line! Black is great even in clear water. If you want to use flashers and dodgers you can, but I've never found them useful. In fact, I've used them and caught a couple, removed them, and started slamming fish! They have their place, I just don't know where that is! Anywho, lures...the most important thing with trout, kokane, and land locked salmon is their diet is controlled by the feeder fish in that body of water...shad, blue gill, minnows, mackrel, whatever it be. So, find out what the feeder fish of the lake is first. Then, find out when that feeder fish spawns. You can figure about 2-3 months after that feeder fish spawns, it's hatchlings will start moving in schools through the lake looking for well oxygenated areas, as well as places food sources...insects, plankton, garbage, floating outhouses! Most feeder fish average between one to 1 and a 1/2 inches at birth. Every couple of months, these fish will increase in size, and the fish you're fishing for know that. So, you need to pick spoons that follow the size of the bait fish. The bigger your lure, the bigger the fish you're targeting, so, biggest isn't always best, if you're looking to catch a wide variety of sizes. Needlefish and ex-cel lures seem to have the best array of colors, and the best size charts. I never fish with anything other than a size 2 or 3. It seems that size 1 just doesn't do any good, and anything larger than a 3 gets to be to big for my local lakes. 10-15 pound land locked king salmon hunt for these size 3's! A tip about trout...they mostly prefer bait fish colors like shad and mackrel....silver, a little gray or black - with an eye marking on the spoon somewhere. Salmon prefer gold it seems, with the same marking, gray and black...with an eye. Kokane prefer either bright pink, red, or silver with an eye, AND, tipped with white corn, white power bait or something like that. I'm not sure what the bright colors do, or what the white tip does, but it slays them here! For the lakes around me, size 2 works until about now...july or so, next couple of weeks, I'm going to a size 3. The bait fish are growing, so my lure size will too. Trolling at .8 to 1.8 miles an hour is the most suggested, and try different speeds, it makes a world of difference when the fish are aggressive. Flies and other top water or similar associated lures are fine, but I've never caught anything with a fly under the water, epsecially at 30 feet deep. So, good luck with your trolling! Make sure you always reel up extra lead core lines when you catch a fish. They'll hit the bottom very quickly! Also, with needlefish and ex-cel lures...remove the single hook and replace it with a treble hook. This does not change the action at all, and you will loose way to many fish if you don't! See ya, and good luck! Major
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