2) Trolling in an Area with No Striped Bass
This particular one appears to be a no-brainer, but it occurs too frequently. Just because you are fishing around a widely recognized "hot spot" for instance , the Ledge, Race Point, Devil's Bridge or the Fingers, it does not mean that you are in a hot spot for this specific fishing trip. The entire area could very well be vacant of bait and bass.
Look around the very next time you are on the water. There's a huge amount of water out there to check out! I in no way place a tube within the water unless I see a minimum of one striped bass marked on my sonar screen. Finding only one bass, amidst all this often life-less water, is a huge deal. Possibilities are that particular bass beneath your transducer is one of a lot of bass contained in the immediate vicinity.
The very next time you head out, have a shot at cruising around, using a tactical pattern through the good fishing locations in your area. Continue searching with your sonar until you start marking stripers or prey items. After that put the tubes in the water and fish around for 15 minutes. If hardly anything else shows on the sonar, keep on searching around. Combusting a couple of extra gallons of gasoline cruising around is worth it-have faith in me! The time spent searching often results in finding an area with a lot of stripers in it. The best part is that this technique allows you to find fish, often times well away from fleets of other boats.
2) Experimenting with various tube colors 1st, rather then depth and tube length
I'm sure there are most likely a boat load of folks who will disagree with me on this subject (that is certainly A-OK) but I don't see a need to carry tube colors apart from black, red along with perhaps orange. I think all the other colorful tube varieties are made to snatch fishermen-and needless to say a few fish every now and again. I used to carry orange yet I don't today. More often than not, a properly presented red or black tube is all you will need to cover 99% of tube and worm situations.
If you are not catching any bass, but folks around you are catching striped bass, try paying closer attention to the depth and tube length they are using instead of color. Often times the color of the tube is irrelevant.
I remember a trip when the bass fishing was sizzling, but without warning it surprisingly died. I first assumed the hot fishing had turned off, but I realised that my fishing bud was still hitting them hard. I tried modifying the number of colors I had been trolling, and then also altering the color of the tube. I went on getting not a thing.
It took a bit, but I then figured out that my fishing bud was trolling a tube of 18 inches, instead of the 24 inch red tubes I had been catching them on all day. Lamentably I only had 18 inch black tubes on the boat. However it did not matter much to the fish, and as soon as the stripers found that 18 inch black tube they began slamming it, and we commenced catching yet again.
I have also experienced plenty of instances where I had been catching striped bass trolling with 3 1/2 colors all day or night and then, for some reason, we stopped hooking up, but carry on marking fish on the sonar. An easy depth switch to 4 colors proved to be the ticket and we commenced hooking up again. I may very well never fully understand the effect a half of a color can make to the striped bass-having said that I will by no means underrate the importance.
If I'm not hooking up, but I still am seeing fish on my sonar unit, I will in most cases:
1) First experiment with the number of colors (depth) 2) Experiment with the tube length 3) Make changes with the tube's color
3) Fishing only 2 tubes instead of 3
A few fishing seasons back I would to troll 4 rods from my 21 foot boat the Miss Loretta, but now when I take customers out on a fishing trip, I've noticed that using 3 tubes, each on lead core fishing line, will work a tad smoother.
Getting that third tube and worm rig in the water is advantageous for a couple of reasons.
1) It is yet another hook in the water for bass to attack. This will easily raise your fish catching potential. All other parameters held constant, the crew using 3 lines will, at all times catch more fish than the angler utilizing only 2.
2) It enables you to fiddle more with tube color. You also have more opportunity to play with tube length an depth. By doing this you'll be able to easily find out what the stripers would like. And you will be able to figure this all out much quicker than if you were only trolling two lines.
3) For some odd reason, most bass hit that tube trolled down the center of the boat. I believe this is due to how striped bass naturally hunt prey. By fishing three tubes at once, an angler can take advantage of a striped bass' natural instincts.
Often times once I discover a successful color (depth) and an effective tube color and length, I will fish all three tube and worms in the identical manner. Due to the positioning of rod holders on the Miss Loretta, the 3rd line runs exactly in the middle of the Miss Loretta, and is positioned slightly more towards the back of the Miss Loretta than the other rods.
What this results in the water is a bit of a "trolling spread." The 3 lines are fishing the same depth, however the 1 tube that is being trolled off the 3rd line (which is trolled in the middle of the spread) is positioned slightly behind the other two tubes. This is because that middle rod holder is positioned just a little nearer to the back of the Miss Loretta than my other two rod holders. The 3rd tube and worm rig is trolled just a few feet in back of the other tube rigs. This makes it appear to the bass as if one of the tubes is lagging behind the main school-making it more vulnerable to attack.
It's the same idea that goes into squid bars and umbrella rigs. The rule of thumb is that you generally troll one lure or bait that trails slightly behind the school. With three tubes at once, your are putting together a "school of worms" wiggling through the water. One of the tubes (worms) has slipped a bit behind the other two tube rigs (worms). Striped bass typically focus in on the prey items that fall behind the rest of the pack. I imagine this is the reason why my center tube generally out-fishes the other two tube and worm rigs. It's the small details like this that can help you catch more fish on your next outing.
