Need Trolling Advice

Good morning,
I own a 1983 23’ Sea Ox, Cuddy Cabin with a 1991 225 HP Yamaha V6 outboard, nothing fancy but a great fishing boat. I purchased my boat in August 2014, so this is only my second full season fishing on it. I also have a 2011 Mercury 9.9 kicker/trolling motor, never mounted. I read the forum at least 3 x’s a week, in reading the posts I have become very interested in trolling, I’ve never trolled in my life, but I want to begin next season. I am somewhat familiar with some of the terms but still a lot to learn. My question to you experienced boaters; can someone please advise me on some beginning equipment that I can use to get started? Also where is a good place to shop for trolling equipment? Although I go out by myself a lot, my boat can fish four adults comfortably, so I guess I would start with enough equipment for four, if it’s expensive I will begin with two. I don’t necessarily have to have the best equipment on the market, but I never go with the cheapest. Time is not really an issue as I plan on purchasing the equipment over the winter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by My Way

Good morning,
I own a 1983 23’ Sea Ox, Cuddy Cabin with a 1991 225 HP Yamaha V6 outboard, nothing fancy but a great fishing boat. I purchased my boat in August 2014, so this is only my second full season fishing on it. I also have a 2011 Mercury 9.9 kicker/trolling motor, never mounted. I read the forum at least 3 x’s a week, in reading the posts I have become very interested in trolling, I’ve never trolled in my life, but I want to begin next season. I am somewhat familiar with some of the terms but still a lot to learn. My question to you experienced boaters; can someone please advise me on some beginning equipment that I can use to get started? Also where is a good place to shop for trolling equipment? Although I go out by myself a lot, my boat can fish four adults comfortably, so I guess I would start with enough equipment for four, if it’s expensive I will begin with two. I don’t necessarily have to have the best equipment on the market, but I never go with the cheapest. Time is not really an issue as I plan on purchasing the equipment over the winter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

---

With this in mind, I would recommend that you spend your money on better reels and do the cost cutting or savings on the rods. The more expensive reels will serve you for many years but the entry level reels may only last a season or 2 depending on how much you fish. The main problem is line counter accuracy and reliability of the reels. You can always go to Wal Mart if need be and replace a broken rod for a small amount of money and be back in business in short order but a line counter reel not so much.

I agree with Wakina on this one. I actually like my Berkley Big Game 7ft rods I got from Walmart, not only for the price, but for the performance/action they give me. (They are the white ones) They were less than 25 a piece from Walmart. Another good solution is 7 ft Ugly stick rods. I have several of these as well. A hint however, is get all of the same rods so they act the same when trolling.

Quite a few $$$ involved to kit the boat out but those are good boats and it will serve well for trolling on Erie.

Here are a few suggestions:-

1. Get the 9.9 kicker mounted.

2. You may have Rod Holders but ideally you would need 4 angle adjustable ones on each side to cater for 4 people.

3. Rods - Shimano Talora 8' or 8'6" are very good but cost around $80 each.

4. Line Counter Reels and Line - Shimano Takota are great but run more than $150 each, but Okama Magda are serviceable at just under $50 each - Then you need to spool them with braid or mono.

5. Planer Boards - Inline Planer Boards by Offshore run about $30 each and more for the better line clips.

6. Stuff to get your bait down to the fish such as 2 & 3oz inline weights, maybe a few #40 Tru-Trips and there is all manner of stuff out there. Don't forget a couple of #1 Dipsy's which also are easy to use and often do well.

7. Leaders - If you pull worm harness's or some of the crank types then you will need to make up some Leaders about 6ft long.

8. Selection of crank baits, such as 800 series ReefRunners, Deep Diver Bandits and maybe a few Husky Jerks and the latest fad - Flicker Minnows.

9. Spoons do well - So add a few Stinger spoons to the arsenal.

10. Worm Harness's - Tie your own or buy them, the goto color on Erie has some purple on it somewhere.

Now the expensive stuff ....

You need to go in more or less a straight line when setting lines, trolling and when netting fish!
So an AutoPilot of some sort is so very useful especially when trolling by yourself, lots out there.

3 people fishing = 6 rods [3 per side] and you will be fine using inline planer boards once you learn how to set and retrieve them without big tangles.
4 people fishing = 8 rods [4 per side] puts you in the next bracket, trolling with Big Boards, and all the additional gear needed to use them.

