How fast is too fast for trolling live baits?
 

Hey fellas,

I am curious to hear how fast you guys like to troll live baits and what the source for the speed report is. I.e. fish finder, fitness tracker, guessing, etc.

Thanks,
Anthony

That would depend on the type of bait, target fish etc. As a rule of thumb, no faster than the bait can swim sustained. As long as the bait is able to swim, ie not spinning, the speed is ok. So for the main bait that I use: Scad, aka Goggle Eyes(The Mexican Cavito is the WC Equiv.)usually between 1 and 3kts of speed through the water. I will measure the SOG and direction of the current, and then apply that to the SOG of my kayak, to estimate the speed that the bait is moving at. Most of the time I will reel in the bait for up current transits, and put out a lure or dead-skirted bait to avoid spinning.

For a bullet Bonito, up to 5mph is OK, and with these baits, the kayak has to keep moving or they will die. A smaller bait such as a pilchard or sardine would have to be trolled at a slower speed to prevent spinning. Spinning might work for Salmon, but not in SE Florida.

Thanks John. I should have clarified, I meant how fast can the bait be trolled before the trolling kills it.

So cal baits - Chub mackerel, Spanish (jack) mackerel, and sardines.

Thanks.

Based on my Humminbird I stroll along up to 4mph just fine. If I sprint I'm just shy of 6mph and only bigger or fresher macks do fine. Weaker ones spin and twist but it was probably time to change those out anyway.

I do stroll along at 2.5-3mph on average when I'm focused on dragging a mack in the zone. Usually looking for the usual signs. Most of my hits are around this speed.

P.S. that could be in knots. All of a sudden I forget what settings I have. :D

For mackerel I go the speed of peddling my kayak at a leisurely pace, for sardines I drift with the current or wind.

Thanks for the useful info fellas. :you_rock:

1.7 or 2.0 no more in a kayak

I would assume that's for halibut. Interestingly, that is my trolling speed for bait fishing with a sabiki or crappie jigs.

It depends on type of fishing you're targeting. Just don't go faster than the fish can swim is my advice.

I don't think I could outrun any of the fish I target if i wanted to. They all eat the nomad at about 4-4.5mph and that's when im working fairly hard since that thing creates so much drag.

My primary concern is killing the bait or causing it to spin. If I am trolling a live bait I can probably manage 4.5mph with a fairly relaxed tempo, and that's ideal because I can cover a lot of ground, but if the bait is dead or spinning like a flasher it negates the purpose lol

I would say keep it simple and don’t over complicate things.
You are trolling nomads at 4.5 mph because they don’t have the right action when trolling slower.
Live mackerel already comes with desired “action” so the speed in my opinion is not that important. Do mackerel move around at 4+ mph most of the day?? They don’t.
I believe both of my YT out of LJ ate my mackerel while slow trolling or drifting.

Good luck!

Use a barrel swivel to prevent spinning.

Swivels are standard on my rigs, but it does little. Even with ball-bearing swivels, when there is enough tension on the line, the swivels don't match the rate of spinning. It helps but does not prevent the problem.