[11]
BOAT FISHING TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES
Throughout
the book I have mentioned boat
fishing in passing, so in this
chapter I shall go into the matter
a little deeper. I admit that
what follows is still somewhat
sketchy, but that's because the
subject of fishing lures from
boats could really do with a whole
book to itself. Specialised techniques
like trolling with wire or lead
lines, downriggers, and even planer
boards to reach out to the side
of the boat, are beyond the scope
of a book like this one. However,
what follows should be of some
use to anyone thinking of taking
to the water for the first time.
There
are two reasons for going afloat
in pursuit of pike; because you
want to, or because you have to.
This is not as daft as it sounds.
Some waters have vast lengths of
bank that are unfishable except
from a position out on the water.
Overhanging trees, thick rush or
lily beds, or even boggy margins
can all keep the bank-bound piker
away from good fish holding water.
A boat is the obvious answer. On
the other hand the majority of trout
waters that open up to piking only
allow fishing from their boats.
For this reason many pike anglers
get their first experience of boat
fishing on trout fisheries. Luckily
this means that they usually get
to fish from good boats, which is
not always the case on coarse fisheries
that have boats for hire. If you
are going to fish from a hire boat
it is well worth taking along a
few items of your own, even where
the boats are well equipped.
An essential is an anchor, or preferably
a mud-weight. I have never found
the grappling hook type anchor to
hold very well - except when snagged
on a submerged fence! A home made
mud-weight of around twenty-five
pounds will hold in most conditions
when sunk in mud or silt. Either
fill a suitable plastic bucket with
concrete and scrap iron, firmly
seating a loop in place for the
rope, or find someone who can weld
a loop to a lump of steel. Aim for
a weight somewhere between twenty-five
and thirty pounds in total. This
is usually enough to hold most boats
in most winds. When such an anchor
starts to drag it is time to head
for home. Don't be tempted to play
the hero and stay out in a howling
gale, it just isn't worth the risk.
The best mud-weights are compact,
so they sink easily into soft lake
beds. Sash weights are excellent,
if you can find them. Use one sash
weight for light winds, two for
a bit of a blow (under which conditions
I have heard that these weights
can cut their way through soft mud,
because of their small diameter).
A length of heavy chain, three foot
or so, between the mud-weight and
the rope helps prevent the movement
of the boat from dislodging the
anchor. I have little to say about
anchor ropes, except that they should
be long enough to reach the bottom,
and at least half as long again
as the maximum depth of water you
will be fishing in. In a flat calm
the front anchor rope can be almost
vertical, but as the wind increases
the anchor will hold better on a
longer rope. A second, lighter,
anchor can be useful at the back
of the boat to keep it steady. It
is, though, another snag for a hooked
pike to swim around. If lure fishing
alone from a boat I do away with
this second anchor. With two in
a boat it is rare for both to be
playing fish together, so one can
lift the back anchor while the other
plays a big fish. Two fish on at
once is enough trouble with one
anchor down.
Dave Scarff gives a big fish
some stick as it kites around
the back of the boat.
The
biggest difference when playing
pike from a boat to playing them
from the bank is that they can go
in any direction they want, and
that includes down and behind you.
Opinion is divided on whether a
vertical anchor rope is more of
a problem than one at an angle,
when it comes to pike finding their
way round them. I don't have the
answer. The best idea is to keep
the fish away from the rope in the
first place. Not always easy, I
admit. Short rods, under eight feet,
are a definite advantage when fighting
pike from a boat as they let you
put much more pressure on the fish,
and literally pull them away from
trouble.
Another
thing worth taking in the boat with
you is a piece of carpet, or underlay.
