WRB-2.0

I believe the best source for modern trolling tactics can be found in the In-Fisherman archives, for those interested in fresh water trolling. My personal background with fresh water trolling is limited to deep small highland reservoirs and Canadian shield natural lakes where flat lining works well using mono, lead core and monel line. Back in the mid 70's In-Fisherman introduced me to the back trolling concept when fishing from smaller aluminum boats with tiller stirring outboard motors is used to improve boat control. In the years before the modern bass boat with front operated electric trolling motors, it was not that uncommon to use the outboard motor to control the boats position when casting and standing in the back of the boat with the motor idling in reverse was the best way to troll the boat and cast to shoreline targets. I just never thought of back trolling until reading about the technique. WRB PS; off topic correction; http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/fishingtips/news/story?page=b_story_rip_nunnery Rip suffered from neophobia and never fished again outside of his home area lakes.

Tinkering around with lures and presentations is part of the sport, you never know what those green fish may do. Ever wonder where those big females go after the spawn? Every lake has them and very few are caught. Most anglers are pounding the same shoreline or structure because it's obvious and well known. WRB

A swim bait swimming from deep towards shallow water is a good presentation. The bass apparently use the bank to trap the baitfish. Try standing about 15 feet back up the bank and get down low so you blend into the background. WRB

The late Bill Murphy did OK trolling San Vincente reservoir back in the early 80's. He trolled a 2 mile area between the big island and the dam that was about 300 feet deep main lake basin. Yes there was structure, none shallower than 150'. Bill's best 5 bass stringer weighed an incredible 72 lbs, the heaviest 5 bass limit I know of. There is so much we don't know about suspended bass in deep structure reservoirs, it's really a frontier for those who wish to develop the skills to catch these bass. Occasionally when fishing some outside deep structure, like a major point or under water island (hump) during the winter I see big bass feeding on trout out in the middle of very deep water. A surface or wake bait type trout swimbait worked very slowly near the surface will get a strike from those deep water bass feeding on trout. Go figure, maybe the bass are looking for an injured trout out in the middle of nowhere. Getting way the topic. The 3rd All American was held at Lake Eufaula in 1969. Rip Nunnery, the SoCal rep for Maxima and Eagle Claw, caught a 15 bass limit that weighed 98 lb-15 oz. Rip passed away a few years ago. WRB

Read reply #1 & #3 in regards to Buck Perry and S turns. Also keep an open mind; bass don't always relate to the bottom when feeding and/or structure and cover, prey is the key. You should also read Bill Murphy. WRB

Bass can swim about 12 mph for about 100 yards, much faster than most lures are designed to run. Bass are built for sharp turns, not fast sustained forward speed. Musky and pike are built for straight forward speed; big tails with fins set near the tail. Run the lure next to the boat (mentioned several times) until it runs like you would retrieve it when casting is your best speed to start trolling. This doesn't mean a bass will not strike fast moving lures, they will at times, just not very often. WRB

Sometimes the bass is focused on the lure and doesn't appear to see the boat and will go under the boat and wait for the baitfish to return. Try the old musky trick and leave the lure in the water and make figure patterns with the lure next to the boat, if the bass is still around it may return and strike again. Your next option is to leave and return about 2 hours later and repeat the same cast and presentation with the same lure. WRB

To start with line is a complex topic and to date there isn't a panacea for all applications. Today's braid or superbraid is about 1/3 smaller in diameter per lb test than mono or fluorocarbon (mono being a single nylon filament). How bass see line and react to line differs with water clarity or depth of light, the type of lure and activity level of the bass. In clear water with bright light and inactive bass, the line needs to be close to invisible to get bass to react. In the same clear water at night the line diameter or type doesn't matter as long as it doesn't affect the lures action. Active bass in off color water in or around cover, the has little affect on the bass, like at night. If you are fishing in lakes that have toothy fish or heavy cover, braid is an advantage. Under average conditions either mono or FC line works good. FC line sinks, both mono and braid float. FC line has lower knot strength than mono or braid. It all comes down to how you fish and where you fish. I fish deep clear highland reserviors and use mono for top water, spinnerbaits and crankbaits, FC for jigs, worms and spoons. Braid for heavy cover; jigs and frogs. Since FC line has lower knot strength, I rarely use it for leader, 1 knot is better than 2. Using braid with FC leader is very popular today, it's just not my cup of tea. If a FC leader works, than I spool FC line. WRB

