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.

i dont know why it wont work, we troll for white bass off the points on lake conroe.we use little georges,and i think i will give it a try the next time i go to galveston.you never know until you try!

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

good link