This should be large enough to cover
most of the bottom of the boat so
there are no loose edges to trip
over. The carpet both quietens your
movements, and provides some protection
for the pike. I have to admit that
I don't worry too much about clanking
about in boats, I have yet to be
convinced that a bit of noise worries
pike unduly - except in very shallow
water. Continuous noisy behaviour
might put pike off, but the occasional
dropped pair of pliers or heavy
footfall I doubt makes much impact
on them. An alternative to the wall-to-wall
is my ubiquitous camping mat which
gets laid on the deck when a pike
comes aboard. I used to fold it
up to sit on when having a brew,
but these days I have a Kevin Nash
Bum Buddy (naff name, good product)
that makes sitting in a boat much
more comfortable, giving a modicum
of back support as it does.
If
you regularly fish from hire boats
it is well worth taking a bailer
of your own. There is usually something
provided for emptying out water
that finds its way into the boat,
either from the clouds or through
leaks in the hull, but not always.
Make one of your own by cutting
up a suitable plastic bottle. Ones
with carrying handles work best.
When fishing from hire boats you
will soon come to realise that few
commercially made rod rests will
actually fit their gunwales. This
is why most pike anglers get them
welded up on large G-clamps. Crude
but effective. If you are trolling
lures with the rods in outrigger-rests
you want them to be rock solid.
Fitting out your own boat with outrigger-rests
should pose no problem as there
are a few types available which
have mounts that can be bolted or
screwed to the gunwales. The rod-rest
itself being easily removable with
a twist-lock fitting.
A fish finder is one thing that
is all but indispensable for successful
boat fishing, but it can be all
to easy to rely too much on it.
All you really need is a basic model,
which will give you a good enough
idea of the bottom contours. Don't
try to use these devices to find
individual pike. You will waste
a lot of time fishing for large
blips on the screen that might,
or might not, be big fish. The picture
on the screen is never all it might
seem at first glance, it has to
be interpreted. Look for underwater
features or shoals of prey fish,
these will be a better guide to
the whereabouts of your quarry.
I
won't go into the details of general
boat handling and fishing, much
has been written elsewhere on the
subject, so I will concentrate on
the techniques that relate specifically
to lure fishing. It is important
to remember that a boat is just
another tool in your kit, one that
enables you to get into the best
position to present your lures to
pike. This is why more and more
lure anglers are getting into boat
fishing these days. A lot of people
think that the chief advantage of
lure fishing from a boat is the
mobility it allows, but I reckon
that it is the positional advantages
that are more important. Having
the ability to get in the utmost
position to cast to a feature, and
present your lures along the correct
path, is a tremendous plus over
fishing from the bank with its limited
scope for getting into position
relative to the pike. Faced with
an extensive length of reed bed,
it is fairly obvious that the pike
are likely to be stationed within
a few yards of, or even tight up
to, the reeds themselves. To my
way of thinking a lure cast close
to the reeds and then drawn away
from them, as is the only option
you usually have if bank fishing
when the reeds are on the far bank
of a drain for example, is only
covering a short stretch of pike-holding
water. If you get in a boat and
anchor tight up to the reeds you
can cast along them and work lures
close to the where the pike should
be for a much longer portion of
the retrieve. Instead of takes being
probable in only the first few feet
of a retrieve, they could come at
any time. This is just one example
of being afloat giving better presentation,
there are many more examples that
could be cited, but, unfortunately,
space does not allow it.
Unless
trolling, it is all to easy to move
too often when afloat. I have seen
it time after time. Inexperienced
boat anglers moving from spot to
spot without giving anywhere long
enough to discover if there were
any pike present. The disturbance
caused by moving into a swim and
dropping the anchor can sometimes
put the pike down for a while. Or
perhaps the swim is a spot where
pike are not resident but pass through
at times throughout the day, responding
better to the sit and wait approach.
Stick around long enough, say an
hour, and the pike should appear
if they are feeding.
Another
big advantage of fishing from a
boat is the fact that you can carry
a lot more gear in a boat than you
can when tramping the banks. This
gives you a wider range of lures
and rods, allowing (with a bit of
luck) for better lure selection
and presentation. It is quite normal
to take three or four rods out in
the boat, and two or three boxes
of lures. Try carting that lot around
on foot! The fact that I will possibly
use only two of the rods and maybe
ten lures is neither here nor there.
