Skunk twice on boat for trout

ifish4king · 05-03-2010, 06:38 AM

So I went out again this past weekend and 2nd time I got skunk on 2 different lakes plunking for trout. Always plunk my whole life and always caught fish. Difference is I always plunk from shore.

Getting my DR installed this week for my 1st run ever using one. Can someone give a complete newb advice on how to troll properly? What lures work best for trout, etc. I'm going to head to a different lake and hope 3rd times the charm.

grumman16 · 05-03-2010, 06:48 AM

this time of year dr isn't needed at most places. Get a size 0000 dodger (or a sling blade). Run about 2.5' off of that to a wedding ring tipped with a chunk of a nightcrawler. Long line that out way behind the boat. Troll slow and that should get you some fish. Thats a good general setup. If I new the lakes you were targeting I (or others ) may be able to help with more specific advice.

-G16

ifish4king · 05-03-2010, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumman16

this time of year dr isn't needed at most places. Get a size 0000 dodger (or a sling blade). Run about 2.5' off of that to a wedding ring tipped with a chunk of a nightcrawler. Long line that out way behind the boat. Troll slow and that should get you some fish. Thats a good general setup. If I new the lakes you were targeting I (or others ) may be able to help with more specific advice.

-G16

How long should troll behind the boat? 50yd, 100yd??

SilverBullets · 05-03-2010, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumman16

If I new the lakes you were targeting I (or others ) may be able to help with more specific advice.

-G16

ifish4king · 05-03-2010, 07:21 AM

lake meridian in kent, wa. Though I'm just trying to gauge general trolling technique.

grumman16 · 05-03-2010, 08:31 AM

When I'm not adding weight I ;like to let out a good 100 feet or so. Although dodgers have some weight so its not like you're right on the surface. I'm not familiar with the washington lakes up there, but I'm sure others will chime in that are.

Here's some good general lures to try trolling:
needlefish
triple teazers
rooster tails (I'd add another swivel up higher though as they seem to twist my line up)
wedding rings (various colors)
super dupers

any of these can be fished alone or with a dodger. Also a chunk of worm never hurt. Sometimes just a hook and worm and a couple of split shot is plenty when trolling.

trollin4trout · 05-03-2010, 09:21 AM

IMO- the best reason to fish from a boat is so you can troll...........

Some good ideas for you above. I sent a PM.

Jim

JHawKS · 05-04-2010, 10:06 AM

we troll wedding rings with 1/4-1/2 oz slider weight above the swivel & hammer em. Let alot of line out & if you arent getting them, let more line out! We do it all from a canoe too, no tech help.

Doc_Rhen · 05-04-2010, 10:14 AM

90% of the time if I am looking for trout from a boat I will be trolling a small gold spoon usually a Thomas Fightin fish and working the points along the bank. Plunking from a boat is tough because the boat keeps moving so you have motion of your bait. Sometimes that works but most of the time it seems like everything needs to be still for a bite on bait.

Ta-Keel-La · 05-04-2010, 10:18 AM

one anchor off the bow, one off the stern, angled, not strait down. that'll help keep things still

FishoDano · 05-05-2010, 04:12 PM

Luhr Jensen lake troll off the end of that run 2 foot leader to Roostertail, and your set...

Dan

fishin-rn · 05-05-2010, 04:47 PM

to add i like to do zig-zags, speed up, slow down, circles, whatever. and if i find a certain point or underwater feature that has fish biting near it i go right back to it. sometimes with vs against the wind makes all the difference to.

wahooguy · 05-06-2010, 03:47 PM

Earyl season: I like to use Fire Tiger Hot Shots in the smallest size. I use a 1/4 oz egg sinker slid up the 4 lb test main line. I tie on a very small ball bearing swivel. To that I tie on about 5 ft. of 4 lb Fluorocarbon leader. Fluorocarbon leader really makes a difference. I tend to troll in 10-15 ft. of water and try to stay on about a 12-14 ft. line and have the lure about 100 ft. back of the boat. When the sun gets on the water, I go to silver Triple Teasers in the smallest size. Use your fish finder to see where the fish are bunched up. This set up really lets you feel the fight. I generally use rods rated from 2-6 lb test.

ifish4king · 05-10-2010, 06:27 AM

Well, i tried trolling for trout over the weekend with not too much success. It feels like I'm going way to fast with the lowest setting on my outboard. GPS says 1mph but I was going minimum of 5X faster than the other trollers. I placed the lure next to the boat and thought to myself, how a trout suppose to eat this lure when it can't catch it. I threw out 1 sea anchor, then 2 sea anchor and found these things did slow my boat down a good bit. The downside was the steering. I had to make correction every 10 sec or so, to keep the boat from swaying one way or the other. I looked at my wake on the lake and it look very big. I guess my boat is not made to troll.

Sakana · 05-10-2010, 07:02 AM

Get a prop trolling plate, that will slow you down w/o losing steering.