Trolling for bass is a lot like anchoring, a lost art. Think of trolling as a tool to locate bass and to catch bass. You can keep a lure in the strike zone depth for a long time period and cover a lot of water. The S turn mentioned is used to both widen the trolling pattern and change speed and depth. Instead of dragging the lure straight behind the boat, make slow turns about 10 feet to one side then back to the other side as you move forward over a 100 yards or so. When you turn the lure slows down and either falls deeper and raises up depending if it's a floater or sinker, then as the belly of the line tightens the lure speeds up. Strikes usually occur as the lure speeds up after slowing, when using crankbaits. I like to troll when teaching kids to bass fish. You can troll up to 4 lines by staggering the drop back distance, without much trouble and the new fisherman learns how the lure feels and catch bass at the same time. Mentioned strolling; a controlled drift using the electric trolling motor a very slow dragging a soft plastic worms or creatures on a C-rig or slip shot rig ( mojo style cylinder weight) is another teaching method or technique to use. Fisherman who rent boats and or fish new water, trolling, done properly, can save a lot time locating active bass. WRB

The best time for me to fish is during the rain; just remember to keep dry, dress warm and use good boating safety. Moving water creates current and current creates feeding opportunities for predators like bass. Up size your lures and use brighter contrasting colors during the active period. When the weather system passes and you are fishing a cold front condition, the aftermath of the a storm, then I agree; slow down and saturate areas that hold prey. The fall to winter transition period the bass are moving and it can be a trail and error search. Once the bass settle into winter, the deeper areas will hold more bass and the those bass tend to be easier to locate, using your electronics, in deep structured lakes. WRB

Trolling was never an option with Ray Scott's All American format that became B.A.S.S. after 3 tournaments. Bass contests prior to Scott's blind draw system was rampant with cheating from fisherman seeding bass in cages. Trolling and live bait was considered low skill techniques, therefor ruled out to promote higher skilled presentations. Trolling is a good technique for novice bass fisherman to catch fish and a skilled fisherman to learn the lake while surveying and fishing at the same time. Casting is a skill that makes bass fishing more enjoyable and opens up more places to fish and a wider variety of lures and presentations to use. We often would troll with 2 lures; a deep diver (Bomber or Hellbender) with a floater (Rapala) tied about 2' above with a 3' leader called a search rig. WRB

Good advice, posted a lot the same earlier. The type of ripping I'm talking about uses short stiff rods and cranks with over size hooks, tends snag a lot fish. Agree that using the rod to speed up the lure normally or the boat to change pace is a good practice. Trolling is a good method to learn how a strike feels verses fowling the hooks with weeds, hitting rocks, bottom, etc. Back in the dark ages we trolled a lot before electric trolling motors and bass boats were developed. Trolling is not a common practice anymore in most of the country due to tournament bass fishing. Main lake basin trolling isn't common for bass, however that doesn't mean bass are not out there. The world record smallmouth was a flat lined trolled bass in the main lake basin for example. WRB

Bill Murphy was a pioneer in trolling for big bass in open water. Bill theorized that some bass lived off shore year around and only moved into shallow water during the spawning cycle. Finding bass that do not locate near structure or cover, but tend to suspend in thermal breaks and bait fish lanes can be time consuming and trolling is a good technique to cover a lot of water. Today you will see bass boats trolling swim baits during the cold water period searching for off shore bass, when casting the known structure areas isn't working. Down riggers don't work well in lakes where the depth changes constantly, unless the lure depth stays above the shallowest areas. Striper and trout fisherman will use down riggers often and stay out in the deep main lake basins away from the main lake points and humps. Flat line trolling is by far the most popular technique for bass. A trolling technique known as ripping is popular; ripping the rod back like you are setting the hook every few yards as the lure is flat lined behind the boat. I'm not a fan of ripping as bass tend to be snagged often, prefer the S turn to change lure speed. WRB

Running a deep diver further than 90 feet using standard bass tackle; rod, reel, line makes it very difficult to maintain good boat control and the lure isn't going to dive any deeper. 75 to 90 feet is about right 99% of the time when trolling for bass on most lakes and rivers. If you want to fish deeper then 20 feet, then added weight, lead core or monel wire line, is needed. Adding a bead chain keel weight about 3' in front of the lure is easy and effective. As mentioned you can troll any lure; even a plastic worm very slowly or on a controlled drift. Out west moving a soft plastic lure with the boat or trolling motor is called strolling and frowned on by tournament bass fisherman. Deep diving crank baits are the most popular lure to troll for bass and trolling along the break lines is the highest % method to catch bass trolling. WRB

Excellent thread. Out west we tend to fish deep and slow as suggested for winter nearly year around as the bass tend to stay deep most of the year. Two additions to the winter presentations are top water and deep suspended bass relating to large schools of prey fish away from structure. Where jigs , structure spoons, tail spinners and soft plastics fished deep and slow or dead stick as mentioned for structure related bass, the suspended bass are more difficult to locate and catch. The best lures for both top water and deep suspended bass are swimbaits; surface wake baits like the Lunker Punkers and deep slow swimmers like the Basstrix paddle tail minnow type lure. Bird watching, deep divers, is your best bet to locate these main lake deep water bass. Take your time, slow down and enjoy your day on the water. WRB

Near the depth the lures dive down to. When you make the S sweeps the lure should bump the bottom at the shallowest depth and move deeper, then repeat. Follow points out from shallow to deep and make a loop turn and follow the point back towards shore. Keep a eye out for bas near the bottom and run lures that run to that depth. WRB

