Trolling for Largemouth Bass

Capt. BassinLou · July 10, 2023, 05:03:55 AM

I stumbled across trolling for bass a few years ago. I have seen it done and had heard about it, but I quickly dismissed the technique. Until one day while fishing out of my Bass Hunter boat, aka the U.S.S. Bathtub, I decided to cast out a moving bait and begin trolling. In very short order, my bait was hit. Hmmm? I cast out again, cruised along, and Wham! My bait was hit again!! Fast forward to present day. Trolling for bass has become my main technique when I'm moving from spot to spot.

Trolling is extremely simple to do, and its a bunch of fun!! In this video, I try to explain trolling, but the bass were so active, I couldn't do much explaining.

It was that fun!! Enjoy!

FlatsNBay · July 10, 2023, 07:09:14 AM

Nice job. Brings back memories when I was a kid. We used to troll the south Florida canals and catch all kinds of fish including some nice bass.

Oldfart9999 · July 10, 2023, 10:06:31 AM

Lazy way to fish lol, reminds me of trolling for rainbows in the spring with my Dad. Enjoyable way of finding new areas.
Rodney

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Hobious · July 10, 2023, 01:53:21 PM

trolling is so effective some days. having said that, i rarely do it.

i dont find it fun at all.

my good friend is 90% trolling. you should see his casting skills..haha.. he smokes me on some days. lots of times. but he is trolling around, earbud in, talking to friends. he never participates in our fun. s-talking, etc. it is a very lonely way to fish in a kayak.

Donald Garner · July 10, 2023, 02:36:18 PM

Tks for sharing the video with us. Congrats on the catching also. The only time I troll is during the Spring when the White Bass / Strippers are running. We'll troll crankbaits (Red Eye Shad / Rattle Traps / In-Line Spinners) etc.

Once we find them we'll stop trolling and start fan casting the area for them.

FlatsNBay · July 10, 2023, 03:25:53 PM

I'm with Hobius. I don't enjoy trolling for bass or any other species for that matter. Id rather catch 1 casting vs. 10 fish trolling. If you enjoy trolling, go for it, but it's not for me.

Capt. BassinLou · July 10, 2023, 03:49:43 PM

Trolling is only something I do when I'm fishing from the little boat. Since my main propulsion is a trolling motor, it takes a while moving from spot to spot. Especially when I'm 2 miles away from my launch spot most of the time. To kill the time, I troll. I find it very fun. Brings me back to my saltwater days when I trolled for mahi's. Lol!!

Larry Francis · July 11, 2023, 05:42:43 AM

In open water with suspended fish this is a great way to locate them if you don't have the fancy Livescope stuff.

A while back I was moving from one open water area in 20 ft of water to another area that holds fish and put the Ultrex on speed 10 which is about 6 mph. I threw a trap out and long lined it behind me and wham! Nice 4lb fish.

Carl and I do this for specks a lot with 1/32 crappie jigs on a long line. We catch more Bass than Specks in the WH chain and this spring post spawn Carl had a 6+ pounder on 6lb test. That was quite fun.

coldfront · July 11, 2023, 06:30:37 PM

Quote from: Donald Garner on July 10, 2023, 02:36:18 PMThe only time I troll is ... when the ... Strippers are running.

I'm trollin' right now Don. I too love to see it whe strippers run...

coldfront · July 11, 2023, 06:34:02 PM

on a more serious note Lou.

wonder if bass caught trolling are focused on baitfish possibly flushed from passing boat/wakes? know on the river that when the big boats toss those 4 foot rollers up on the shoreline, the shallow bite stops cold. BUT deeper baits worked get bit, and quite often.

those fish have to move off-shore and become 'more' suspended...

big g · July 11, 2023, 08:37:53 PM

If your catching regardless of the method is always fun to me! Great job Lou!

Capt. BassinLou · July 12, 2023, 04:47:58 AM

Quote from: big g on July 11, 2023, 08:37:53 PMIf your catching regardless of the method is always fun to me! Great job Lou!

Thank you George. It was definitely fun!

chrisD46 · July 12, 2023, 06:44:32 AM

My father and me used to troll Rebel , Rapala and Bang-O-Lure floating hard jerk baits on #8 lb. ~ #10 ib. mono line just off of weed lines in Central Florida... It worked well and was a good way to cover water and locate bass . Trolling floating hard jerk baits allowed them to dive down to about 3 feet and the mono + treble hooks kept bass pinned up. Besides being kinda relaxing it allowed you to discover productive weed line areas quickly versus other lake areas that did not produce .

P.S. Father was a saltwater fisherman from South Florida who only knew one way to fish and that was trolling (lol !)

bigjim5589 · July 12, 2023, 08:05:39 AM

I've done some for Stripers and panfish. In the Chesapeake Bay a lot of folks troll bucktail jigs, hose eels, Mann's Stretch series lures, the big parachute jigs and spreader rigs ( like an Alabama Rig but bigger) For Striped Bass. Some of them use planer boards and may be trolling several rods at a time to cover various depths. It's also done for Bluefish & Spanish Mackerel. Trolling speed is important with these different fish.

I even bought a few light weight Alabama rigs years ago specifically with trolling in mind in some of the shallow rivers for finding Crappies & other panfish. That was usually waters that may only be 5' or 6' deep.

Back in MD, we were limited to two hooks and spreaders were not considered as a single lure. So, that meant all but two of the baits didn't have hooks.

I've trolled a lure or fly behind my Gheenoe before, when moving from one spot to another since I was paddling, and have caught some fish that way, but don't recall ever hooking a bass.

It's not my favorite method but certainly can be a productive method and I would do it most if looking to catch fish for the table. Otherwise, I prefer casting.