Hello all I was just wondering if one of you could direct me in the right direction. Aside from Hellpets what can use i.e. planners crankbaits, etc. for trolling... Also what line would you guys recommend?

Also approximate speed, and should I buy rod holders and if so which ones?

Fishin here is what I use
Pink Lady Diver Size 0

Pet Spoon Size 12 gold/yellow, gold/white, chrome/yellow, chrome /white.

Tite-Lok rod holder Good but expensive

rod holder mounts Don't use the C-Clamps! Have three in the bottom of lakes


TournamentChoice 7'poppin rods (Very inexpensive)

20# line from rod to diver
12# line diver to spoon 3'-4'

The rods, divers and spoons I get at Academy sports.
Rod holders can be found Bass pro, Gander Mountain Corsicana and Cabellas at a better price than what�s on the web site.

I have been tempted to buy a look alike spoon but have been told they are not worth the money. We use more gold/yellow than any other color.

I highly recommend rod holders especially if you have kids fishing, these will wear you out holding them out from the side of the boat. I run a rod off each side and two off the back when we have kids out fishing.

I am interested in the bee ready rod holders but would like to find someone that uses them trolling and see how they have them set up on their boat.

Hope this helps a little

Edit, Forgot trolling speed, between 1.5 and 2.5 depending on what produces best normaly right around 2 mph or just a tad less.

You da' man I am half-way there now... I will let you know how I do... I too was wondering about the Bee Ready Holders but who do you rig them for trolling? So we both have the same question.

Fishin I was going to say we used lighter rods when we first started out, we trolled on Cedar Creek following a friend doing the exact same thing with the same equipment except the rods.

They caught at least 4 times the fish we did every time! finaly figured out the rods we had were too light and allowed the fish to get off before the hook set, changed to the heavy rods and that solved the problem.

I do plan on trying some jigs this year to replace the spoons, that could save a chunk of money by the end of the year.

Hey FM you might try a Deep Little N they will get down to around 20 feet deep if trolled far behind the boat. They work well for me on Lake Belton in the spring and early summer. Latter on the fish will be deeper and a diver will be needed. Good Luck!

Bee Readys can be easily used for Trolling. I have used mine with great success. I have them mounted all up and down my boat for catfishing but I use two 3 rod holders with risers on either side of my console for trolling with kids some in the summer and have never had any problems with them.

I will try to take a picture one day this week and post it so you can see.

They are the most versatile rod holder I have ever used.

www.txcatfishguide.com

You must have a good graph on the boat......something with AT LEAST 320x320 resolution, 480x480 is better. Eagle and Lowrance both have these type of units. You must be able to draw fish arches. NOT PICTURES OF FISH!

Then you need a way to get your lure down to the depth of the fish on the graph. Yes you can use a Hellbender to drag the lure down........or trolling disks and or a Jet Diver (available at Academy) to get the lure down, (Jet Diver is adjustable to run at 10-20-30 ft ). BUT you will never be as precise as downriggers. With downriggers you can run any lure at the exact depth of the fish.......try to stay 2-3 feet ABOVE them NOT below them.

Pet Spoons, Shassy Shad, Redfin type lures, Rattle Traps, bucktail jigs, are all good trolling lures.

Almost forgot.......you are welcome to copy anything off of my web site:

www.wingsoverusa.com/home.htm

There is a link near the bottome of the page on how to rig a Striper boat.........this may be helpful to you. Good luck.

Armando

With these tips you're already well on your way. It's obvious that you are an experienced fisherman and don't need any reminders about trolling etiquette.

Trolling is just another tool to have in your arsenal and is especially effective for pursuing pelagic fish. As such, it is technique-oriented just like any other method of fishing. Contrary to what many believe, just pulling baits around is not usually very effective. There is no such thing as a "consistently lucky" troller, anymore than there is a "consistently lucky" slabber, fly fisherman, etc. The more you perfect your technique and learn, the luckier you get. Enjoy the learning curve.

I would recommend a jointed Rebel Fastrac to help you get started if you are going to be trolling a flat line. It will catch most anything that swims in any ocean or lake. It will help your confidence right out of the box, while you learn. Go out and have fun learning to be lucky.

And by all means troll well away from the boat shows, working birds, anchored bait fishermen, etc.

hope this helps, i use #8 and#9 shad wraps from rapala on benbrook with great success. also pull rattle traps and dd22 lures.down riggers are great if u plan on troll fishin a bit u might think about investing in a set.cannon brand have done me well.having a pontoon gives u more room at any givin time i can pull 6 rods at a time.i use medium to heavy action rods with 16lb line.also helps to use reels with bait clickers hard to watch all the time.so far ive found the natural color shad wraps works best for me. and on cloudy benbrook days the gold colors comes through.rattle traps usually pull blue/silver or red/silver.i use attwood trollin rod holders does the trick for me.

This forum is great. After getting shutout last night on LL I talked with a boat at the dock on how he did and he said he caught a bunch of hybrids trolling. I went home thinking I need to ask the forum the best techniques for trolling and bam! here it is on the forum. Thanks everybody

I USE A DIVING PLANE (DP) WHICH WILL DIVE TO 50FT

I MAKE MY OWEN DPs BUT DO NOT SELL THEN.I USE 40LB
TEST TO DP AND 15LB TO 30LB TEST TO TWO SHAD HOOKS
WHICH ARE 5FT TO 7FT BEHIND THE DP.

I TROLL AT 1.8/2.4 MPH WITH A 4HP 4STROKE KICKER
WHICH BURNS ABOUT 1.2 TO 1.5 GAL OF FUEL FROM
07AM TO 3PM,ALL DAY. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO CATCH
ABOUT 700LBS OF FISH PER YEAR.I HAVE TWO ICE COOLERS ON THE FRONT OF MY BOAT AND THEY HOLD 8
BAGS OF ICE EA.

You guys are great all is helping greatly... Boatman I just got a Lowrance depth finder as my new Bottomline Sidefinder 1200 did not show arches... It is a good finder but I will be selling it. Caps trolling etiquette is at the top of my list...

Why are you selling the Lowrance???? its considered one of the better graphs on the market???