You should read Buck Perry's spoon plug books. Deep diving crank baits run about 75 feet back of the boat at a slow walking speed. Run the plug along side the boat and watch it's action, should be the same as when you reel it back when casting. Bomber 6A & 7A, Normans DD15 & DD22 and your favorite lip less Traps all are good trolling lures. Use a depth finder to keep the boat path near the depth the lures are running. Make slow S turns to change the pace of the lures. WRB

Natural lakes differ just as greatly as man made impoundments or reserviors. You chould also add rivers to the classification waterways bass live. The Canadian shield natural lakes are deep with steep rocky structure and the wood or trees are shoreline lay downs or man made dock and cribs. Out west we have few natural bass lakes; Clear lake being the most famous. Reservoirs are generally classified by the type of terrain they are located in and the type of dam. Most bass reservoirs are flooded river valleys known as High-Land, Hill-Land, Flat-Land, Low-Land and Canyon. Reservoirs that are used primarily for flood control and water storage tend to have stable pool levels, whereas power generation lakes where the water is run through the dam, tend to have fluctuating pool depth. Age and location of the reservoirs tends to greatly affect the aquatic weed growth. The original river bed or channel is the main feature of most reservoirs and streams or creeks that join the main river channel become bays or arms. Bass tend to locate where these prominent features join together and provide structure elements and cover. Locate the prey near structure and or cover and bass should be there. WRB

Landing a good size bass from shore can wear down the bass depending on your tackle and the fish. Make yourself a simple one clip stringer about 8 feet long. You are not tournament fishing, so clip the bass on the stringer and let it revive while you get your digital scale ready. Know the weight of the stringer, weigh the bass and put it back in the water, only takes a few seconds. To answer you question; about as long as you can hold your breath, about one minute out of water the bass starts to go into shock unless revived quickly. WRB

Thanks for all the advice so far. I am not expecting to be an expert over night or to become a pro. I just didn't have any idea on where to start but all of you have so far given me a lot of good advice. Also to answer your questions WRB 1. I have a older 17 foot long bass tracker 2. I have a spinning pole with a spinning real and a bait caster pole with a bait caster reel. 3. My goals are mostly to catch bass, I don't expect to land monsters or get 100 fish each time I go out, but getting one bass per month does kinda suck because I do go out to fish. While it is nice to be out on the pond I am there to fish, and when I don't produce fish it tends to get to you after a while. 4. I know how to tie the improved clinch not and palomar knot. Does your Tracker have a sonar unit, if so what is the make and model? Same ? with the rods and reels; bass rods? line size? Good to know you can tie reliable knots. It's fall changing to winter soon, so the bass are going to go deeper out west. This means down sizing to finesse fishing. I suggest you purchase Don Iovino's book; http://www.iovino.com/donbook.htm Look at this site or use Don's book and read up on drop shot, split shot and doodle rigging small plastic worms that you can fish with your spinning tackle. Also read up on structure spoons. Learn those presentations this fall and winter. Good luck. WRB

Two questions; at what depth was the thermocline and what depth did you catch a few bass? Trying to meter fast moving school bass feeding on shad can be difficult during the fall transition. It is a lot easier to meter the shad schools and target the bass that are holding just above the thermocline layer, near structure. WRB

You can't read and try to learn everything about bass fishing all at once without experiencing overload. Most bass clubbers can be tight lipped and won't share much information. A good mentor will help you learn faster. Lets start at the beginning; 1. Describe your boat. 2. What type of rods and reel do you own? 3. What are your goals; catching bass or becoming a weekend tournament bass fisherman? 4. What knots do you know how to tie? Knowing the type of boat will help us to suggest where and how to fish. Your tackle selection limits the techniques and lure presentations you can fish successfully. If tournament fishing isn't a goal, then trolling or live bait may be options. Knot failure is a common problem with novice fisherman. Learn to tie the Palomar and Uni knots to start with. WRB

Looks like Owner's "down shot hook", excellent choice for skin hooking a worm in cover or open water. The needle sharp octopus style drop shot hooks work good when nose hooking a worm and fishing vertical deep rocky structure. If the hook isn't riding upright, make sure the hook bend and point is facing away when you insert the line when tying a Palomar knot, works for me. WRB

There is rain, then there is flooding. Wow up 8 to 10 feet in a few days will affect all the fish, including the deep water bass. Once the water settles a little, the bass should move up into newly created feeding areas and position at the areas where the water is entering or exiting creating current and ambush sites. The water will be off color, so I would suggest using darker high contrast soft plastic lures and bright color white/chartreuses spinnerbaits. Avoid the larger flats and concentrate near creek channels leading into the flats. WRB

Very true. The air temps out west are 103 with 40 mph winds and the bass are campers in their 75 degree water, same in Denver except it's snowing and Atlanta in the floods. The bass are OK, we are uncomfortable. WRB