First try at Trolling

H

Helmut

Well-Known Member
Made my maiden trolling voyage Sunday out of North Erie. It was fun but clearly showed I need more training, LOL.
Was not expecting the vampire like little black flies out that far either.

If anyone could give me tips on how far out to be and maybe how to better control speed and direction I would appreciate it. Found it difficult to control direction due to push from wave action and speed was also hard to control.
 
What are you running Helmut? I've got a 21 ft Sylvan cuddy and have a difficult time controlling direction. I put on trolling plate on the Johnson and can run a little more rpm to fight the cross wind and wave action. Helps quite a bit. I don't run a kicker motor

Are you running down riggers or dipsies or both? Keep it simple at first. Run your down riggers deepest and tight to the boat with long leads. Run your dipsies on 3 and keep them out as far as possible for starters. Less tangles that way.

Hope that helps somewhat.

Rob
 
thanks Rob. I am running a 23ft trophy with down riggers and kicker. Started with the kicker(15hp)and could not control steering at all. Went to main motor had better luck. Did not use the trolling plate though i do have it.

Only tried dypsies on 3 as you mention. For some reason though they did not go away from the boat as I expected them to. The stayed closer to the straight back position. had the dials turned to correct position to.

How far out should i have gone? I was out about 8km in 56feet of water and not marking anything
 
Dipsies can appear to be running closer to the boat than they really are. The size of the dipsy will also affect how it tracks out. Wider ones will pull more than smaller.

Good boat for what you are doing. The fiberglass hull should give you the weight to help with boat control. I'm running an aluminum hull so it's always a challenge to keep things in line.

The NOAA website has some great resources for water temps on top and bottom also they have currents and other such info. A bit technical but can help when looking for temp zones

Google the Great Lakes Coastal Forecast System. Should be at the very top of the search page. Hope this helps
 
Helmut I am not too sure why you are having difficulty controlling the boat you have, in my humble opinion, it is one of the best types of boat for trolling in Erie. don't be too concerned with accuracy when you are out trolling, it's not like you are trolling in a lake in Northern Ontario where you need to steer more accurately. Besides it is better to turn your boat in a zig zag pattern when trolling espescially when using a lead core set up. If your speed varies a little it may trigger fish to strike. If you have a GPS and are using lures, try and keep the speed around 2.5 mph. Your 15 hp kicker will do this and save you some gas. As for the flies, yep they can be bad out there and they love the calmer days and they know when you are fighting a nice fish too. Your fish finder will have different sensitivity settings also. As for depth I would try at 52 ' right now and work my way out, I have not been out yet cause it is early! They are not here in numbers yet. I mentioned lead core earlier and if you don't have a lead core set up get one! This by far is the deadliest fish catching weapon in my set up. It works great in Erie for Bows and Pics and just as well in Ontario for the Salmon. ALSO make sure you are using proper lures, I am not sure where you are from but angler outfitters in Woodstock will help with the lures and lead core. Good luck and enjoy. BTW if you have a chance to go out with some one experienced it will help you learn.
 
The easiest thing to do is troll with the wind on your stern. downwind instead of into the wind.
You need a connection between the kicker and the main motor for the best steering, but if they are not connected keep the main motor in the water and you should have enough steering control to troll downwind. This early slower trolling is generally better than fast, at least for walleyes. Also you don't want to be too deep just yet as the majority of the fish are generally in the top 20ft this time of year. You would likely be be better off with 20ft jets than riggers and dipseys this early in the season. keep in mind that the offshore fishing is just starting on Erie and it will be alot better in a few weeks. Just stay with it and in time you will catch more and bigger fish than you ever thought possible. As for the flies, a swatter and bug spray help a lot. Gives you something to do between fish too!
 
thats good info thanks guys. I spend a bit of time and money at Angling outfitters:0. I thought you had to be straight so zigzag is good news to me and the first mate.;)
Lead core has been on my mind but isn't that a bit heavy for the missus?
 
Electric reels the next great fish in tool for the arsenal. I agree Helmut lead is very effective but reeling in 10 colours of core is a work out.
 
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