And make sure you have a good modern Sonar Fish Finder .........:D

Now if you would like a shopping partner, I could really enjoy buying all the above ... lol
But, before you start buying get out on the lake with someone who trolls and see what gear they are using and how they use it.

Have fun and hope the above helps to start the thinking!

Get some Amish Outfitters drift bags.My 29 ft. Rinker idles at over 4mph.With 2. 48 inch bags I can get my speed under 1.5mph.

I use these rods for 13 each. ://northwoodsoutlet.com/product/okuma-classic-pro-rod/
And these reels for 40. ://northwoodsoutlet.com/product/okuma-magda-pro-ma-30-dx/

For 50 each works great. Just make sure when you fill the reels no matter what brand take the time to actually measure check each one. I marked out 100 ft the checked each reel on the pole and added or subtracted line as needed to get it spot on. Capt jim said use 1000ft of berkley 25lb big game as backer. And that is 100 ft by the reel counter, the another 400 ft by the counter of 30lbs power prow. And most only needed minor adjustment ( thanks jim for the time savings tip on this series of reel ) every reel will have differant amounts needed to make them acurate.

I like the 7 ft poles better than the 8.5, but I have a small boat. Wish they made 6.5fter.

I use 2 bag sizes. Larger for early and late season slower speeds and smaller for summer. Bottom line to do it right is not cheap, but once the major parts are in hand they last for years.

Since you already have the kicker motor I would have it mounted and rigged to what you find convenient for steering and throttle control. I cannot with a clear conscience recommend trolling bags if you already have a kicker motor.

Line counter reels in the mid price range to consider would be Daiwa Accudepth, then up one notch to the Daiwa Sealine or the Okuma Convectors and the Okuma cold water reels. Personally, and if your budget allows you to, I would stay away from the Okuma Magda series of reels. Be advised that the Sealines, Convectors and the Cold Water reels overlap in Price and can sometimes be bought less than either of other other 2 in this category. Lastly the Shimano Tekota series of reels. The Tekota reels are pricey but are worth every penny that they cost, problem is they cost almost twice the price of the other reels mentioned in the second tier of reels, and you either have to buy a power handle for the Tekota 300 reels or go with the larger 500 size if you want a power handle. The 300 can be fitted with the power handle for the Tekota 500 reels and cost around $17.00, they are a direct fit to change from the double paddle handle that comes standard on the Tekota 300.

I personally use the smallest Reels available, but again I only fish in the western Basin and don't have any intentions of fishing for salmon. The smaller reels work better for women and children as they are lighter and handle easier than the larger reels. They also take less line, another cost savings. I have yet to catch a Steelhead in the lake that the smaller reels could not handle with ease.

I would go with a 6 1/2 or 7 foot rod in medium action for trolling. They work fine for board rods either Big boards or the inline boards. Before you plunk down your money for any inline boards I would compare the 2 most popular manufacturers of inline boards and both are American made to boot. I would look at the Church Boards in either TX-22 inline model or the TX-24 inline model (Walleye Boards). I would also look at the Off Shore Boards, I am not all that familiar with the Off Shore boards so I cannot give you the exact model number to look at but I believe it to be the OR-12 Side Planer. Once again compare the boards to their ease of use and to your personal preferences on how they work. Please keep in mind that the Church Boards will pull a heavier Weight than their counter part from Off Shore. I believe Off Shore Makes a Magnum board the OR37 SST Pro Mag Side Planer that would compare to the Church TX-44 boards. The Church TX-44 boards pull really hard so I would imagine that the Off Shore OR37 SST Pro Mag Planer would also be a hard pulling board. I cannot recommend either of the larger side planers for walleye fishing and they would need a heavier action rod to handle them. I hope this sheds some light on what you need just in basic equipment to get started without the purchase of baits/lures .

I would recommend that you learn the use of one method of bait presentation at a time and then once you feel confident in that you move on to the next presentation and continue to do so until you have a full spectrum of presentations in your arsenal that you can use proficiently.

Start with small boards with crank baits in the early spring and then as the water warms move to worm harnesses and spoons with either inline wts , jet divers, Off Shore Tad pole divers or tru-trip divers, with crank baits mixed into the spread as needed. Once the board presentations are working good for you move on to adding a couple of dipsy divers to your arsenal. With some practice you should be able to run 4 small boards per side without any trouble or three small boards and 1 stern planer per side. The more you use a technique the easier it gets, so practice makes perfect.

