Tips for trolling in Georgian Bay

[MapleButter]

Hey all,

I'm going on a sailing trip with my dad from Thornbury to Tobermory and I wanted to do some trolling for salmon, trout, or whatever. I don't have specific trolling gear and to be honest I don't really plan on doing a whole lot of trolling in the future. Budget for any equipment would be maybe $100 or $150 to Bass Pro (gift card!).

I was wondering what would you recommend for bare bones trolling. I have an UglyStik with a basic spin reel and some 25lb test braid currently on the reel. I also have the generic variety of sinkers that you'd get at Crappy Tire and a random assortment of spoons. Is it possible to get away with my rod for this situation? Keep in mind, the goal of this trip isn't to catch fish, it's to make it to Tobermory, but catching dinner for one night would be a decent bonus.

Would appreciate any and all tips! Cheers!

 

[BearInTheWoods]

Your rod should more than hold up unless you hook into some crazy massive fish, if so breaking a rod could be worth the fight haha. I'd say get yourself some inline spinners of various sizes and maybe even some rattlin raps

I like to troll a bit shallower than most so don't use any downriggers. But when I want to get a bit deeper I'll throw on some cheap heavy splitshot

 

[MapleButter]

Right on! It's good to know my rod *should* be okay. I've been reading about dipsy divers for trolling without down riggers. Do you have any experience with them?

 

[Chrome Bullets]

If you want to get deep quick with less drag get a torpedo diver or guppy weights. I prefer torpedo divers as you can bend the fin to kick it out and away. I use them from a kayak all the time. Even switched out the cannon ball on my rigger for 2 Cuda torpedo divers....... less drag all around is good.

Dipsy divers work great but are alot of drag if using the larger ones. You need a good rod to take a dipsy.

 

[NADO]

Are you trolling from the sail boat? If so I would say a dipsy diver setup is the way to go but by the time you buy everything it will be tough to keep it below $150. You would need a dipsy rod, reel with a line counter, dipsy diver and then some trolling spoons. You would also need a rod holder off the back of the boat as you definitely don't want to be holding onto a dipsy rod all day, if you don't want to drill into the boat to mount the rod holder you can always get one of those scotty clamp on rod holders.

You could also use your ugly stick combo with a deep diving crank bait to work the top of the water column and put the dipsy diver down deeper. Certain crank baits can get you 20' down or even deeper.

 

[fisherman2280]

Three way swivel with some high test line to hold some crazy weight to get your offering down deep is the cheap option.

You may be moving a little fast in a sail boat though.

 

[MapleButter]

If you want to get deep quick with less drag get a torpedo diver or guppy weights. I prefer torpedo divers as you can bend the fin to kick it out and away. I use them from a kayak all the time. Even switched out the cannon ball on my rigger for 2 Cuda torpedo divers....... less drag all around is good.

Dipsy divers work great but are alot of drag if using the larger ones. You need a good rod to take a dipsy.

Those torpedo divers/guppy weights look like a pretty easy means to troll. I will for sure be looking into those.

Are you trolling from the sail boat? If so I would say a dipsy diver setup is the way to go but by the time you buy everything it will be tough to keep it below $150. You would need a dipsy rod, reel with a line counter, dipsy diver and then some trolling spoons. You would also need a rod holder off the back of the boat as you definitely don't want to be holding onto a dipsy rod all day, if you don't want to drill into the boat to mount the rod holder you can always get one of those scotty clamp on rod holders.

You could also use your ugly stick combo with a deep diving crank bait to work the top of the water column and put the dipsy diver down deeper. Certain crank baits can get you 20' down or even deeper.

I will be trolling from the sailboat. I was intending on jerry-rigging up a rod holder with some pvc or something and some c-clamps but those Scotty clamp-on rod holders look alright. Working two rods is a good idea too. Do you think this rod would do the trick? The few times I've been on Georgian Bay the water has been crystal clear. I figure if it has the same clarity as usual, i'm most likely to find fish on the bottom, right?

Three way swivel with some high test line to hold some crazy weight to get your offering down deep is the cheap option.

You may be moving a little fast in a sail boat though.

That is what I was thinking. Would kind of line would you recommend? Usually the sailboat moves at around 8-9 knots and 13-15 if the wind is really choochin'. Would average 9-8knots be okay or too fast?

Thanks!

 

[T-Ack]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but 8-9 knots is too fast. That translates to around 9-10mph . Anyhow, good luck - any day on the water is better than nothing . Enjoy your trip.

 

[Bowie]

Good advice above but like T-Ack said, you'll need to slow down to 1.5-2mph (roughly) to troll effectively.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but 8-9 knots is too fast. That translates to around 9-10mph . Anyhow, good luck - any day on the water is better than nothing . Enjoy your trip.

 

[MapleButter]

Good advice above but like T-Ack said, you'll need to slow down to 1.5-2mph (roughly) to troll effectively.

I could very well be misremembering the speed of the boat. I guess with a sailboat it's very dependent on the wind as well. Thanks for your input!

 

[fisherman2280]

Yeah at 9 knots i think you will be going to fast to get it deep and your arms will get a heck of a work out and possible over stress your rod unless it's a heavy duty beast of a rod.

I hate using braid but if your playing with lots of weight its what I would line my reel with and run some mono off the three way to the spoon.

You may be stuck having to wait until you anchor for the evening or if you get a really calm day.

Either way sound like a fun trip.