How many times have you been out
fishing, and realised that the ideal
lure for the day is at home? This
is less likely to happen if you
have a hundred lures in the boat.
Resist the temptation to try every
lure you have with you when things
are slow though. It is counterproductive
and rarely puts a pike in the boat.
With
all that gear in a boat, maybe twice
over if sharing a boat, it is essential
to keep everything tidy. Don't strew
lures everywhere, keep them in their
boxes or other containers. There
is a temptation to hang them from
the gunwales if they are wooden,
but this soon blunts hook points.
A short length of foam pipe lagging
clipped over the gunwale makes a
better resting place for the lures
you are concentrating on. Even so,
they can still catch in clothing
and landing nets. A spare lure tube
can be handy for keeping lures handy,
if there is space. It comes to mind
that a few tubes could be mounted
on a frame that could be hung off,
or clamped to, the gunwale to keep
lures handy, tidy and snag-free
from nets etc. Or you could take
a tip from the Yanks, and get hold
of a large, open topped, polystyrene
box and hang the bulk of your lures
around the inside of that. Unhooking
tools can be thrown in the middle
of the box. Pliers and Hook-Outs
are all too easily lost overboard,
so make sure you have spare unhooking
tools with you.
Precisely
how you lay everything out in the
boat depends on how you are fishing.
Trolling on the outboard means that
the bulk of your gear should be
towards the front (technical term!)
of the boat. Row trolling needs
a more even distribution of gear.
The aim at all times is to keep
weight distribution even, but with
enough deck space to put a big pike
should one come along. I find a
plastic crate useful for keeping
large odds and ends together, stove,
water bottle, things like that.
You have to be ready for a brew
at any moment! Have important items,
like the unhooking gear and landing
net stashed tidily, but readily
to hand. Try not to have rods poking
out over the side of the boat. Not
only can they get broken when mooring
at the jetty, but they can also
find their way into the water. Somehow,
I once managed to catch a lure in
the tip ring of a spare rod and
cast it into the lake. I guess I
am just clumsy.
There
are two main tactics for lure fishing
from boats. Static and mobile. Static
fishing is the easiest method to
get to grips with for the newcomer
to boat fishing, as the only time
you have to exercise precise control
over the boat is when positioning
the boat prior to dropping the anchor.
This position should be determined
by some feature that you want to
cast to. So don't anchor on the
feature, but close enough to be
able to cast beyond it. There is
no point in having the pike at the
extreme end of a long cast, make
life easy by putting yourself in
easy casting range of them. That's
what the boat is for. Stream beds,
drop-offs and so on can be marked
by dropping a 'flapper' on them,
moving the boat upwind and anchoring
so you can cast to the marker. Flappers
can be bought, or made from polystyrene
or balsa block painted a Day-Glo
colour. Tie a length of thin string
or old braided line to the flapper,
about thirty feet or so, and a sea
fishing lead of three or four ounces
to the other end of the cord. Wrap
the cord around the flapper, and
there you have it. When thrown overboard
the weight sinks, and the flapper
floats unwinding the cord as it
goes. Once the weight hits bottom
the flapper is on just the right
length of cord to mark the hot-spot.
A
mental picture of an area can be
built up by watching the finder,
and will help you work your lures
to their best advantage. The only
time I have fished Rutland Water
Dave Scarff and I found the channel
of a stream bed and, by placing
the boat over it, pike. It was November,
very cold, and the pike wanted deeply
worked lures. Spoons counted down
produced most of our fish. The image
we had worked out of the area helped
us enormously as just about every
fish came by casting into the stream
bed and working the lures back along
it to the boat. Another use for
a flapper is when you get a take
while drifting, or even trolling.
Throw the marker out as soon as
you can in order to enable you to
get back in the same position again.
Either on the move or static. On
quiet waters you can leave the flappers
out after you move on to mark the
spot for a later attack. On
busy waters this will either give
the game away to other anglers,
or at the very least prove expensive
in lost flappers!
