trolling speed

[bchaser]

Just wondering what people’s preference is to the speed you troll?

On my first barra experience I went out with a mate who had a 4m punt. He trolled with a 40lb minn kota at the back on the slowest setting possible and also towed a bucket behind him. His idea was to find the point where the lure went from not swimming to where it just started to kick, not even close to the lures full action.

In no time at all I had my first barra in the boat at 113cm. that fish to this day has cost me about 25k, but ha who’s counting. I was hooked from day 1 . Strait away I went and bought a boat and put a WSnake on the front. The reason I chose the snake was the control could be adjusted to any speed instead of the MK which just had the 1-5 speed settings. With the snake I could find that point which I presume is about half the speed of the MK on level 1. it also can be finely adjusted if the wind is behind or in front.

While im out on the water though everyone seems to be going a lot faster and having to over take me, im yet to see another boat going as slow. Some I’ve seen going so fast they were leaving waves behind them.

My last 4 hrs trolling at awoonga, 12.30am-4.30am dec 9th 07 managed to land 7 assorted sized barra in the boat with countless bumps and taps in between. At one point we got 3 fish in a 100m strait line. so I know this way works and I guess I haven’t put the time in going at a faster pace to see what the difference would be.

So im just wondering what reaction I get to this method and if maybe the times when im not doing so good it might be worth picking up the pace a little?

The other thing is at this speed I seem to do best on the vipers and through experimenting found that an extra lg treble at the front and back slowed the swimming action even more resulting in more hookups while the same color viper next to it with normal sized hooks were getting a lot less attention. The viper with lg trebles and the jindivic both in bronze did all the damage that night. Love the predateks.bren

[Fishoboy11]

Sorry mate - can't really help you out on an answer, but seems to me that your success indicated you are doing something right ;-)

[Brad Clark]

Very interesting Bren. I have only trolled at a faster pace so perhaps it is the fast trollers who may need to consider slowing down rather than you thinking you should up the pace. Something for me to keep in the memory banks if things are a bit slow.

Cheers

[Colo77]

Hi Bren,
I think you're on the money. Slow is the go! I havn't done alot of trolling but a mate of mine works on the same principle, go as slow as you possibly can and still get some action in your lure.
When it comes to casting however the same rule applies(unless you're after a reaction strike). The longer you can keep your lure in the strike zone the better.
Cheers, Colo.

[Jeremy87]

2-3k's per hour for both bass and barra, i normally troll with my electric motor as my outboard idles to fast.

[steve99]

Trolling speed is generally governed by the size of the size.

For example, when using a big long lure - like a bomber long A - trolling speed needs to be relatively quick to ensure the lure works properly. If you troll slowly the lure just moves through the water and does nothing.

Personally, I troll a bit quicker because I like using bigger lures. Small lures generally have small trebles Upgrading to tougher or bigger trebles has a tendancy to inhibit lure action,especially on small lures.

For me, its big lures , with big trebles, trolled relatively quickly - It works well!!!

[bchaser]

steve, maybe thats the answer, different lures for different speeds. find the exact speed to suit each style of lure. thats why vipers have become a favorite, they are well suited to go as slow as you can. though sometimes hours/days can go by with no action at all. at this point i think it would be worth throwing something like a bomber on and picking up the pace, it cant hurt to try.

its possible that just as lures and collours need to be experimented with on the day, speeds need to be also.

jeremy, 2-3 k's sound about right for what i've been doing but i have no real way of telling other than the feel of the lure, which is what i've been going off. i have a lawrance x125 and from memory they can have a speedo attached. think i need to get one.

colo, castings another story and im unfortunatly yet to pull a barra out of the water this way, not from the lack of trying. on my next trip(8hrs N) i think i should ban trolling untill i get one from a cast. who knows, next trip might be the one.

thanks all.bren