All of the above is great for getting the gear, but the suggestion about going on a charter that trolls will help make you productive.

Purchasing the book: Precision Trolling (The Trolling Bible) will increase the slope of your experience curve in getting your baits to the depth where the fish are (or just above them). I see there is an app out now and you can buy only the sections you want like Reef Runners, DHJ's. You will need charts for 2 oz inline weights as well.

As for rod holders, I have a fixed triple rod holder that slides into the gunnel rod holder. Works great for three rods on each side and is much less expensive than the adjustable big john type. I run the last rod out of the next gunnel rod holder behind it.

I run big boards, and three on each side is plenty. 4 puts them pretty close together and causes tangles especially with inexperienced crews. I am now running the 4th rod off a dipsy which gets it down quicker and out of the way of the other three. This took an adjustable big john rod holder mounted on a gunnel rod adapter.

You can't mix big cranks and tru-trips (TT's) on the same side due to the different dive characteristics. Tangles or CF's will keep you away from the fish. All cranks on one side and all TT's on the other.

I do not have auto pilot (AP). I would love to have it but raises the price of the fish per lb. considerable :0). Fishing with 2 people is doable. Three is better without AP. Unfortunately I fish by mylself a lot also which leaves you drifting and relying on the wind.

Spool half the reel with mono and the last half with braided. Getting rid of the line stretch between you and the fish will help in many ways.

Have fun!

Good afternoon,

I would like to thank all who contributed to this conversation, the information provided is priceless. I could not have gained the knowledge I’ve gained from this forum by sitting in any four year institution. In the past two weeks I’ve been thinking, researching and laying out my seven month plan, I’ve even made a few definite decisions, which I could not have done on my own. This is a GREAT community, again thanks for all of the help & information.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Redeyedrooster

I agree with Wakina on this one. I actually like my Berkley Big Game 7ft rods I got from Walmart, not only for the price, but for the performance/action they give me. (They are the white ones) They were less than 25 a piece from Walmart. Another good solution is 7 ft Ugly stick rods. I have several of these as well. A hint however, is get all of the same rods so they act the same when trolling.

---

What action (heavy, medium heavy, medium?) 7'

I use 7' med heavy, seems to be better for me. Dragging in those big spinners -sheepshead, I use big board's,but just got some inlines so I think the medium hvy. Will work good with them. I used my high dollar bass fishing rods,but wanted to get rods just for walleye fishing /trolling. After some experiments with different rods, for the price, the New gx2 ugly stick seems to be a good rod.l wasn't a big fan of ulgy sticks, but progress and price has made them a good deal

If don't put on kicker,get amish outfitter bags that can slow you to 1.0mph when water really cold.I did some research and bought some gear for my friends' first year trolling this year.Wanted to make things as easy as possible to start with.Bought 4 Diawa SG47LC reels and Diawa wilderness rods 8.5ft MH and spooled them 15lb Sunline mono.The rods only cost $16 at fish USA.I think the inline boards much easier to use than the big boards.I would get the offshore boards with the modified taggle flags that go down when a fish hits.I've been using the #2 tadpoles offshore makes past 3 seasons and have worked well for us.Even though they bottom out at 29fow.Get some 3oz sinkers to get deeper than 30ft.Start with worm harnesses with 6ft leader to get enough of and experience with.Can use harnesses through most of fishing season and will usually outfish spoons and crankbaits.Next season can buy two more rods and spool with braid and can fish that with a #1 dipsey.Will learn new stuff every year.Roy and Wakida really are accomplished trollers and have got a lot of good info from their threads.Make sure you read Ohio Game and Fish website also,they have even more info there.

All great advice here...I'd suggest jumping in with someone for the day. 4 to 5 hours of trolling can be so beneficial to learning different trolling situations. Hit me up sometime. I'd be glad to take ya out if I am around and have an open seat.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eriegardless

All great advice here...I'd suggest jumping in with someone for the day. 4 to 5 hours of trolling can be so beneficial to learning different trolling situations. Hit me up sometime. I'd be glad to take ya out if I am around and have an open seat.

---

In addition to the kind offer made by Eriegardless, you are very welcome to join us on Morning Mist, out of Vermilion, as long as you understand we are going Fishing rather than Catching .... [catching has been real hard for last couple of months;)]