Watched a good show on Shallow Water Angler about trolling inshore. Since my FoldCat 375 only has a 4 HP motor and doesn't go real fast, I wonder if I should be trolling the edges of the channels I use to get to my selected fishing spots. Who knows, I might find some new "hotspots". They were trolling using plastic swim baits and trolling shorelines and along docks. Does anyone troll inshore.

No one trolls or no one will admit to it??

Never trolled inshore.

I've asked this question before and had no positive responses. It just seems to me like it would work.

I don't have a trolling motor, but I figure even the 140 hp on idle should go slow enough.

What tips did the show give?

They were basically dragging lead headed soft plastic swim baits about 50-100 feet back along channel edges and along docks, etc. They said you never know when trout, reds, snook, et al will be using the channel as a highway. you will find schools of fish you never would have known were there otherwise.

Got a Wisconsin Walleye fishermen buddy that is 10 times the fishermen than me that asked once if anyone ever used Planner boards to troll the Laguna/Baffin area. Told him never heard of anyone doing it.
Going to give the simplest, most obvious tip of the decade for anyone looking to better understand the coastal bays for fishing.
This point is not my own "moment of enlightenment", but was pointed out to me years ago, and it was so clear it's one of the "Why didn't I see this before?" things that happen so infrequently.

Get you a NOAA navigation or any of the fishing maps and look at it carefully.
Anywhere you have a good fishing spot, the fish arrive there from somewhere else. At some point migrating or moving fish will use the roads of the bays to get to the point where they can move up shallow or deep. Whether it's feeding, finding comfort, safety, spawn movement, whatever, fish will use channels.
A trout may hatch along the shore of Baffin Bay, live along the grass shore and/or rocks until it's dead, but if it moves out of Baffin, chances are a channel will be used at some point.
Same for CC bay; the CC ship Channel, the ICW, M&C Cut, Ingleside channel, all of them provide passage for fish.
Not all fish use channels all the time, or even most of the the time, but channels provide everything needed; comfortable temps, structure, food, escape depth, access, movement,.... everything.
There are always trout and reds in the channels. Just got to find where, when, and figure out why.
Same Wisconsin buddy was shown this one time fishing the Laguna south of Bird Island. Our drift was fairly close to the ICW and we would drift across it before running back and drifting again. We were catching scattered GOOD trout east of the ICW, but every time we crossed the ICW we'd pick up trout along the ICW channel sides.

All of this is to help folks understand how much life is in these channels. Use a fishfinder and see what shows up on the screen.

Now the question is trolling the channels? It can be done, and if you want to do it go for it. I'd suggest a week day and not at dawn or any other prime running time.
Expect folks to be bothered by it, you are slow moving on a water highway.
I'd not try the ICW south of CC bay, the Aransas shrimp channel along 361, or the Lydia Ann without planning what to do when the boat stampedes come zipping by, but the ICW from Ingleside to Rockport, and the CC ship channel from Ingleside towards Port Aransas should provide some room to try things out.
There are fish there, just got to figure how to deal the folks that yell that you're in the way, etc. You know the type.
Try it, you got nothing to lose, you're heading towards a fishing spot might as well make use of the time.
Last thought, we often drift along channels if the drift is right throwing along the channel and up the side a bit. Works like a champ.
Good luck, I'm hoping to see some good results on your report.

Get a map and a depth finder - there are MANY channels other than ICW - such as the crash channels by the JFK Causeway, Pure Oil Channel, etc.

In Florida we troll plugs along the ten foot edges of the ICW right next to the trout flats...primarily catching juvenile grouper...also we troll bridge fenders for big snook...always wanted to try it here...trolling a small deep crank would put the hammer time on some flounder.

TOO, that was pretty much my thought, foldcat 4hp slow trolling vs 300 hp 70 mph bayboat. There is an artical at one of the planer board sites about trolling in LA. I've tried drift trolling across midbay reefs. For me though, if I'm activily trolling I'm pulling magnum Rapalas somewhere past the jetties.