The
paths of diving crankbaits
cast from bank and boat compared.
Many
times the feature you are aiming at will be
the bank. Being afloat is the best way of
covering the margins with diving plugs as
their natural path through the water ensures
that they follow the slope of the lake bed.
Casting the same lure from the bank will result
in it hitting bottom long before it reaches
the rod top. There will be times when pike
want a lure fished like this, but in general
the lure moving out from the bank catches
more fish, particularly if there is a marked
shelf, when the one coming off a ledge catches
more than the one going in towards it. Perhaps
pike see lures moving into open water as easier
meat than those apparently heading for cover.
However, this limited approach rather negates
the whole point of going afloat, to gain access
to water that can't be reached from the bank.
Casting lures from a boat gives you 360ø
water coverage, so you might as well use it.
Particularly after a few fish have been caught
by casting to the shore in one spot it is
worth covering the water that's behind you.
Pike might have moved out seeking the shelter
of deeper water following the disturbance
caused by hooking and fighting fish. There
is also the possibility that the fish caught
near the bank have been the stragglers from
a pack of pike already stationed further out.
Take my word for it, this tactic works. And
don't just cast towards the bank in the first
place, cast parallel with it to. A boat gives
you mobility, so move in close and work your
lures close to the bank along the shelf.
When
fishing at anchor you have to make
a decision on how long to spend
in a particular place. I have already
hinted that it is all too easy to
move too soon. If no pike have made
their presence known within an hour
it is probably worth considering
a move. At the other extreme, I
have sat in a swim from half-six
in the morning with just one take,
at around nine o'clock, to show
for my efforts before the first
fish came to the net at five in
the afternoon. I might have caught
sooner by moving, but that's something
I will never know. That the fish
weighed over twenty pounds made
the wait worthwhile. If I know a
water well then I tend to sit it
out in the known spots, maybe moving
between them during the day, and
certainly resting them from time
to time. The continual casting and
retrieving of lures can put pike
down just as surely as repeatedly
hammering on the sides of the boat.
Every
half-hour or hour it can be worth
taking a break. Not only does the
rest let you recharge your batteries
and reappraise the situation, but
it gives the pike time to forget
the lures. When you start casting
again, go in with something different
to start with. From what I have
seen on U.S. videos, the Yanks miss
out on fish by not sticking with
a spot. Their approach is more one
of hit-and-run'. Work a spot over
for a few minutes then move to another
spot. O.K., so their waters are
a lot bigger than ours and this
tactic might put them on to a taking
fish quickly. Even so, I reckon
that our technique of giving a swim
everything will be more successful
in the long term. Just because you
don't get a take in the first ten
minutes doesn't mean there are no
pike in the area.
One
way to find good spots is by drifting.
It is at its best in light winds
and on waters where you are allowed
to use an electric trolling motor.
In flat calm conditions I have actually
pulled a boat along by casting lures
in the direction I wanted to go.
A very quiet way of manoeuvring
into position! For working along
shallow, reed-fringed, margins drifting
is an extremely stealthy approach.
It should go without saying, that
you are at the mercy of the prevailing
wind when it comes to the direction
and speed of your drift though.
A drogue can be hung over the side
of the boat, or off the bow, to
slow the drift. I have never tried
this tactic, but have it on good
authority that it slows the boat
quite markedly. I would expect this
to be the way to cover large featureless
areas of water. Big, exposed, springtime
bays come to mind as good places
to get the drogue out.
An
electric motor gives the ultimate
in control for the drifting lure
angler, allowing you to easily work
back along the line of your drift
with the motor in reverse. It is
no surprise that Americans have
these fitted to their fishing boats,
as they rarely seem to anchor to
fish. A bow mounted motor, with
a foot control for direction and
speed is the ultimate set-up. Fine
if you have your own boat and are
a piking-millionaire! Most of us
have to settle for a transom mount
motor that can be fitted to any
boat we might have to fish out of.
