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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Sailing and Trolling

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redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3476 Posts

Initially Posted - 02/07/2011 : 09:06:16

Wondering what some people ( OK Dave in Daytona ) are dragging.

I'd probably just drag a spoon. I'm surprised to hear the Kings are only close to shore. I've caught them up to 8 miles out in the gulf out of Panama City. It is also the kind of thing I'd often only take the time to do when I was going out the pass and closer in.

Spanish were always to small to clean for me most of the time, so I'd chunk them back to the dolphins.

But Trollin was kinda of a long time ago. We pretty much quit after the gas prices went up so high and started "flatlinin" a cigar minnow on the surface as we bottom fished.

And of course I'm only freshwater now, so it is fun to hear.

Ray in Atlanta, Ga.
"Lee Key" '84 Catalina 25
Standard Rig / Fin Keel

Edited by - on

DaveR
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USA
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Response Posted - 02/07/2011 : 10:31:00

Both Spanish and Kings will hit most anything you throw at them if it's flashy. Could be a minnow type or a spoon. And by close I mean a mile to a half mile off. Of course we get a lot deeper quicker here in the Atlantic. I haven't done this in years, and when I did it was on a power boat but my girlfriend wants to try trolling too so I'm sure we'll give it a go this year. I'll make sure and let you know how it goes Ray!

Oh, and speaking of spoons, I like'em a lot and went out on my 14ft trihull last week-end, push polled the flats in Mosquito Lagoon and got 2 Reds on a Johnson Minnow (spoon)! It's been a few years and was MUCH fun.

Edited by - DaveR on 02/07/2011 10:37:14

Prospector
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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 02/07/2011 : 10:34:17

I have a hard time catching fish trolling anythign in my driveway. I also don't care much for ice fishing. Glad you guys are having some luck.

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Sloop Smitten
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Response Posted - 02/07/2011 : 17:05:57

Speaking as a west coast sailor:
I troll Rapalas normally and catch barracuda, bonito and mackerel pretty regularly when the water warms up over 65 degrees. I have caught them on other trolling lures as well but have the most consistency with the Rapalas. Usually requires at least 5 knots of boat speed. I do not like to pull over to pull in a fish when the boat is moving well under sail so if I really want to fish I troll under motor and keep the speed up. Much easier to cut the throttle and stop than under sail. On an exceptional day I can manage 12 or more. Caught quite a few King Mackerel off Southport, NC when I lived in NC. My feeling is they are lot like Pacific Barracuda so when it comes to trolling methods I would expect good results with the Rapala.

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DaveR
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Response Posted - 02/09/2011 : 07:57:47

I think your technique would apply well here too Joe. It's funny, we have pretty much the same group of fish, and I'll bet you just forgot to mention shark. Half the time you get your King to the boat and it's been bitten in half by a cuda or shark

I'm going to try to do this with sails up, it's a shame to travel 9 miles and 2 hours to get to the ocean just to motor, but I can see where it could be ........... problematic.

Oh, and Ray, You just mentioned coming down for a sail on another thread, this is what we could do!

Edited by - DaveR on 02/09/2011 07:59:24

redeye
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Response Posted - 02/09/2011 : 08:40:20

For Kings it seems like they would be easy enough to reel in without stopping the boat, just let out the sails. Keeps them from throwing the hook.

Float downwind in that skiff to the trash in the lagoon blown over to the grass flats and look for those specs bumping into the grass as they feed. Throw a topwater lure, I remove the middle treble hook, and you can see the tail fin make a swirl as they strike. Pull just as soon as he strikes or they get off. Pull as they strike and they attack that much harder.

Whoooo Hooooo.....

( That was fun ) OK back to Dropping the mast, repairing that anchor light, cleaning mold, swabbin the deck, latching down the landlubbers, chores.....

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Sloop Smitten
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Response Posted - 02/09/2011 : 08:42:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Half the time you get your King to the boat and it's been bitten in half by a cuda or shark<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Yep, been there. The mackerel here in SoCal is nowhere near the King Mackerel on the East Coast. They get to about 2-3 lbs while the King can get up to 50+. Also the pacific barracuda is smaller than the east coast barracuda. But there all fun to catch. As much motoring as C25's do while making passages I'm surprised more people don't take advantage of trolling. I am thinking of adding a live bait bag to my stern pulpit this year and trying my luck that way as well.