Agreed.
My concern is not whether the idea is valid, legal, or would bring success. The channels are public waters and everyone has the right to travel, fish, and use those waterways.
That said, the actions and reactions of the 300-70's folks make planning necessary. Just a fact to consider if you have 50-100' line out behind the boat in a channel.
No doubt in my mind the technique will work, just how to best achieve success and not have an unpleasant experience.
No sure the crash channels Pure Oil, and those type channels will be the best way to try this. I'd lean towards the deeper channels, but that brings the traffic point up again.
............. thinking about it, those shallower channels, long line out, fast retrieve reel...............small 4 hp boat.........maybe the ticket if the lure is kept up and towards to grass line...........wouldn't use braid............question is hard body crankbait or soft plastic type lure.............maybe Mann's Minus 1 type crankbait or something that runs only 2-3' or less.
Would love to see results from experimenting.

BTW, we've had folks ask for input in the past and sometimes we've given some different/offbeat/unusual ideas.
Had a guide that we've done business with over the years see some fishermen doing something along the line of what we suggested. Guide slipped up respectfully and asked "Ya'll OK?".
He was told that this suggested by us, and used my name. Guide knows us and called laughing, and asked "Why in the hell are you telling these folks to do that?"
Found out our suggestion was modified and the fishermen, 3 of them, stood out out there in the Laguna. Guide still asks on potential charters if they are going to want fish that way.

I fish out of a kayak a lot and whenever I'm paddling to my spot I always drop a red shad salt water assasin on a 1/4oz or 1/8oz jig head. I let it trail behing my yak about 75 ft back and I have caught many trout and flounder this way. Think about it, if you are going slow enough to troll why not do it?

My thoughts exactly.

We tried it about 7 years ago. The throttle cable on my friends boat would put it into gear but not rev up. Since we were taking the slow way home I tossed a couple baits out. Caught a 27lb king where the Aransas and Lydia Ann Channels meet.

@ DEERSTRANGLER... In July/AUG when the clear water pushes in, I've caught Kings from the Ferry Boat to the Island Moorings entrance, they follow the Oil Tankers in. I've also seen Sails surface around the UT Pier a couple times, guess they followed that Tanker too far~~!

It's an amazing site to see 30' visibility around the Ferry Boats!

I briefly tried today without any luck. Pulled a soft plastic with a blade behind the boat around the old SPI causeway. With the boat in forward idle, the GPS showed anywhere from 1.7 to 2.4 mph, most of the time it was about 2.2.

Maybe next time.

If your going slow enough to troll it helps to use small in-line planer boards like the DualFin to get them out to the side. The DualFin only weighs 1 ounce and has on demand direction control to switch what side you want it on at any time!

www.dualfin.com

The BulletBobber works the same but isn't in-line. The line goes thru it so you can't fish as deep but they are even smaller then the DualFin and are as castable as any fishing float. The smallest is only 2" long.

www.bulletbobber.com

I think normal trolling speeds are around 3 mph. Not sure however.

Good link: http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/article/Gear-and-Techniques/Take-Em-on-the-Troll

From another website: "Inshore trolling such as freshwater and estuary is at speeds of 3 to 6kts. Baits, either live or dead are trolled much slower, sometimes with the boat just moving ahead in gear."

Your right FoldCatOne, 3mph is about the speed I paddle my kayak. I have found that varying my speed from paddling hard to paddling easy helps locate the level at which the fish are suspended.

Nophears, thanks for that info. I troll from the end of the jetties to Lydia Ann....I guess I need to troll a little farther.

Seems to me that trolling from a kayak and paddling around all of the little islands off the ICW with some paddle tail plastic would have to get you something. I sure have hooked a lot of reds around them over time.

no luck again today with a 3/4oz gold spoon, rattle trap, and a heavy minnow. will try divers next.

@Diablosandwich

I was specifically targeting Kings when the blue water pushes in, I primarily chase the "Color Change" & that's where I find most of my fish.

