Need some ideas! Trout/salmon

LDUBS · Feb 21, 2018

deadkitty said:
For me, I really started to dial it in once I put the gps ff in the boat. Once you figure out the speed the fish are liking on a particular day, it's lights out. Also dialing in a lake can do wonders to your catch rate.

I couldn't agree more. Trolling speed has moved way up my list of things to pay attention to. I'm finding that often faster is more productive (for trout). Also, every time I get a strike, I hit the "mark" button on the FF. Go back to those places time and time again and bingo!.

deadkitty · Feb 21, 2018

Oh yeah, definitely! Mark that school. Keep hitting them til they stop biting. Had one day we went 2-3 hrs slow goings, hit doubles, marked the school, ran circles through them and filled our limit, pulled 13 with 2-3 coming off the line as well. Kids were stoked and so was my buddy who came with.

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ppine · Jul 2, 2018

I agree.
Cold water means you have to control the depth. I like lead core except for deep trolling and then use down riggers for over about 45 feet.
Fish finder shows not only where the fish are but what depth.
Tolling plate bolts onto outboard or outdrive.
Canvas and windshield for cold weather.
Plenty of rod holders.
Remote steering is handy.

If you put a lure in the right depth at the right speed you are most of the way there.
I like long leader over 50 feet because lead core shows up readily in the water.
Sometimes the right color or right lure makes a big difference. Sometimes it doesn't.

jethro · Jul 9, 2018

Iceman4716 said:
I'm new to the forum and I've been looking around trying to find anyone that's into trolling for trout or salmon? I recently bought a 14ft smoker craft with a 9.9 evinrude, just looking to see what you cold water guys had.

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I don't know how I missed this thread... on this site sometimes I feel like an outsider since it's predominantly warmwater anglers.

I fish almost exclusively for trout and salmon here in the NH and Maine. I use downriggers and leadcore line, planer boards and sometimes drift jigs. My boat is a 21' Sylvan Profish with a 150hp Mercury for a main and a 6hp 4 stroke for a kicker. I have a bar that attaches to both motors via quick release ball joints to allow me to steer the kicker with the main. I am fishing mostly flatfish behind dodgers and flashers. I can troll slow with the kicker, 1.2mph if I keep the main in the water. I've fished coldwater for many years with many different boats so let me know if you have any questions.

LDUBS · Jul 9, 2018

Jethro, I recall a previous comment that you go pretty deep. Curious -- what fish finder are you using?

jethro · Jul 9, 2018

LDUBS said:
Jethro, I recall a previous comment that you go pretty deep. Curious -- what fish finder are you using?

I have a Humminbird Helix 5 SI/GPS that is on my Starcraft, but the Sylvan came with a Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp GPS that I am trying to get used to. So far I have to say I am a Humminbird man. The menus on the Lowrance are incredibly non-intuitive. And I can't seem to get the 'ducer in a location that allows for good sonar use when I'm on plane, but maybe the hull is not conducive to that. I'm not usually fishing too deep, 80-100 feet at the most. I guess that's pretty deep for trolling here in the Northeast, but the Great Lakes and ocean guys probably go twice that. Either one seems to give a very good signal for 120 feet deep.

I really wanted to like the Lowrance, but the interface is just not for me.

LDUBS · Jul 10, 2018

Thanks Jethro. I have a Helix 7 DI/GPS. I was listening to some local feedback that Humminbirds were more for the shallow water LMB crowd and not that good for deep water. Since this is the first modern FF I've ever used I have no basis for comparison. Glad to hear you like yours for deep readings because I don't plan on changing anytime soon.