Tips & techniques for trolling under sail

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Also, easy to make up your own trolling lures.<snip> old bits of frayed line and small plumbing parts.

Toothpaste tubes



and plastic bags

[Stonefloat]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Toothpaste tubes



and plastic bags

Funny , when you have a " maneater" on do they arrive with shiney teeth ?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by cat man do

....Toothpaste tubes

Yes, I originally learned that trick from a retired dentist many years ago.

I also use 1/2" PVC end plugs with a skirt. Make a hole in the end with a hot ice pick and rig.

[Roy M]

I have trolled a lot under sail. Other than downwind, if I get hooked I simply spin the wheel over and leave the sheet in its cleat, heaving to, and taking all way off the boat. There is no heel or bashing as I retrieve the fish. It completely removes the drama and dangers of responding to the hookup.

[cheoah]

Roy is right that that you need a good routine when you hook up. We use an old Penn senator too, and use either real or fake ballyhoo with a simple downrigger. We usually catch more fish than we have ice for.

We filet them out right away on the side deck, bucket o water to wash it off, then into clean jumbo ziplocs in the cooler.

[Andrew Troup]

Downwind, leave the main prevented out, and round up.

Free the jibsheet (or leave it aback, if it was winged out but not on a pole)

This will heave the boat to.

If someone's spare, they can roll away the jib to stop it flogging, if it was freed.

[SimonV]

I have found having the lure about 2 to 3 boat lengths behind is about optimum. I use parachute cord, 20 foot of 170 kg Tuna Mono, 10 foot stainless 100kg trace then the lure. I used to use 4mm braid to 250kg Tuna mono Then 250kg stainless trace...why change, well some things in the open ocean should never be caught, specially by a single hander in a sail boat.

[SimonV]

Originally Posted by SimonV

I have found having the lure about 2 to 3 boat lengths behind is about optimum. I use parachute cord, 20 foot of 170 kg Tuna Mono, 10 foot stainless 100kg trace then the lure. I used to use 4mm braid to 250kg Tuna mono Then 250kg stainless trace...why change, well some things in the open ocean should never be caught, specially by a single hander in a sail boat.

Oh and I dont slow down or change course, with luck the fish is scull dragged to the surface and about 15 to 30 min flopping along sucking air tend to knock the fight out of them.

[BillinKL]

SimonV,
Your angling technique would horrify sportfishermen.

[SimonV]

Originally Posted by BillinKL

SimonV,
Your angling technique would horrify sportfishermen.

Its not SPORT its called culinary delight with rice.

[forsailbyowner]

You will get better results if you match your lure to your trolling speed. At speeds below 4 kts I use a l swimming lure that creates its action at that speed. Above that I switch to a cedar plug or spoon. When really honking at 7 kts or more the smoker lures with concave heads will start to do their thing. I find I catch more and bigger fish using a down planer matched to the lure. When I'm in prime sportfishing grounds I run one high and one low but that requires more maintenance. I recently upgraded my tackle to 9/0 with roller guides and 1200 yds of 100lb test probraid. I got to test out the tackle with a 5' long wahoo caught offshore canaveral. The probraid cost more than the 9/0 and roller guide rod combined. Makes ya a little upset when dumb+?@k powerboats cross your transom and take your rig with them.

[susswein]

Can you expound a little on how you're using the downplaner? I picked up a couple this summer, but haven't tried them out yet. What depth do you set them at? I've also heard that downplaners don't work well at speeds over about 4 knots?

[Kettlewell]

Its not SPORT its called culinary delight with rice.

We have a set up like that we call the "Meat Line." Catches bluefish and mackeral in New England too.

[forsailbyowner]

I use a #2 with the 6" cedar plugs or 5" eco spoons. They are fine at higher speeds but pulling them in when not tripped really can be a pita. I use 20-30 feet between the planer and lure and put 100-150 feet of line out. That will generally put the lure down 30-40 feet. I have planers from #1-#4 the #4s require a hand line to bring up and don't get used except in certain bottom structure situations. My next planned trip is a sportfishing mecca. I'm headed about 100 mi out of tampa bay to the edge of the continental shelf and following the edge down to the tortugas. There's one spot where side by side depths on chart are 120 and 1000+ feet. This is right at the edge of the gulfstream and holds great promise. The bottom is littered with wrecks. Bet it gets a little "bumpy" at times.

[thinwater]

I don't get the point of 1- to 3-foot shock absorbers when there is 100-150 feet of line out; the line can easily stretch 15-20 feet, rendering the shock absorber superfluous. I've landed many fish, some up to 40 pounds, on 80 pound line with no absorber and have NEVER broken a line. I think this is a case of follow-the leader and urban legend. Keep it simple.

A yo-yo makes both line handling and landing easy; I commonly land fish up to 25 pounds with no gloves and no gaff.

Sail Delmarva: Yo-Yo Fishing

If landing a fish with a hand line or yo-yo stopping the boat is a bad idea, at least no until the fish is good and tired. You have no rod to keep pressure on the hook if they run toward you. Tow the fish for a few minutes to wear him down, and then slow down to ~ 2-3 knots.

Lures, presentation, location and speed are all local knowledge.