While electric outboards are often
referred to as trolling motors,
they can easily eat up the juice
when used for this purpose. But
used to control drifts, and position
the boat prior to anchoring they
are far more economical on battery
life. If electric outboards are
not allowed, which for some reason
they are not on all waters, then
you will have to rely on the oars
to manoeuvre the boat while drifting.
This is not too difficult, but does
cut actual fishing time down when
compared to using a motor. You can
work lures while the boat is under
power, bringing them round in an
arc to the boat. This change of
direction can prove attractive to
the pike at times. It is often worth
repeating drifts along slightly
different lines, maybe getting closer
to the bank on successive drifts.
Really give an area a good working
over. If you find that takes come
at a specific point on a drift,
then anchor up there for a while
and give it some stick. This is
common sense. While drifting, the
lures to use are ones that work
well fished fairly quickly. Search
lures, like minnows or spinnerbaits
perhaps, or lures that will trigger
strikes if they pass close to a
pike, such as jerkbaits. Once pike
are contacted switch to a more considered
approach, maybe using a slower retrieve
- particularly if the pike are located
by some obvious structure. Crankbaits
and suspending jerkbaits might be
worth a try.
When
fishing alone in a boat you have
the advantages of plenty of room,
and the freedom to go where you
please. But you have to do everything
yourself, like controlling the boat
as it drifts towards rocks as you
battle with a big fish. Two in a
boat can make life a lot easier,
but is very much a matter of teamwork
no matter what methods are being
used. The angler not playing a fish
is in charge of controlling the
boat, lifting the anchor and so
on. When actually fishing, teamwork
can work to both party's advantage.
By using lures that cover different
depth ranges, or that work in radically
different ways, the successful technique
for the day can be pinned down much
more quickly. This 'one-two punch'
tactic can pay off big time. On
many occasions one lure will locate
the pike, but the other one will
then catch the bulk of the fish
when you anchor up. Even when fishing
static the 'one-two punch' is worth
reverting to when things slow down.
Teamwork
is also important when it comes
to casting. Always know where your
partner is fishing, and where his
casting-arc is. I have smashed one
rod (my mate's, not mine) when the
two of us cast out at the same time
without thinking. Not too worrying
when compared to someone needing
twelve stitches in his ear when
his partner ripped a 5/0 treble
through it! Take care at all times.
Safety is always an issue when messing
about in boats, and as it is easiest
to lure fish standing up in a boat,
make sure you have a good footing
and don't make any sudden moves
which might take your boat partner
unawares. While life jackets should
really be worn at all times when
boat fishing, most people find them
cumbersome and restrictive. A clear
case for a self inflating floatation
device.
Lures
can also be dragged along behind
a moving boat. This is known as
trolling! Some say that trolling
is an art, others reckon it is all
about luck. The truth is probably
somewhere between the two. More
importantly there is a time to troll,
and a time to cast. I have a feeling
that trolling is most productive
where the pike are accustomed to
snatching at passing prey fish.
Lures trolled past ambush points
are more likely, in my mind, to
catch you pike than ones trolled
along patrol routes. No doubt some
pike will, at times, follow trolled
lures without taking them, which
is probably why the oft given advice
to vary the direction or speed of
the troll is important. Just as
when casting, anything that might
trigger a strike from a following
fish is worth trying.
Essentially,
the line of a trolling route is
the same as the path of a cast lure.
So the idea should be to put the
lure, or lures, as close to as many
pike as possible. Don't troll aimlessly.
Do your best to follow contours,
pass close to pikey structure, or
around shoals of prey fish. A fish
finder is a big help. It will give
you advance warning of changes in
depth, allowing you to alter the
running depth of your baits accordingly.
Just like when drifting, it is worth
another pass over a spot that has
produced a take, and it may be worth
covering the spot by anchoring up
too. By trolling back over the spot
in the opposite direction to the
initial run, you might pick up a
bonus fish before the second troll
proper in the original direction.
