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OFFSHORE TROLLING
Make your bait stand out.
Use alot of teasers at 25', 20' and 15' off the back. Run some half way up the outriggers using squid umbrellas, strip teasers, a large fender teaser and put a flat line right behind them with something like a ballyhoo/cigar minnow lure combo and then a small mackeral behind that.
Fish get mad cause they can't eat the teasers and they will then hit a hooked bait. You can also use a extra large lure as a teaser and put a hook in it too.
Always run a spread with some "meat" in it, dead or alive.
Run at the speed that makes your spread "work". Chugger lures etc should mimick flying fish in that they
should create a bubble trail, stop bubbling and then start again. Due to wind and waves, etc, this may be at different speeds. Trolling live bait, you can kill them if too fast and cause them to swim around and tangel if too slow.
Use flurocarbon when trolling at 80-100lbs for leader (use some short wire leaders when kings present)
George rec's that you only use fluro once per catch due to loss of properties after "stressed". Also,
you can carry alcohol wipes to clean the leaders so they remain transparant. You can cut away
mono or replace top shots over braid as needed or after heavy days of fishing.
Most fish will hit a combo black/silver/purple lure and dolphin like pink/white.
Check the gut of the first keeper fish you catch to "match the hatch".
So, slow trolling: use two hook lures with a bit of wire leader fast troll: single hook lures with heavy mono
or Fluro.
Always fish a lure near the prop wash
Weedline, use a 4-6" jig or poppers to tease big dolphin out while trolling. If you are only catchin small
dolphin, rig a big horse ballyhoo etc bait so the peanuts can't get it and the comotion may entice
a larger fish to come out of the weeds or depth to strike. Also, many times, the big ones will hang
deep under the weed line as will wahoo, so run a downrigger if possible. If you can see them but not
catch them, use a bait net and catch some weedline creatures and put them on a hook and cast into the
weedline. Also, a live shrimp on light tackle works. Use small squid skirts to make lures "weedless".
Adjustments for poor biting: 1. live bait 2. Gulp 3. deep trolling 30'+ 4. chuggers
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