It's very Tide/Water dependent. If dirty water is pushing out the Jetty, I'm not gonna mess around at the Lydia Ann, gonna run out to the end of the jetty before I start dragging baits. Yes, 3-4knots is about right.

I wouldn't really call it "Trolling" but I've drifted Cahoe Minnows on 1/8-1/4oz jig heads on the ICW drop off, bouncing them on the bottom & letting the Tide/Wind carry me along. Boat speed+Tide movement = lot more than 3knots, it's easy to achieve 3knots with just tide push.

Hate to bump up an older post, but was glad to see this thread.

Back when we lived in Louisiana we used to do some amazing fishing trolling along the Pontchartrain Causeway. Limited on flounder several days (10 per person in LA) on gold spoons. Also did real well with trout on soft plastics. Redfish like 'em too. Haven't done it much here in Texas because the damn oyster shells and other debris are always cutting the lines. When you go through five 6 oz sinkers in a day it feels like you're just throwing lead in the water.

Here is what we would do:

1) Get a 4-6 oz. bell sinker (MUST have a swivel, and the sinker MUST be on the bottom)
2) Put it on a couple feet of heavy mono
3) Tie it to one end of a treble swivel
4) Get your lure of choice and tie it on one end of a line (needs a swivel)
5) Use one and a half to two and a half armspans of line and tie to the other end of the treble swivel (yeah it's looong)
6) Tie the line to your rod to the last end of the treble swivel (you obviously need to use a heavy rod)

It drives the flounder crazy during the run. The best we could figure was the flounder saw the big sinker drag through the mud so now you have his attention; then here comes this good looking gold spoon a second or two later. Guy who catches the fish has to walk to the front of the boat and have another guy to help land the fish. A lot of times they are just holding onto the hook in their mouths and will drop it if they get a whiff of you, so be ready with the net (no horsing 'em in the boat)

We also do trolling off the East Coast near Virginia and North Carolina where my parents are from. Its a huge deal up there and they do it totally different. Generally they will get some bigass "Mann's" brand crankbaits (20-30ft plus divers), and some huge 5 inch gold spoons. If you are using monofilament or braided you have to let out a crapton of line (again you got to be on the bottom). The best is if you use steel line (don't think they even sell it here in TX) on a big baitcaster with steel rollers (a rod made especially for the purpose). You have to have a piece of leather strapped over the spool so you don't kill your thumb. The steel line (they generally call it "lead line") is deadly against the striped bass (they call 'em rockfish) and bluefish, and requires a lot less line to get to the bottom. Generally we use sinkers that weigh 12-18 ounces (yep more than a pound sometimes).

My brother was using a tandem rig on mono and a couple of deep sea looking Marlin lures and landed TWO 45" stripers on the same line at the same time... it was one of the most incredible catches I've ever seen.

Fishing off the East Coast is amazing because you only have to go less than a mile out and you're in 30-50 feet of water and you can catch massive, massive stripers and blues.

We've tried both methods in both Galveston and Lake Conroe (for hybrids) along the bridges. I don't know what it is about Texas but there sure is a lot of [censored] in the water next to the bridges in both fresh and salt water. Got a 5lb hydrid out of Conroe once in the dead of winter trolling with a 20ft Mann's crankbait. The fishermen, especially the crappie fisherman, will give you some strange looks when you're going back and forth.

Allright that was a long post, but that is my experiences with trolling. It's a great method, and worth trying, but can be frustrating if you're always getting hung on the bottom.

edit: Pics added, also I know this post specifically said inshore, perhaps I'm playing loose with the definition of "inshore" here.

lead line:
roller rod:
Mann's vs Mirr'o'lure:

From 5 or so yrs back, my brother is in the middle and my dad is holding his second of the two stripers he caught in tandem:

I'm thinking about trying live bait, deep, up on side of the jetty and down the other.

Flats Class TV Fishing show had an episode where they were anchored inside the Galveston Jetties and were casting crankbaits parallel to the jetty about 3 feet out, bumping the baits on the underwater rocks and were slaying the reds and trout.