The author mans the electric outboard
on Martin McDerby's boat as they
troll three lures.
It
always pays to give an area more
attention when you have had a take
as Martin McDerby found out the
hard way when the L.A.S. held its
first fish-in on Esthwaite Water.
He had trolled past the big point,
picked up a small pike but decided
to carry on. Dave Scarff and I rowed
up to the area and began to drift
the same stretch that Martin had
previously trolled over. We quickly
picked up a few fish to seventeen
pounds using the one-two punch of
topwaters and minnows. We pin-pointed
a hotspot, dropped anchor and took
eight fish in total, including two
over twenty pounds (plus a few more
followers and fish hooked and lost),
before things went quiet and we
decided on a move. We kept our mouths
shut, and were able to return to
the vacant hotspot in the afternoon
for Dave to add more pike to his
tally. For some reason I couldn't
raise a fish in the afternoon. Perhaps
if Martin had trolled the point
again he, too, might have stuck
around.
There
are three main power sources for
trolling. Electric outboards, petrol
outboards and oars. Electric motors
are nice and quiet, and they work
well at slow speeds. The drawback
is that battery life is limited
and batteries are difficult to recharge
if you are away for a week's fishing
trip. Drain on battery power is
increased when you are pulling lures
behind the boat. Petrol outboards
are noisy, sometimes temperamental
and not designed to run for long
periods at tick-over. They will
run a lot longer than electric motors
though, and spare fuel is fairly
easy to carry. Oar power is limited
only by your own stamina.
Geoff Parkinson with a fine pike
taken row-trolling a 6" Grandma.
If you will only be trolling for
one day a week, then the electric
motor is a good proposition, especially
as it can be used when drifting
too. If you will be doing most of
your trolling on large lakes or
lochs, or when putting in many days
on the trot, then the petrol outboard
is worth considering. If local bylaws
forbid powered trolling, or if you
are skint, then it is the oars every
time! Seriously, row trolling is
not to be sneered at, not least
because boat control can be excellent
with the oars once you have had
a bit of practice.
If
trolling on the outboard with one
rod, even if there are two of you
in the boat, then you might as well
hold the rod at all times. This
keeps you in touch with the lure
and lets you know straight away
if it fouls weed, or if a fish hits
it, and is my favourite method of
trolling. Holding the rod also gives
you the opportunity to quickly raise
the rod, which in turn will lift
the lure up in the water. When moving
over shallower bars, say, this is
a big advantage over having the
rod in a rest as it allows you to
keep the bait working the right
distance off bottom as you go over
the hump.
There
will be times, though, when more
baits out will get better results,
perhaps by covering more depth bands
with a selection of lures. When
two or more rods are in use, then
I prefer to have them all in rests.
Should you be holding one rod when
another lure is taken, you have
to put the first rod down somewhere
before reacting to the take. With
a bit of pre-planning, and quite
a lot of practice, four rods can
be easily managed in outrigger rests.
The key to avoiding tangles is to
have the deepest working lures nearest
to the boat, and the shallowest
ones the furthest away. Even so
problems will arise from time to
time, especially if you turn too
sharply. Don't forget, that when
the boat stops moving sinking lures
will fall to the bottom, and floating
ones rise to the surface. Bear this
in mind before setting off once
again.
With
two anglers in a boat it is a fairly
simple matter for one to control
the boat while the other plays a
trolled pike. Teamwork again. Alone
it is another matter. If there is
any chance of drifting into trouble
you should throw the anchor out.
Make sure the end of the anchor
rope is secured to a cleat before
you start trolling, then when it
goes over the side you have nothing
more to think about. That the rope
may be many times longer than the
depth of the water is of no consequence.
The anchor will still do its job
- keeping you out of trouble.
As
with all lure fishing, knowing where
your lure is makes a big, big, difference.
