Fishing basics-trolling

When you talk to someone about fishing and say that you are going trolling they think 'that is an awfully lazing way to fish'. That is useless they have every done it and then think 'hey, this person is a thinking fisherman'. The people that have been trolling know there is a lot of variables you need to consider.

What type of fish am I after? The answer to this question will determine what you put in your tackle box before you leave on your trip. Since sometime your first choice isn't real active that day it is a good idea to have one or two backup types. So, you might want something for trout, bass, and catfish. For trout I have always found triple teaser work great although you might want a spinner. For bass they are more of a follow and nibble fish so something that you put a worm on, such as, pop gear but not the full set for deep trolling. For catfish you will want a full set of pop gear since you need to fish deep.

Once you have packed your equipment and get to the lake and launch your boat it is time to find where the fish are at right? not quite yet. The first thing you will need to know is what is the temperature of the water? You don't need the exact temperature so stick a finger in the water and if it feels warm than you will want to fish swallow but if the water feels cold you will need to fish deeper depending on how cold.

Once you have determined that then you are ready to go in search of  the fish but this part has several variable in itself that you will need to figure out mostly by trail and error. If you are at a lake you are familiar with you probably have a good starting spot but that doesn't guarantee anything will be there. So, you will just need to troll around the lake to find a good area.

You say you went around the entire lake and nothing is biting? If that is the case it could be the fish or you might not be using the right lure. This is why you brought a selection so that if the first didn't work you can change it and try again. So, after the first pass you stop the boat and change gear and troll around the lake again. You may need to do this two or three times until you find the right combination of area and lure. Once you do get everything right it is a matter of just trolling back and forth until you decide it is time to go.