I don't think we should be able to use a boat period. I think we should be put to the test of the raw elements. Fish from the bank or if you wanted to fish that hump in the middle of the lake you would have to swim out to some standing timber, clutch on to it and make your cast. Heck for that matter we should all go naked!

i disagree on the nekkid part...strongly...

Thanks Bob... I don't know what Huckleberry meant by that #3. Bob and I are friends and respect each other's beliefs and each other as fishemen.

Ronnie: You are right. You leave the door open to guys that might "troll" all day long up and down the dam while someone else busted their rear end by fishing hard using the standard acceptable techniques of fishing. I have tried to figure out a way to make it legal, while keeping trolling illegal. Then, you have a team file a protest because they think the other team was "trolling" and not "strolling". The life of a tournament director is not easy.

What is the difference between using the trolling motor or using wind with a wind sock attached to the boat to slow you down. When you wind drift, you are just draging the bait along be it a plastic worm or a DD22. I don't understand what the problem is.

Reggie....The only problem with it is that someone will most likely just throw out a crankbait and troll around dragging it behind the boat all day. But, I honestly can't say that they would have an advantage over the quality fishermen that disect an area with skill.

K.D. , let me try give this a shot. The reason why, let's call it the "Fork Technique", is not strolling is because that term is already used for something else. The term "strolling" was being used to describe pulling a bait with a troll motor back at Toledo Bend in the 70's, which was before Fork was even in existence. Therefore, us old fogies refuse to call the "Fork Technique" strolling because we know strolling Senator, and the Fork technique is not strolling.

As for the official name of the "Fork Technique" I am useless to you, but might I suggest "The Fork Technique" .... either that or "that technique that we used to call strolling but later found out from the old fogies that we were wrong" technique.

Hi Tommy, this is Ron not Reggie. I can see what you are saying, but I don't think any good fisherman would do that and with the caliber of fisherman you have fishing your trail it would be hard for me to believe someone would do that, but you are the TD and I have fished for 40 years and I know what ever the TD says is always the rules and no one should argue with that. If they don't like it, there are plenty of other tournament trails out there to fish. Have a good one Bud.

Hey Ron... sorry to call you Reggie... that was a real insult.

You got it Smoke. Us old fogies were strolling back in the 70's and early 80's. Monticello was a great lake back then for that

KD realizes that now. He's like a lot of others wondering what to call it now. Maybe something like "spooling" should be used to define that technique.

You know what..... I like that term "spooling".

Why not just legalize everything.As long as they use just one rod?If they win the tournament trolling or strolling or dragging or whatever...I dont think any of those techniques give anyone an adavantage over someone thats chunking and winding.I understand why in an individual "Draw" tournament it should be discouraged.But in a team format,I'd just let it go.But I dont run any tournaments.

Maybe I am dense but I still do not see what the issue is. If a guy chooses to fish that way so be it. He still has to find them and make them bite. I just don't see where its anymore of an edge than high dollar electronics, high end lures and equipment and bigger, faster boats. I am a former tournament director and do not see a reason why it should not be allowed. I am not trying to be BASS or FLW so I could care less how they handle it.
to each his own though. I've never tried the technique and probably never will. I was just curious and thanks for the answer.

The reason it should be legal is because it is such a gray area to disqualify a person for strolling.Am i strolling because I stopped reeling to take a bite of my sandwhich and forgot to disengage the trolling motor and happened to catch a very large fish.In my opinion whatever advantange may exist(getting crankbait deeper) is not worth the potential confusion.

Dragging or drifting carolina rigs became popular on Amistad probably about ten years ago.The main reason in my opinion that it was so successful here is that you could drag a a rig with a long leader six or seven foot(very hard to cast that same rig).the grass was very tall at that time and the long leaders seemed very productive.However as always some folks did take this to excess. I saw boats with outriggers ,twin wind socks and rods hanging out all over the place.The lake was low then and there were very few trees and brush only hydrilla.The drifting tecnique while still can be productive is very difficult now because of the trees and brush...Its a pain to pull in four wind socks to go get your crankbait loose from a snag.I really dont see the point of outlawing it.

I like it too! If I read a fishing report and someone said they were spooling a crankbait, I'd feel that was an accurate term. Even accurate enough that most people could figure it out if they didn't know for sure what it was.

Can we get a show of hands people??

I!

Spooling it is!

What if I cast out my crankbait, started my trolling motor, took off down the dam, and cranked my reel handle once every 10 seconds. I'm still cranking the reel, so would this be illegal in your circuit Hag?

As long as we all play by the same rules, I'm game.

As for the skill, with wind, I can put a Tenn. Shad, suspending deep diver along ways, don't need to free spool. With a steady wind pushing me, I like to keep the boat pushed into the wind to help add torque on the bait to get it down deeper quicker. When I'm digging that road bed, I like to dead stick that bait. Few extra suspending dots really keeps it down, it takes skill to hold the boat just right with some wind to keep that bait totally dead sticked. Knowing where to stop it and hold the boat with out pulling is key. As for getting the bait down there, a properly geared reel does that.

That "free spooling" is great for getting a crank into the deep trees on Fork when the big girls are suspended deep in the trees. Only way to get a bait that deep to them is to free spool and jump on the trolling motor. Lots of guides do this for clients seeking big bass.

For what its worth
I can get Mans 30 Plus to bump Bottom at 20' (spooling)

Not sure if that Means anything or not

Without arguing all the merits pro and con for allowing strolling, the biggest issue I see for your trail, Hag, is allowing it for soft plastics but not for hard baits. There is a loophole there in that someone can tie on a soft-plastic swimbait and stroll up and down the dam offering essentially the same (or better) presentation a hard bait could.

A secondary issue: I know what the spirit of the rule is, but enforcing spirits is hard. I have countless times reached the end of a retrieve with a crankbait, turned the boat with the TM, and had a fish eat the bait at the boat. Was I strolling? No. Was the boat pulling the bait? Yes. Technically, I'm not allowed to keep that fish, right?

Good points Scott. No, you were not strolling. The boat being moved during a cast and retrive would not constitute strolling. Swim baits being strolled is an issue I haven't thought of. The only intent of the strolling rule is to keep entrants from just sitting on the trolling motor and dragging a crank bait around all day. Which, in spirit, is equal to trolling.

RipX21... to answer your question,,,,,, No! Don't want to go into it further than that.

This is where all fishermen's belief in acceptable methods of fishing are diverse and argueable. I guess the best thing is to just abide by the rules set by each tournament director. I have a statement in my rules that if you're not clear as to the director's definition of strolling and trolling, you are to ask the director for clarifications. It says that ignorance of the director's interpretation of these terms does not relieve you of the consequences of being DQ'd.

Guess I'm through with this topic, as it seems to make the younger generation mad that this technique is not an acceptable method at semi-professional and professional tournaments.

Yeah Tommy...Looks like a no win situation with some of these folks however the rules are set. Just keep them like you have them.
JR

You don't know what your talking about. 99.9% of the tournaments allow it, if it is done with non-combustion engine and only one rod per angler. Read the rules

spooling! it fits Forest Gump would be proud "and i was... spooolin..."

99.9 huh... you must not fish big circuits or be good at percentages but i see you like taking jabs and having agendas. have fun with it... speaks volumes...