Tips for trolling artificials?
 

Hey All,

I'm seeking some advice on trolling. I've been attempting to troll a 1oz kroc off the back of my kayak from a rod mounted in a flushmount behind my seat (vertical orientation). I'm finding that the kroc will start skipping along the surface while underway. It seems like no matter how long I let it sink before getting moving it still reaches the surface. I attempted to use a 4" swimbait and 1/2oz leadhead instead, which seemed to have slightly better results, but not that much improved.

Am I not using enough weight? Not letting out enough line? Incorrect type of lure? Lastly, should I troll in freespool w/clicker or in gear with light drag?

Best regards,

Dave

what kind of fish are you trolling for and what depths

I'm fishing completely blind, no depth finder, so at this point my expectations have been bonito or cuda. However, I'd like to learn how to troll at varying depths. Right now I'm just trying to get a feel for, and understand, a new-to-me technique.

I'm in the same boat as you Dave. My Fish Finder has yet to arrive so I fished blind last time at Dana. I've trolled Kroc knock offs before and a slower speed yielded more results. The fish didn't care too much for a mad paddling speed nor a moderate one either. Slower seemed better. The best thing I found though was just casting and retrieving along kelp patties as the cuda and bones should be under those. Like everyone else I'm always learning about our coastal fishery, and this is what I learned on my last trip.

Squeaky Mirage Drive
 

Thought I would post this as it took me quite awhile to eliminate squeaky mirage drive and that others may be experiencing the same problem. After several 7 hr trips the squeak was pretty much driving me crazy. I have an old v1 drive so it was time to update with turbo fins. Worked out great. Had a chain break so put on all new chains figuring the others were probably going to fail sooner than later. Can not remember when the squeak actually began, but not too much longer after upgrades. Had the drums replaced as it appeared they had worn and were hitting the idler pulley. Next trip went well but then it came back. Finally disassembled the entire drive and serviced it. Noticed that one of the chains was a bit sticky so loosened and lubed. Cause may have been chain or that entire unit needed to be serviced. Also added nylon washers to protect drums from wearing on spine. Not that big a deal to service and it sure makes drive silky smooth and easier to pedal. Also good to know how it works in case you need to make on the water adjustments or repairs. Will be taking drive out of yak and securing before launching and landings to keep sand out in the future. Good luck and happy pedaling.

I don't go out to troll anything but I usually have something in the water while I'm on the move from place to place. I've had good luck with Luckycraft lures which stay a few feet down, and swimbaits with 3/4oz or more heads. If I'm making good speed then Waxwing lures work well as they stay a few feet down and require some speed to swim well. I'm sure Crocs would be fine on a slow paddle. Crank baits (Rapalas) would work well too and you can try different swim depth models. You can also try switching up line sizes and types as that affects drag and floatation too.

Instead of putting the rod in the rod holder. Try tucking the butt end under your leg. Rod is now in a low horizontal position instead of upright.

Not sure how it would work for big fish but I've stuck the but of the rod under my left leg with the tip off the right side of the yak.

Sounds like I have a couple things working against me, but I do believe I understand what I'm doing incorrectly. I'm probably paddling too quickly, orienting my rod tip too high for non-diving lipped hardbaits, and possibly not using enough weight. Thanks for the tips, y'all.

Not enough weight for sure u can use a Carolina style set up to get it deeper but u will lose the feel and not know when it's not swimming right . My advice to u is buy a umbrella rig works great bass bonies halibut if u fish it just off the bottom

Loop a rubber band from your reel handle around the outgoing line and back to the reel handle. This will take down the entry of the line to the water and help prevent surface skipping

I do the same quoted above. Deep dive rapalas and lucky crafts. Live bait or 5" 1oz swim baits.

I use a cheap Home Depot Tarp Clip tied on the hull and close to waterline. Less expensive than an outrigger release clip. Rod in holder, line runs down and into the clip. Keeps it close to water and it pops out of the clip on a strike. I usually troll small Rapalas Sinking Magnums #11 and big Krocs with good luck.

I like that rubber band trick, I'll have to give it a try.

I don't use flush mount holders or rocket launchers. Clips or rubber bands I think would put my line too close to the yak and possibly chafe the line or get tangled on something. I use Scotty rod holders set to a horizontal position out and away from the yak. My rod tip is about a foot off the water and six feet out off the side. This way I can watch the rod tip as I paddle and adjust my speed to see the lure action. I can also turn the yak a bit without having the line going under the back of my yak, which would be a bad idea with a rudder. Sometimes I run two rods off opposite sides of my yak which puts the lines about 14 feet apart to help prevent tangles.

Since you have been going after bones and bars, then on the surface is ok. If you want to catch yellowtail, try the lures like the rapalas that have lips to keep them a little above the surface.

I was trolling a spoon in fresh water yesterday, I almost could not paddle slow enough to keep the spoon from coming to the surface. I would stop and let it sink then start paddling again and it would come right back up. I think stop and go is the only option with a spoon.

X2

And if you want to leave the reel in freespool (clicker on) tie a floss loop onto the line and clip IT with the rubber band. Especially useful when trolling a live bait.

Edit: Try to use the lightest rubber band you can get away with :)

Hi Dave,

It is Fener from the other website.

You can double the weight of a crocodile by using a bigger split rings and a second crocodile lure.
The color of the second one does not matter, but it has to be the same exact size.
Spooning them together will double the weight as well as provide a rattle.

Other option is to put a torpedo sinker 3-4 feet above the lure and between the main line and the lure.
This way you can use braid or Mono and only short section of Fluorocarbon leader.
A sinker with rubber band insert will work too without adding two more knots to your rig.

Slowing your speed, having a rod in a Scotty holder which brings the rod tip close to water levell will help too.

If you hook a good size bonito or a yellowtail and if a sea lion picks it up, you could lose the rod which is held in between the legs!

You can adjust the the depth that your lure runs by adjusting weight, amount of line out, and speed. If you're in deeper water there's no reason to not troll a swim bait on a 4 oz head and long line it. You should be able to paddle or peddle as fast as you can w/o the lure skipping. They drag more than spoons or plastics, but diving plugs are often designed to be trolled. And the faster you pull them the deeper they dive. Some thing I've done is run a plastic on one side and a plug on the other. As you speed up the plug dives and the plastic rises. Slow down and then plastic sinks and the plug floats. I think it covers the water column with both lures. Deffinatelty keeping the rod tip closer to the Water or running a flat line will let your lure run deeper. Mike

Past few weeks while catching bait I've had awesome luck casting into bait boils with spoons and crank baits for bonito usually only when im bored with the bait catching I've been using 1oz-2oz and just retrieving fast. Bonito vary from 10"-20"