Trolling For Trout
By Bob Ives
Early on, as far as trout fishing in Australia, the main method was
fly fishing and spinnerbait fishing. That's not so true anymore because
in recent years Australian anglers have developed a love for trolling
for trout. A part of the reason for that is the expanded use of small
boats in lakes and such. With a few minor modifications a good estuary
boat can be turned into a great trout boat. That makes trolling for
trout a very appealing proposition and affords fishermen the opportunity
to fish places they would have a hard time reaching from a bank.
Yes, we've all seen the TV fishing shows where it seems that they
simply drop a fishing line in the water a go on the merry way dragging
the bait behind the boat, but trolling for trout requires a bit more
skill than that. Each trolling lure you use will require you to
incorporate a bit of a different strategy.
Minnow trolling is a good example of that. It's best to attach the
artificial minnow to a light rod and reel with a swivel. This helps to
give the bait a more life-like action and keep the line from twisting.
You can experiment with different boat speeds, but you will likely find
that two knots works best with the bait out about 35 meters.
Not used as frequently as they once were, the banana shaped lures
Flatfish and Kwikfish are still productive and should be used when
trolling for trout. Fishermen stopped using them so much probably
because they lacked the patience to required to troll them so slowly.
It's kind of hard to blame them when you're out for a lot of fun action,
but they do catch fish and can be deadly when the bite is on. If you
want to give these bad boy baits a try, go for them in sizes F7 and X4
for Flatfish and K7 and K8 for Kwikfish. Then, hang on to your rod.
Other great baits for trolling for trout would include Tassie Devils
and Cobras. These are colored tubes with fins on them and what makes
them so effective is that they have a very erratic action in the water
which drives the trout crazy. It's important that the boat is moving at
the right speed to get the most out of this action; about 2 knots.
If you want to increase the chance of getting more bites, you should
try attractors in front of the lures. They're just like any other
fishing tackle, some days they will really help and other days they seem
to have no influence or even prevent the bite. They usually consist of a
chain of spinning blades or a flashing bent piece of sheet metal. The
chain of spinning blades usually have up to four blades that spin as
they are trolled, with the lure lagging 50 centimetres behind them. They
create a lot of drag so use heavier tackle.
The flashing bent piece of sheet metal, called Dodgers, doesn't have
as much drag, but they do dart and weave around making whatever is
trolled behind it more life-like. Most any lure can be placed behind an
attractor, but small spoons and large flies seem to get the vote most
often, but when trolling for trout you could also use worms or mudeyes
on hooks.
So, keep your speed in check, make sure your line isn't getting
twisted up, and try a couple of the more popular trout trolling lures
like Tassie Devils, Flatfish, Kwikfish, wet flies and other small lures.
Experiment with attractors of different types and you should soon get a
feel of what works best for you and be a master of Australian trolling
for trout. |
