Finesse Stealthy Trolling

[BulBob]

Finesse Trolling

My techniques are very stealthy and are the most FUNctional way to fish I have ever experienced.
They can work for kayaks, canoes, row bow boats, belly boats and for lazy guys with trolling motors. LOL

I have an Old Town 3 seat Sportsman canoe with oars that I can turn on dime since I sit in the middle seat. I use BulletBobbers (mini planer boards with directional control) on both rods placed in rod holders on the sidewalls near the oar locks for easy reach. I have the rod holders pointing straight up and use 9’ rods so I can set the bait up to 10’ deep and still net a fish. It is really cool controlling the location of 2 baits or lures at the same time by how I maneuver my canoe. With the baits or lures planing out to the sides and the rods pointing almost straight up I can spin my canoe up to 175 degrees and not effect the speed of the BulletBobbers or cross lines.

I usually slip-rig them so if I stop or back up they drop down deeper. I can even have one drop down and keep the other one moving by circling around the down bait! I often like trolling one BulletBobber close to the shore and if there is a tree sticking out I flip the BulletBobber, by giving it a little tug, so it planes the opposite direction….once past the tree I tug it again so it runs back toward the shore. My rods fit loosely in the rod holders and just giving them a little bump (quick wiggle) will usually flip direction. If a tree is overhanging the water I run under it. I can also put one planer back further and run both lines on the same side.

Sometimes I just row very slowly and frequently pop the rods to flip direction. I get a lot of hits just after a lure reverses direction. They run faster then my canoe’s speed as they swing from side to side. They go the fastest when they are straight back and slow to canoe speed as they plane off to the side in a parallel path.

It really is a great way to fish and you get a little physical and mental exercise at the same time! It took a while to get the hang of watching both planers at the same time and coordinating the right stroke/s to get the result I wanted...especially when there is some wind and/or current but I got it down pretty good now and get better every time out. I have done the best using small jigs tipped with minnows or small spinners tipped with crawlers under small BulletBobbers. I’ll usually use of a variety of small hard baits if I don’t have bait and use a medium, large and sometimes an X-Large BB if I want to use bigger lures.

Old Town Sportsman canoes have oar lock mounts for the front and middle seats and I’ll move the oars to the front seat if I have a guest and let them tend to all 4 rods from the middle seat while I work the oars. I really like watching a good friend or family member having fun steering the baits and catching the fish as I row. I haven’t tried having two guest in my canoe yet but the more the merrier!

If I didn’t need and have a good day job and a wife that doesn’t want to move I’d like to find a place where I could be a guide! I live near Akron OH-IO and fish on Portage Lakes because it is the closest and my son just moved to a place on the lake. The fishing is ok but heavily populated and a bit over fished. I have caught about every species there is except Musky but I am getting the gear together to go after them. There have been a few huge Musky caught here but it takes a lot of hours and the right gear. I’ll try some big chub minnows or shiners to improve the odds because that is what I heard works the best and I’ll use DualFin in-line planers instead of BulletBobbers so the baits can be set back further to run deeper at faster speeds and because they have a line release.

I’d be fishing today except it is snowing and I’m still too bloated from Turkey Day! I think I hear the leftovers calling me!



Paul Lieb & Family

[pig n jig]

It sort of takes the fun out of fishing when your trolling.I personally would rather cast and retrieve as I drift or have the trolling motor on but everyone is different.The main thing is to get out and fish as often as you can.