What is Trolling

One of the worst things that can happen when the bite is on is you and your buddy casting out and managing to tangle your lines up, especially if you’ve each got a fish on. This can be a nightmare and lead to losing a good fish or two. We have probably all done it, it’s very easy to do especially when fishing in currents and it’s even easier to do when trolling if you’re not using the correct gear.

If you’re asking what in the world is trolling, you’re probably in the right spot. We are covering trolling from the basic concept up to using fancy outriggers that make your life so much easier. The basic notion of trolling is allowing line out with a lure or bait and then using a current or the power of a motor to pull your boat and move your bait to entice fish. To go more in depth, you’ll want to be in an area where there is a school of bait fish moving. If you’re just getting started you may wonder where to find bait fish, as any expert will tell you, look for the birds. When you see birds diving there are bait fish and where there are bait fish there are game fish feeding.

Once you have found your bait fish you will see which direction they’re moving, cast out your line and allow your desired amount to unspool, then you will begin moving or better known as trolling. Again, this method allows you to keep your bait within a school of bait fish, but you need to be moving the same speed as the bait fish as well. This is how people target fish like marlin, sailfish, tuna, and other large game species. It amplifies your ability to cover a lot of water at once, it would be similar to making a cast that’s hundreds of yards long and then reeling it back. Instead you make a cast, drive, and you automatically shorten the distance between your boat and the fish you intend to catch.

When trolling it’s really easy to become tangled if you’ve got a few lines out off the back of the boat as you move forward the lines will likely drift together and then become a tangled mess. If you’re on a lake trolling for crappie it may be a little easier as you’re moving slower and most of the time you’ve got a line off each side of the boat and they’re not coming together. However, if you're trying to troll offshore without using outriggers and you need to run multiple lines at different distances and depths you may run into some frustrating issues to say the least.

Outriggers are exactly what they sound like, they rig your baits out away from the boat. These are rods that stick out off the side of your boat and hold your line until you have a strike. The way they work is they’ll generally hold multiple lines on each side of the boat, and you can keep them very easily at different depths and distances from the boat. They can seem slightly complicated at first however after a little practice they’re just another tool in your arsenal for catching bigger fish and more fish.

If you’re looking for good outriggers for your boat, we would recommend using Taco Marine products. Taco is a brand known all around the fishing world for being one of the most reliable and innovative brands in the marine industry. You will see Taco outriggers on boats from personal fishing boats to giant 50+ charter boats. Here at Sportsman Boats we equip a lot of our boats with Taco outriggers; we stand by what our customers want on their boats and Taco is exactly that.

If you want to learn more about Taco Marine outriggers or how to set them up on your Sportsman Boat check out this video.

Trolling, at its roots, is a fairly simple method of fishing that takes a little time to get used to. Once you’ve got it down and have the right gear, you’ll see a major change in your ability to catch some of those fish you’ve always been looking for. For more information about outriggers check out Taco Marine’s website for loads of great information and options.