If you’re looking for catching big fish in the ocean, trolling is perhaps the best method to apply. It’s effective as well as exciting, both for learners and pros. If you’re new to trolling, it’s a technique in which a lure is hooked and dragged through the water in a moving boat so as to make the fish feel that the bait is a moving prey. Let’s learn a few tips to master this technique.
Choose a Correct Location
Versatility is a great characteristic of trolling. Trolling can be done in oceans or lakes or rivers. Most importantly the waters should be deep enough for a boat. You should mainly remember two things – firstly, you should be able to get close to the fish. There are some signs to identify this such as floating weeds or birds swooping into the water. You can even use a sonar to find the fish. Secondly, you should hit the correct depth. Using several techniques and by lowering your baits, you can exactly know where your fish are. You can get the help of many gadgets too.
What can You Catch?
To encourage you, it’s better to tell you the names of a few species you can catch. They are Wahoo, Barracuda and Kingfish. What’s more, offshore you can find huge game fish like Snapper, Grouper, Tilefish, Tuna, Marlin, Sailfish and Mahi Mahi.
Choose the Right Gear
Rods: Quality trolling boats such as fishing charters in Boca Raton will have anywhere from two to six rods. Each of these will be placed appropriately on the boat, typically in one of the rod holders on the gunwales of the boat. For saltwater trolling, these rods are slightly more specialized. For big fish, you should choose stiffer and heavier rods in the 6 ½ to 7 ½ foot range. For nearshore species, you can get away with lighter rods. However, a heavier rod will handle fish hitting and darting in opposite direction much better.
Reels: Again if you’re going for bigger fish offshore, you’ll need sophisticated reels.
Line: When it comes to trolling lines, there is no one-size-fits-all. Most anglers swear by monofilament while trolling at higher speeds. Braided lines are much stronger while being of a smaller diameter. They’re also much less buoyant than mono, so are good while trolling at greater depths.
Lures: Choosing the correct lure will improve your trolling hook-up rate dramatically. You have the options of live bait, dead bait, lures and a mix of lures and bait.
Trolling is doubtlessly one of the best methods anglers should try. It’s highly effective and extremely fun and is highly addictive. If you choose the right gear and learn this technique patiently, you’ll feel the joy of fishing in a true sense.
