i got my first boat last year and i see fisherman trolling up and down the dams and was wanting to try it out. what is a good speed and how much line should i have out.

Friends don't let friends troll

Kelly

Please stay away from other fisherman,

And please turn your engine off.

Given that � troll as slow as possible � given the lures you are using (what depth the fish are giving the depth of the lures you are running).

Once you hit some, stop trolling & go back and then have more fun � using casting lures (Slabs, Sassy Shads, Little Gorge, Rattle Traps etc..) and catch them with rod in hand = much more fun.

ZERO MPH --LOL--

Trolling is lame. Find the fish and get to work.

Amen Kelly

I troll, what are you calling me?

If your trolling, and I do a lot, try and have your baits out around 70'-100+'. Keep your speed between 2-3 mph, +/- there are are as many ways to troll as there are to lure fish. Your gonna want to prob get some DD22's in different colors. Chartreuse and white are goto colors for us. Also chrome and blue is a staple. Different spoons, gold and chrome and various sizes on downriggers is a great summer time choice. Roadrunners and sassy shad are great. Bomber, Long A's and many other crank baits work well.

Believe me, don't troll close to boat shows or even individual boats. There is more than ample room on any body of water and plenty of fish away from folks. Don't be surprised if you get fish on and others immediately run to that spot. Just give em room and keep your blood pressure down.

Trolling is just another tool in your fishing toolbox. It's a great way to introduce new folks to fishing, who may not have the skills to cast lures. It is a little cooler during those hot summer days too. It also keeps the kiddos attention and happy. Also, you may hear folks say your just burning gas, in my experience, idling around the lake uses way less fuel than runnin and gunnin. But remember, after time spent trolling around, your gonna want to run those RPM's up on you way bact to the ramp.

good post captjohn -

Most common mistake made by trollers who do not own downriggers, is not letting out enough line. The are some amazing tables detailing certain lures on certain diameter line trolled at set speeds
The hellbender pet spoon combo is a cheap, simple set up that catches white bass, hybrids and stripers and is very easy on the one or two trip per year fishers or kids. Also a grea way to locate schools if you don't have great electronics

Always watch your speed and depth and vary it(and baits)from time to time. If you hit fish, that pattern should repeat itself in other parts of the lake.

This is where trolling shines, I use my Downriggers to find fish and then turn and drift 'em or even anchor. Besides I have plenty of customers who get an absolute thrill out of a rigger popping up and line screaming out.

Besides, you get to yell..."FISH ON!"

I'll echo what others have said, give anchored boats or groups a very wide berth (beside if you catch fish, they won't come bother you because you're trolling , what do you know?).

If you join others, shut it down and drift or use you're TM. Some just don't get it (pulled 6 lures off my anchor rope last year) and give the others a bad name.

I heard Lewisville is horrible for trolling. i did hear that every other lake in TX is great for it...lol

Nothing wrong with trolling at all. You hear me complaining all the time about it, but yet I do it all Summer long. The complaints of trollers are mainly about folks trolling through schooling fish or right over a boat show catching off the bottom. I just think there is a time and place for trolling. Sometimes a troller shows up first on a known hump and complains slabbers show up and homestead his troll. It goes both ways. One troller can take up 2 acres of a known hump where 20 boats could slab though and everybody catch fish. That is a different debate though....

None the less, when trolling look for humps, points and drop offs where fish should be staged. The season will dictate what areas are better. Shallow humps in Spring and deeper as the Summer comes on. If you want big fish, like striper and hybrid downriggers are the way to go.

The number one key to success is to find fish. You cant catch fish where there aren't any, right? A good graph is the key. Then find the depth the fish are in the water column and figure out how to maintain your bait at that depth. Downrigging makes is easy because you drop your ball to that depth and it is a constant. Just make sure the jighead is relatively light in weight. Crankbaits and other lures used without a line counter will be a little harder to control depth and you will have to vary speed and line length.

can't be as bad as hubbard. i hear lavon and bardwell are much better.

Lavon is terrible for trolling. There are no fish in Lavon what so ever . Try another lake