Lets talk water column fishing

[crash1371]

As being in the commercial fishing industry it is and the most effective way to find and catch fish by hook . Now to translate this into trolling. We have 2 points the surface of the water and the bottom. Different types of species will be in different levels. Now our job is to target those fish. While trolling at 5-7 knots I like to run a spreader bar that has a lot of commotion at the surface, I will run a cedar plug or a chugger, This takes care of the surface area. Now I will run a 4-6 oz lure bullet head style it will break into more depth and sometimes a trolling weight can and should be added to create better separation from the surface. I will run a deep diver plug. Fish have big eyes for a reason. Most fish see all those lures and will pick one out. In my strange experiences I have caught a bottom fish on a cup jethead on the surface trolling past a weed line. This is nothing new from bass to specks and reds those fish are somewhere the principles are still all the same when it comes to finding fish but you get more lures. Please share your thoughts and some of your strange experiences

Edited October 27, 2010 by TimW Texas

[rakane]

As being in the commercial fishing industry it is and the most effective way to find and catch fish by hook . Now to translate this into trolling. We have 2 points the surface of the water and the bottom. Different types of species will be in different levels. Now our job is to target those fish. While trolling at 5-7 knots I like to run a spreader bar that has a lot of commotion at the surface, I will run a cedar plug or a chugger, This takes care of the surface area. Now I will run a 4-6 oz lure bullet head style it will break into more depth and sometimes a trolling weight can and should be added to create better separation from the surface. I will run a deep diver plug. Fish have big eyes for a reason. Most fish see all those lures and will pick one out. In my strange experiences I have caught a bottom fish on a cup jethead on the surface trolling past a weed line. This is nothing new from bass to specks and reds those fish are somewhere the principles are still all the same when it comes to finding fish but you get more lures. Please share your thoughts and some of your strange experiences

We were fishing for albacore and could see both them and huge bait fish schools at 25-50 feet this summer. WE tried everything I could think of but no surface strikes. Other boats were reporting the same on the radio. I tight lined a YoZuri plug and an Archer bar on a diver to get down, but still no luck. Varied the speed to let them dig in a bit more, still no luck. At the end of our day I stopped and grabbed the jig rods and they guys let them fly. I turned off everything to see if that might help. We hooked up two fish right away. A blue shark took half of one fish, but we had cracked the code.

Our troll looked as good as anything I'd ever pulled, but they wanted that iron dropped to them. Go figure. There are guys that never troll, just hunt the sounder, and drop iron. No bite in 3-4 minutes, move on. It works for them but I'm still learning this jig stuff.

[crash1371]

Hey No Bail thanks. My boat was moored at Winchester Bay And river guided from as far south as the Rouge up to the Alsea and as far east as the Deschutes. I was born in Grants Pass but lived in Creswell, now here for almost 5 years in Texas

Go DUCKS

Edited November 14, 2010 by TimW Texas

[rakane]

Hey No Bail thanks. My boat was moored at Winchester Bay And river guided from as far south as the Rouge up to the Alsea and as far east as the Deschutes. I was born in Grants Pass but lived in Creswell, now here for almost 5 years in Texas

Go DUCKS

Hey Tim. Not on topic but I just returned from a trip to San Antonio and Conroe. I have to say I went on my first bass boat trip and it was a kick for a salmon/tuna fisherman to ride in a go fast bass boat and catch my first bass on an impoundment that provides cooling water for a coal powered plant. I'm missing the blue sky. Yesterday it rained so hard in Portland, OR that the street lights turned on, at 3:30. And I had my first visit to Buc-ee's. Now there is some good snacks and the camo caramel corn is a hoot.

Take care.