Why Do You Troll?

kmudgn said:
On fly fishing waters in Maine, you can fish from a boat that is drifting with the wind, or anchored, but if the boat is under any kind of power (engine/motor/human) it is considered trolling and can get you into trouble with a Warden if he/she believes that you are using the power to pull the fly along as a fishing method rather than just moving spots. Very subjective, but that is what can happen.
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Wow, I never heard that one before. Interesting
 
There are different type of trolling. There is the type when you put on your heavy sinking line, place the rod into the rod holder, set the motor to whatever speed you want or for some, it can be done while you row as well. This is how I learned how to fly fish, and this type of fishing can be effective. I have done this often when I am fishing with my father in his boat who isn't a sophisticated fly fisher and enjoys exploring different areas of the lake and just likes fishing from his boat. Simple and can be effective. But it does seem like the fish have to on the bite or extremely active to have huge successful days. Also for me, feeling the bite/strike is a my preference, so holding it is important to me, but tough to do obviously if you are rowing.

But when fishing Stillwater, my preference is in my 9 foot pontoon boat with my extra big flippers. Technically I guess I am trolling, paddling along but I am still active, casting and retrieving. I vary my trolling speed (how fast I am paddling), sometimes moving fairly quickly when needed, which can be a workout especially on windy days, or sometimes moving very little or not at all, all depending on how deep I want to fish and the movement of fly. Also, I have three rods rigged up, usually a Midge-Tip or Hoover line for those fish on top and when I fish that rod I am not really trolling much, just slowing paddling as I keep a position but I am doing much more casting and retrieving into shoals or into the bank.

My second rod is a Intermediate or Type III which I guess is the one that I use to troll more, but I am still doing some retrieving and casting.

My third line is a Type V which when fishing I have a tendency to slow down my troll as more often there is no or very light wind and my focus is to get the fly deep so my trolling speed really deceases. This process allows you to do some good wind drifting as well, allows your flipper to act as a rudder and give you some steering and control.

I enjoy the physical aspect of this kind of fishing. After paddling around a lake for a few days, especially in the wind, you get a decent work out which I am looking for. I enjoy exploring lakes as well, I don't like to stay in one area too long unless the fishing red hot in that area. Also, this type of fishing allows me to hold onto the rod and feel the bites and the strikes which is crucial. I don't enjoy anchoring and watching indicators. I do put the rod into the rod holders when I am rowing from one point to the next and I have caught a few fish this way, but I don't see this as being sustainable plus you miss the feel of the strike.

When I go on some annual trips with my friends and family, I am the only pontoon boat without a motor. My brother-in-law and nephew troll a lot and been very successful, out fishing me often. They find the right line, usually a Type III, right speed and they do a good job of finding the holding zone and when they do, it is rinse and repeat for them and I am trying my best to paddle or retrieve my line to match their speed/process and going a little nuts in doing so :).

Peach
 
Lots of good reasons to troll. If I’m fishing a local lake that I know well, I’m probably going to just anchor and move positions a small number of times throughout the day. However, if I’m on a new lake or a lake that I haven’t fished in a while I will troll quite a bit.
  1. Nostalgia. I grew up primarily trolling on stillwaters.
  2. Effectiveness. Sure casting & indicator can often be more effective, but trolling still catches a lot of fish.
  3. Scenery. It’s a nice change of pace from being anchored in one spot…especially important with kids in the boat.
  4. Exercise/Warming-Up. It’s a good way to stretch the muscles (I row) and warm up when the weather is cold.
  5. Scouting. It’s helpful to make at least one lap to see where fish are holding and feeding to help choose an anchoring spot.
  6. Cover more water. While the presentation may not be as effective, trolling can put the fly in front of a lot more fish.
 
When I fished above Chief Joe dam, trolling a olive woolly bugger was the way to go.
Close to shore along the drop off from the boat ramp up lake and back.
Great time.
Taking the grand kid out in the canoe at black lake with a rust bugger. It would take a week to get the smile off his.
Love trolling a fly
 
RCF said:
In my limited experience, I feel the hookup rate is better with trolling than indicator/bobber fishing. Someone said earlier that set the hook on the first 'tick'. If you feel a second 'tick", the fish just spit out the fly.

I rarely feel a second 'tick' when trolling.

Thoughts?
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Depends. If the bobber fishing is good, I can catch way more on the bobber in the same amount of time as trolling. And it requires less effort. :cool:
Moving is usually good, but if you find the fish... Wise words that somebody decent at fishing once said "Don't leave fish to find fish."

I've been guilty of leaving fish to find fish. Got greedy. I've also been guilty of not leaving soon enough.

I always troll between spots and the most productive, for me, are either a fast troll (rowing my Commander) or a slow troll with stripping mixed in. I see a lot of people just mindlessly trolling... never changing speed/depth, never imparting action by stripping or twitching and they wonder why they don't catch any fish. So trolling can mean a lot of different things. Catching the scenery is always good.

Edit- I'm tired. I realize you were talking about hookup rate. I lose WAY more fish trolling than on the bobber. Now, do I miss more takes on the bobber?? Probably. But that keeps it fun.
 
When "trolling" I'm not just moving at a constant speed with a single presentation. Normally I use two flies at once and I will most definitely use different sinking lines to cover different holding depths. I'll also twitch the line or retrieve it a few times then let it drift back. Or, I'll strip the line in like a maniac. ... all while continuing to fin.

So while it appears to be simple trolling, for the stillwater fly anglers I fish with, there is a lot going on subsurface while the floating craft is moving on the surface.
 
Lots of good reasons mentioned for trolling. One major downside on the lakes I fish. The fish are usually in 25-40 feet of water, and the biggest ones tend to be caught within 3 feet of the bottom. Yes the guys trolling often get more than me. The fish I catch tend to be bigger as I always fish the bottom 3 feet. Some days, when you look on the sounder, every fish you see is hugging the bottom. When I see that, I know I am going to have a good day and the trollers are not.
 
It was the best way to catch Coho at Neah (Kings obviously deeper) in the morning or when foggy or overcast, that's for sure. In the rips, troll a tube fly 40-50 feet back in the edge of the prop wash with a naked flasher 10 feet down. Magic.

If you got good at this you could remove the tube fly hook and treat the surface fly as a teaser and cast a clouser in the wash and it was game on!
 
Years ago, while fishing with Ive and Roper, I watching them both trolling the same fly that I was using. I had a type 3 intermediate I think, and they both were catching at least 2 or more fish for each one I did. I speed up, slowed down, tried different retrievals... it was fun watching them and on day 2 I did a lot better!

I had a really fun two hours on a little lake north of Helena, MT, up by the Sun River! Rising fish for the two hours, and I would cast a small dry a foot to the left or right, depending on which way I thought they were going! Small fish, but an absolute blast! I was banking it, since I had left my float tube at my aunt and uncles house. My aunt and uncle watched me and couldn't believe how many fish I landed! It was a lot! I didn't bother to count... this is the type of day we all dream about!
 
SOB got me on the click bait. Sorry I'm just a resi rainbow.
 
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