By Capt. Jim Hirt
The details of any one particular item for well rigged hi-tech trolling would be an article in itself. I will try to address that in subsequent articles. This article will not be a primer for the angler starting out. It is for those interested in coming up to speed on what's new and successful for trolling any body of water for any species. The basic presentations will get you by on most days when the fishing is easy. Professional and tournament anglers that troll have found a way to produce fish in the most difficult situations. The word here is STEALTH. It is defined as a presentation with the least visibility that you can fish at great distances from the boat. On Lake Michigan where I fish the state of Wisconsin stocks close to five million fish annually. There is no shortage of quarry for the angler to target. There are still days with calm clear water and high blue skies when conventional presentations produce only marginal results. With fishing everywhere your ability to master a presentation for all types of conditions separates the men from the boys. Your arsenal for hi-tech trolling should definitely include planer boards with copper, leadcore or fluorocarbon line to meet tough conditions. In fact for my money I would skip other options and run all my tackle on one or a combination of these. Multiple lines on boards will out fish all other presentations most days. There will be a learning curve and additional expenses; however, the effort will far exceed your expectations. I will be writing an article on fishing copper in the near future. I already have all the information you need for leadcore rigging in an article #28 Fishing Leadcore Rigging at
http://www.badgertackle.com Fluorocarbon options are explained in #13 Spring Fishing Presentation on the same website. This is an excellent less expensive choice for fish from the surface to 50 feet down. Add more or less weight to get the desired depth. Please check out the lures at Badger Tackle. Over the last several years the spoons sold here have out produced all the other spoons I run. They have a great selection of three different spoons with unique actions in a variety of sizes and colors for all game fish.
Most fish locators include a surface temperature gauge and I wouldn't be without one but it is only half of the tools you need. In my opinion the tool you must have for trolling is a speed and temperature gauge. Your down speed and temp are critical and you must have a means to monitor them. The speed and temp gauge attaches to the downrigger cable just above the ball and provides the information needed to keep your lures in the correct temp and at optimum speed. The Great Lakes has under water currents that change with the winds. Wherever you fish the wind effects your body of water the same way. Most times your surface speed will be faster or slower depending on your direction of travel relative to the current below you. When trolling with the current, if the surface speed you selected is 2.0 MPH your lures will be considerably slower and render them ineffective. By monitoring your down speed and temp you will not troll for hours with poor presentation or location.
To complete this article we must know what tool will give us the most reliable measurement of speed and temp. A great product out in the market place for this purpose is the Depth Raider. This unit offers a probe that you connect to a special downrigger cable giving you speed and temp at the lure to depths of 200 feet. This information is sent to an easy to read display. I was very impressed with Curt Kell of Kell Laboratories the innovator of this product. His attention to quality and customer satisfaction sets him apart in the industry. The Depth Raider will set the standard for this type of product for years to come. To get information on this product call Curt at 262-534-2202. Good Luck let's go fishing! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site at
http://www.bluemaxcharters.com Copyright 2007, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
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