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Prospector
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Canada
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Response Posted - 02/09/2011 : 10:14:50

Haw fast do most bass boats go on a trolling motor? I thought our 3-6 knots was too fast for fishing from teh boat. Nevermind - Google says 1-2 knots is a good trolling speed. So what, you just go without a jib, tie a reef in the main to cripple the boat, and see what you can get?? Or do you heave-to and drift fish while the boat scallops downwind?

Maybe I should try this.

Edited by - Prospector on 02/09/2011 10:18:03

DaveR
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Response Posted - 02/09/2011 : 10:36:23

I think different speeds for different fish Chris. With a billed lure speed helps dictate how deep it runs (as does bill size and orientation). But I've been surprised before at how fast people troll. It's seems some fish really like "flashy and fast". And then I'm thinking colder water, fish are slower, so slower troll.
Ray, like Joe says, these Kings can easily get to 30 to 50 lbs., you gotta slow down and most likely stop to reel'em in. I think I'd stop and then try to keep the stern to the fish. Anyway I'm sure it'll be a work in progress as we try to catch one

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redeye
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Response Posted - 02/09/2011 : 11:44:14

Yepper, we'd do different things at different places, different times. 15-20 knots for big Wahoo and Tuna is not uncommon ( hi-speed trolling). I'd "skip" a bait behind me when moving from one area to another sometimes to see if I get a strike and then go back and troll slow.

Depends on where you are, and we were often close to shore and I had more strikes going faster than I thought, rather than slower.

Farther offshore folks would use downriggers and troll slower, deeper.

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redeye
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Response Posted - 02/09/2011 : 11:49:07

<< Ray, like Joe says, these Kings can easily get to 30 to 50 lbs., you gotta slow down and most likely stop to reel'em in. >

Most of the "snakes" we would catch closer in you can just reel them right in. Smaller kings.

The "smokers" (30 lbs up ) you might hang into are another story.

Many people lose the fish because they would slow up at the end to get the net to them, the fish would spook and throw the hook. Best to just pull them on in.

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redeye
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Response Posted - 02/09/2011 : 12:49:35

<>

Most of the time we would troll a specific area where we knew we had bottom structure, so I kinda think sailing and trolling would be rather unfruitful, but that is from my perspective of the Panama city beach Gulf coast, which is mostly a sand bottom.

I don't know a thing about the Atlantic coast in your area.

I usta drag a live cigar minnow with a lure that had a wire coil around the nose of the bait, and a skirt. The nose kept the bait straight and kept it from spinning.

Edited by - on

Scooter
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USA
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Response Posted - 02/10/2011 : 06:51:52

Here is one we caught a few years ago. Here's what we use around NC.

We use a Clark Spoon and a planer. The size of the clark spoon determines the size fish you're after. I use medium size because I'm cheap.

The rig consists of:
1. Bungee tied securely to the boat. (This is so the jerk on a big fish doesn't compromise the rig.)
2. 100 pound test line. I have several lengths of this. The length of this line (and the speed of the boat) determines how deep the planer and lure go.
3. Planer. This is a device that has a trigger that trips when a fish bites. This device will hold the lure at a depth. When a fish strikes the planer and lure (fish) will come to the surface and you can see it dragging behind you.
4. About 25-30 ft of about 30 pound test. This (I am told) is so the fish don't see the planer. This amount and test of line is a personal preference. Remember you have to haul all this in once you catch a fish.
5. Clark spoon.

What I do is have a loop or roll to wrap the line on. You can devise anything you want. They make expensive loops you can wrap the line on. Whatever works for you.

I recommend practicing a few times. When you do catch a fish you don't want to learn that you have any tangle issues. Ask me how I know.

This works well for us since you can just let it drag and just keep watching it.

Note: If you have lot's of seaweed etc.... it will get caught in the hook or planer. I just quit when I run through weeds.

Hope this helps.

Update: Watch the starboard tack. Watch for sharp edges if you turn too fast. I haven't had any issues but it could get caught on the motor.

Edited by - Scooter on 02/10/2011 07:01:20

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