| Author | Post |
|---|
jefe
Member
| Joined: | Mon Apr 3rd, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 25 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
| Mana: |  |
|
Posted: Thu Jun 15th, 2006 10:44 pm |
|
| I have a question regarding trolling speed. What is a good "rule of Thumb" when trolling with lures?? and ballyhoo??
|
bartmanaz
Administrator
|
Posted: Fri Jun 16th, 2006 01:38 am |
|
6-7 knots with lures and slower with naked ballyhoo. Will vary a bit depending on the boat and how the wake shapes up at various speeds.
Bart
|
No Sniveling
Member
| Joined: | Thu Oct 27th, 2005 |
| Location: | Rio Rico, Arizona USA |
| Posts: | 1107 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
| Mana: |   |
|
Posted: Fri Jun 16th, 2006 01:54 am |
|
No Sniveling produces a small wake, and minimal turbulence, so my speed depends more on wind/swells/lures. Rougher water or pulling several ballyhoo, I will slow to 4-5kts to keep everything swimming right. If I am searching for water temperature or color, or working toward an area people are discussing on the radio, I might bring the baits in or change to bullet-types to stay in the water at 8-9kts. When everything is right and I'm waiting to see what gets bit first: 6-7kts, like the man said!
 Craig
|
joea
Member
|
Posted: Fri Jun 16th, 2006 02:59 am |
|
Here is an article by one of the top Blue Marlin captains in the world. Hope it helps.
TROLLING SPEED:
One of my favorite subjects is trolling speed. Especially talking with a captain who believes that one specific engine RPM or speed is the way to troll regardless of how the lures perform. The single speed approach works only when a pattern of lures are matched to that speed. It's fine in moderate to calm seas, but you still have to contend with rough water and how these conditions will affect your overall lure action & spread.
Ideally, I like to adjust boat speed specific to lure choice. The speed of the boat may need to be altered frequently, especially if the pattern becomes a little complex with different shapes as you change lures throughout the day. Keep in mind that some head designs are simply not compatible with others. While experimenting, you can make a wrong choice for the conditions your dealing with, it is possible that adjusting speed won't make the odd lure in the pattern run well. Errors do happen and if you see you've made an error in judgement then correct it promptly simply pull the dud out of the water and line up and go with another weapon, hopefully one that is better suited for the job at hand.
A good starting point for most lure patterns is eight knots. It's not too fast and not too slow, but it is just the starting point. Remember that faster or slower speeds are dictated by the choice of lures and sea conditions and you will probably have to adjust to get everything working in concert.
I'm going to let you in on an old Hawaiian trick that will help you to achieve just the right speed for your total trolling package. Set your short corner lure first on the 2nd wave, then adjust your R.P.M. to the lure, not the lure to the R.P.M. Tune your speed to the lure, tweak it, make it perfect. Once you have achieved this first step then go ahead and set the rest of your spread. It does help to know what lures are compatible with each other. Black Bart Lures with our “pro-balance” weighting system are made to be very compatible together, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Aloha, great fishing!
Captain Bart Miller
|
jefe
Member
| Joined: | Mon Apr 3rd, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 25 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Fri Jun 16th, 2006 05:17 pm |
|
| Thanks everyone for the great advice!!
|
DiveUrge
Member
| Joined: | Fri Jun 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 72 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Fri Jun 16th, 2006 05:24 pm |
|
My experience is... Trolling for marlin go faster... 9mph and for dorado/tuna 7-8. Of course if the water's rough keep lures further back & slow up a bit and if it's calm faster with lures closer to use the boat wake for action.
That was until this year. I could have been running 40mph and gotten the same results...
|
Stuart
Member
| Joined: | Wed Oct 26th, 2005 |
| Location: | Tempe, Arizona USA |
| Posts: | 451 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Fri Jun 16th, 2006 06:09 pm |
|
I guess I'm in Bart Miller's camp - the correct trolling speed is whatever gives your lures the proper action in the water. It can be adjusted up or down for water conditions. For example, if I'm trolling Rapalas or Hydromags, I never go above 7 mph. For surface lures, I adjust speed so that they hit the surface and pop every 10-15 seconds, but run and smoke just under the surface most of the time. Every lure has a desired action, whether a jethead, a bullet, plunger, or chugger. Achieving that action is fish nirvana and what draws the strikes.
Also, I don't troll ballyhoo at the same time I'm trolling lures. We'll slow down and drop a ballyhoo back if we see a billfish or get a strike. Or, we troll the ballyhoo by themselves at a slower speed.
I have laughed at some boats I've seen trolling by me. The lures are skipping across the surface spraying water and they have the lures dropped back a 1/2 mile or so! Way too long and way too fast!
|
Current time is 06:53 pm | |
|
