Fishing Techniques:
A Trolling Primer - Part I
This is Part I of a two-part series covering basic offshore trolling techniques. In this part, we cover gear for you and the boat. In Part II, we cover how to use all of the stuff you just bought...
Fly Gear (At last)!
After the Troll...
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Everything you need to know is contained in our "Getting Started" series of articles. But, just to recap the highlights...
Our favorite tackle consists of 8wt or heavier rods, with leadcore, T-11 / T-14, or Type VI sinking shooting heads, and a good single-action reel with lots of backing and a good drag (see our "Getting Started in BTBFF - Part I: Gearing Up" article for more info).
Eight - 9 weight rods are great for smaller fish, while 10 - 12 weights work well for the medium – large fish (depending on the proximity of kelp paddies or other obstructions). A 13 – 17 weight rod can be kept on hand if truly large fish are on the plate, or the fish are close to obstructions like kelp paddies.
Leaders are short: 6 – 8 feet at most, with a bite tippet of 30lb hard mono or fluorocarbon on light tippets (say 8lb test or less). The fish we're chasing do not have teeth capable of slicing heavier mono, so 12lb test or heavier tippets survive well without a bite leader. See our "Getting Started in BTBFF - Part II: Getting Connected" article for more info.
A good assortment of sizes
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Preferred flies are streamers that approximate the expected baitfish in the area. My favorite styles include: the Half-and-Half, Clouser Minnow, Lefty’s Deceiver, ALF, Tuna Kahuna, and Sar-Mul-Mac. Carry a range of sizes from 2.5 – 6+ inches, but plan on doing most of your fishing with 3.5 -4 inch flies. Colors to carry include: green/yellow, chartreuse/white, blue/white, black/purple, blue/ white, red/yellow, and red/white. See our "Getting Started in BTBFF - Part III: What's in the Fly Box" article for more info.
Vertical Line Management
Device (VLMD)
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Be sure to include small flies (2 - 3")! There are times of the year when the big boys key in on small baitfish, which small flies are very good at imitating. Squid patterns can be used occasionally, and small red/brown crustacean patterns can be useful when fish are feeding on langostino or krill.
Make sure you have a VLMD or line management devices on the boat. You should have one for every person actively fly-fishing (you’ll see why in Part II). If you’ve never used one of these devices, you can’t fully appreciate how much easier it makes life BTB. See our "Getting Started in BTBFF - Part V: Essential Extras" article for more info.
That's it for right now. Look for Part II shortly. It will cover finding and fishing
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