Reply With QuoteLaserpro 190 redhead 2m, best lure on the market !
Hello team,
With the boat in perfect working order and the weather gods looking pretty happy this weekend, my Brother and I are going to head out for a troll.
We've never trolled before and most our fishing has been done out towards flat rock area and in the bay.
I've read up on reports and looks like we might venture out towards Cape Moreton. I think we're pretty geared up but will pick up a couple of Rapala X Rap and some Halco laser Pro's. I've today learnt what 'Hex Heads' are so will pick up 1 or 2 of them.
I'm pretty sure I've got the basic gist of the setup - WIll be running 30lb monno with a 1 metre wire trace. Is this right?
Any hint on what would increase my catch rate? I'm not targeting anything in particular, just going to putt around between 6-8knotts and wait for something to jump on board I think.
Any hints would be greatly appreciated. We're only in a small boat so are a bit limited, but I'd drive it to Fiji if we had a good day :-)
Laserpro 190 redhead 2m, best lure on the market !
and a gold version of that lure and your set! Also any of the Rapala Xraps !!!!
Living the dream, Barry
Happy days, I'll pick one of each up during the week.
Should I troll over particular marks (reef markings) or would I be alright to simply deploy lures and head straight with a beer in hand?
Running 50-60lb mono instead of wire will produce more strikes. You would be surprised how few you loose even with macks and wahoo around. Their eyesight is very good which means wire can put them off and they are accurate and go for the tail of the fish.
I would look to slow the speed to between 4 and 6 knots. Vary it to find what works best- if something hits at a certain speed then that is likely the best speed to maintain.
Dont just troll straight lines. Put in a few turns and zigzags- amazing how often you get hit on a turn.
Keep an eye on the sounder and if you find bait do a number of passes on it.
Mark each hit on the GPS- it often gives you a pattern you can work on.
Fav Lazer pro colour is all Red but different colours work well on different days.
good luck- it is great fun.
I am no expert, but if there are any macs about, throw out anything you have that is red and white. I have mucked around with trolling baits and most of the hook ups have been with the bait that has a red and white skirt slid over the top. There are thousands of combinations that you can use but just go with what you have and keep working with whatever is getting hit. You can get hits on one lure go back the next day and they will smash a totally different lure and colour. You have been given some good advice above. Get out there have fun and remember trolling is 95% boredom and 5% mayhem.
Cheers Mick
I'm just starting out trolling lures too (Although had success in the past trolling dead baits), I went and saw Jones Tackle on Gympie road last week, the young fella in there helpful and seems to know his stuff, helped me choose a couple of HB lures (Laser Pro 190's) and a hex head. His advise was to use cable not wire on the hex heads and he graciously crimped them up for me as part of the service. Might be worth going to talk to them...also they have a talk on trolling for pelagics this Friday night at 7:30 - 10:30 for $8.00 enry fee, I'm going along to hear what they have to say.
No affiliation...just saying I got good service there recently and their talk sounds interesting and on topic!
Cheers
C
Thank you all very much for the information.
I'll be heading out early saturday morning, I hope to be on the water at 4am. I'm not sure where to go, so will just deploy the lures once we hit towards the tip of Moreton.
I'll be in an old Cruise Craft Rogue with 70 on the back. No canopy. If you see us then say hi :-)
Ummm, the other 400 boats out trolling may be a good clue
Good luck, I'm heading out too to try out my new lures & hopefully new found knowledge
If I catch just 1 fish over 50cm then I'll consider it a successful trip.
I'll grab that back when your done with it thanks........Originally Posted by cobiaman
First up, with two on board plan to troll a maximum of three lines. Stagger the lures with the deeper and darker colours closer to the boat and the shallower and brighter/lighter colours further back. Run the first at around 20m back, the second 30, and the last 40-50 m back. Try to spread the rod tips as much as possible i.e. flat rod holders angled out to the sides to spread the lures also helps to avoid tangles.
Set your drag just tight enough so the lure doesn't pull line as you are trolling. I find this is about 2.5 to 3 kg of drag for most minnows. You want the fish to run hard when they hit and put some space between them and the other lures. Don't tough the throttle for the first 2-3 seconds in case you get a double hookup, then back it off to about 2 knots while the other person clears the other lines. It is important to keep going forwards as you are fighting the fish as you can control where it is in relation to your boat (i.e. so it doesn't run around the front or under the boat) and helps keep this line tight.
You will generally find you get hits when you travel along or across depth changes i.e. drop offs. 30-40 m is a good depth to work. Mark the spot whenever you see a good bait ball or get a strike as there is usually a pattern and you will get more hits in the same area.
Keep the hell away from other boats trolling, and never pass close behind another boat. Lines often go as far as 60 m behind a boat and people get real pissed off when someone cuts their line, or even worse, cuts a fish off. I always let other boats cross in front of me rather than make them cross behind me.
Vary your speed. I wouldn't go slower than 6 knots, and up to 10 knots or more is ok as long as your lures can take it. Halco 160 and 190s handle 10 knots ok. If you don't get a strike within an hour, change lures until you find something the fish like.
Lastly, watch what other boats are doing and try to learn from them.
I'll be out off the Cape on Saturday morning in a 14' orange/cream half cab. Call sign Odyssea on 73. If you see me KEEP THE HELL AWAY! :-)
Any ideas where to go to pick up some of these lures that are decently priced (laser pros and x-raps) - seem expensive at BCF etc and ebay has nothing in Australia and I hate buying from long distance......
Big W and Kmart are worth a look. Halco laser pros generally seem to go for around $17-$18 each last time I checked. If you can't find them cheaper than that, just buy them anyway. A trolling trip costs a fair bit towing the boat, boat fuel, ice etc. No point heading out there with lures that are no good. Spend a few more $$$ to get quality lures that work. I lose an average of one lure per trip.
Hi Team,
I've done a bit of shopping today and got myself some goodies.
Was going to get a Hex Head but the Trolling kit was the same price and I get 4 lures.
I'm getty pretty excited for this session now...
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