This particular one appears to be a no-brainer, but it occurs too frequently. Just because you are fishing around a widely recognized "hot spot" for instance , the Ledge, Race Point, Devil's Bridge or the Fingers, it does not mean that you are in a hot spot for this specific fishing trip. The entire area could very well be vacant of bait and bass.
Look around the very next time you are on the water. There's a huge amount of water out there to check out! I in no way place a tube within the water unless I see a minimum of one striped bass marked on my sonar screen. Finding only one bass, amidst all this often life-less water, is a huge deal. Possibilities are that particular bass beneath your transducer is one of a lot of bass contained in the immediate vicinity.
The very next time you head out, have a shot at cruising around, using a tactical pattern through the good fishing locations in your area. Continue searching with your sonar until you start marking stripers or prey items. After that put the tubes in the water and fish around for 15 minutes. If hardly anything else shows on the sonar, keep on searching around. Combusting a couple of extra gallons of gasoline cruising around is worth it-have faith in me! The time spent searching often results in finding an area with a lot of stripers in it. The best part is that this technique allows you to find fish, often times well away from fleets of other boats.
2) Experimenting with various tube colors 1st, rather then depth and tube length
I'm sure there are most likely a boat load of folks who will disagree with me on this subject (that is certainly A-OK) but I don't see a need to carry tube colors apart from black, red along with perhaps orange. I think all the other colorful tube varieties are made to snatch fishermen-and needless to say a few fish every now and again. I used to carry orange yet I don't today. More often than not, a properly presented red or black tube is all you will need to cover 99% of tube and worm situations.
If you are not catching any bass, but folks around you are catching striped bass, try paying closer attention to the depth and tube length they are using instead of color. Often times the color of the tube is irrelevant.
I remember a trip when the bass fishing was sizzling, but without warning it surprisingly died. I first assumed the hot fishing had turned off, but I realised that my fishing bud was still hitting them hard. I tried modifying the number of colors I had been trolling, and then also altering the color of the tube. I went on getting not a thing.
It took a bit, but I then figured out that my fishing bud was trolling a tube of 18 inches, instead of the 24 inch red tubes I had been catching them on all day. Lamentably I only had 18 inch black tubes on the boat. However it did not matter much to the fish, and as soon as the stripers found that 18 inch black tube they began slamming it, and we commenced catching yet again.
I have also experienced plenty of instances where I had been catching striped bass trolling with 3 1/2 colors all day or night and then, for some reason, we stopped hooking up, but carry on marking fish on the sonar. An easy depth switch to 4 colors proved to be the ticket and we commenced hooking up again. I may very well never fully understand the effect a half of a color can make to the striped bass-having said that I will by no means underrate the importance.
If I'm not hooking up, but I still am seeing fish on my sonar unit, I will in most cases:
1) First experiment with the number of colors (depth) 2) Experiment with the tube length 3) Make changes with the tube's color
3) Fishing only 2 tubes instead of 3
A few fishing seasons back I would to troll 4 rods from my 21 foot boat the Miss Loretta, but now when I take customers out on a fishing trip, I've noticed that using 3 tubes, each on lead core fishing line, will work a tad smoother.
Getting that third tube and worm rig in the water is advantageous for a couple of reasons.
1) It is yet another hook in the water for bass to attack. This will easily raise your fish catching potential. All other parameters held constant, the crew using 3 lines will, at all times catch more fish than the angler utilizing only 2.
2) It enables you to fiddle more with tube color. You also have more opportunity to play with tube length an depth. By doing this you'll be able to easily find out what the stripers would like. And you will be able to figure this all out much quicker than if you were only trolling two lines.
3) For some odd reason, most bass hit that tube trolled down the center of the boat. I believe this is due to how striped bass naturally hunt prey. By fishing three tubes at once, an angler can take advantage of a striped bass' natural instincts.
Often times once I discover a successful color (depth) and an effective tube color and length, I will fish all three tube and worms in the identical manner. Due to the positioning of rod holders on the Miss Loretta, the 3rd line runs exactly in the middle of the Miss Loretta, and is positioned slightly more towards the back of the Miss Loretta than the other rods.
What this results in the water is a bit of a "trolling spread." The 3 lines are fishing the same depth, however the 1 tube that is being trolled off the 3rd line (which is trolled in the middle of the spread) is positioned slightly behind the other two tubes. This is because that middle rod holder is positioned just a little nearer to the back of the Miss Loretta than my other two rod holders. The 3rd tube and worm rig is trolled just a few feet in back of the other tube rigs. This makes it appear to the bass as if one of the tubes is lagging behind the main school-making it more vulnerable to attack.
It's the same idea that goes into squid bars and umbrella rigs. The rule of thumb is that you generally troll one lure or bait that trails slightly behind the school. With three tubes at once, your are putting together a "school of worms" wiggling through the water. One of the tubes (worms) has slipped a bit behind the other two tube rigs (worms). Striped bass typically focus in on the prey items that fall behind the rest of the pack. I imagine this is the reason why my center tube generally out-fishes the other two tube and worm rigs. It's the small details like this that can help you catch more fish on your next outing.
About the Author:
Captain Ryan Collins fishes for striped bass and Bluefin tuna off Cape Cod, MA. Visit his blog, myfishingcapecod.com for insider tips about trolling for bass and giant tuna.
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