Not only how far behind the boat
it is, but how deep it is working
too. These two factors are actually
closely related. There are many
ways to keep a check on the distance
your lures are behind you. One is
to mark the line off every ten yards,
and count the marks. Another is
to count the travels of the reel's
levelwind as you pay out line, prior
measuring the amount of line that
is given out for each pass of the
levelwind will thus give you the
total length of line out. Another
method is to tie in a stop-knot
when the lure is at the right distance
from the boat. The advantage of
this is that no counting is involved,
the disadvantage is that the knot
might have to be moved for different
lures. Then again you could count
off the extra, or fewer, yards from
the levelwind. Remember, too, that
not only does the amount of line
out affect running depth, so does
line thickness, just as it does
when casting. The further a lure
is behind the boat, the deeper it
will be working. Bear in mind that
when trolling a river your direction
of travel, relative to the current,
will have a bearing on how your
lures behave. So use deeper diving
crankbaits when going downstream,
than up. Otherwise your lures are
liable to run either too shallow,
or too deep. You might, for example,
choose to select a Big Mac for trolling
with the flow, and a Creek Chub
Pikie for going upstream thereby
covering the same depth band in
both directions.
Quite
how you go about determining when
to cast, and when to troll I don't
know. Not in hard and fast terms,
anyway. All you can do is try one
method, and then the other. Whichever
gives you the best results on the
day is the one to concentrate on.
When the fishing is dour trolling
does, at least, take the strain
out of repeated fruitless casting.
I, for one, find fishless trolling
less mind-numbingly boring than
the same amount of time spent casting
and retrieving for nil return. At
least I am thinking about where
next to troll all the time.
A nicely marked pike that took
a trolled 40gm Hi-Lo.
It might be worth having an idea
of which lures are worth pulling
along behind a boat. These are basically
any lures that work well when cast
out and cranked straight back, because
this is, more or less, what trolling
is, as far as the lures are concerned.
The ability to work lures as you
can do when casting is lost. Spoons
are the traditional trolling lure
on the large lochs and loughs, no
doubt because they are cheap to
make - so you don't feel the loss
too much when they find snags! Under
certain circumstances spinnerbaits
can be good too. Although I have
not trolled spinnerbaits myself,
I understand that they work well
trolled over pike holding weedbeds.
Pretty much the same kind of water
you would choose to use them in
when casting really. Most of my
trolling has been done with crankbaits,
and not just those designed specifically
for trolling. I don't have any favourites,
what works for me when cast and
retrieved seems to work when trolled
too. If I were to give any one guideline
on the subject of crankbait choice
for trolling I would suggest large
lures, certainly upwards of six
inches. These baits probably succeed
because pike can see them from a
greater distance, well off the direct
line of the troll. In clear water
this might also account for the
success I know people have had when
trolling fluorescent lures.
If in danger, if in doubt - throw
a Creek Chub Pikie out! Nige Grassby
brings another one to hand thanks
to the C.C.P.
One thing that I almost invariably
do when boat fishing is to troll
while moving from one anchoring
position to another. That this might
lead me over water that looks pikeless
on paper (or on the finder screen)
is of no matter. While there is
a bait in the water there is always
a chance of a fish. Surprises can
come out of the blue, and every
so often you might discover a new
spot to concentrate on for the future.
In a similar vein, it can be worth
trolling shallow running lures over
deep water. I won't pretend that
this will work every time, but now
and again it will produce a surprise.
This is no doubt because pike will
move from one area of a lake to
another, not by following the bottom
contours, but by maintaining a constant
depth. No doubt this makes life
easier for a fish as the pressure
on it will remain constant, so it
will not have to expend energy in
adjusting its buoyancy with its
swim bladder.
Not
everyone likes boat fishing, it
can involve a lot of effort during
a day's fishing, but those who do
learn to love fishing from a boat
find bank fishing with lures very
restrictive. There is no doubt in
my mind that lures are at their
best when fished from a boat. So
as lure fishing grows in the U.K.,
I expect boat fishing to reflect
this over the coming years. If you
want to get ahead, get a boat!
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