Need tips for trolling for trout at Hagg

[bass]

Guys, it is really simple and you can all validate it for yourselves. Next time you catch a trout hold it up and turn it. Any angle from which you can see one pupil is in the monocular range of the trout's vision. Any angle from which you can see both pupils is in the binocular range of vision. Fish can't see directly underneath them but they have quite a wide range of monocular vision. Their binocular vision is best to the top and somewhat in front of the fish. The blind spot of any creature are the angles from which light can't enter the pupil.

 

[fish face]

Guys, it is really simple and you can all validate it for yourselves. Next time you catch a trout hold it up and turn it. Any angle from which you can see one pupil is in the monocular range of the trout's vision. Any angle from which you can see both pupils is in the binocular range of vision. Fish can't see directly underneath them but they have quite a wide range of monocular vision. Their binocular vision is best to the top and somewhat in front of the fish. The blind spot of any creature are the angles from which light can't enter the pupil.

Dr. K would be proud of you.

 

[bass]

Now in terms of trolling for trout

I troll out of my kayak. As such I do not want a lot of stuff between me and the fish. I use a 3-way swivel with about a 2' dropper for a 1-2oz sinker and 3-4' leader on the other eye for a lure. The lures I used last fall (really the first time pursuing trout by trolling) were a small panther martin on one rod and a small roostertail on the other. On each spinner I tie a couple of inch leader to a trailer hook. I then put about 1/2 nightcrawler hooked onto the treble and onto the trailer. This worked extremely well for us last year. A ton of the fish we caught were hooked only on the trailer. Now, when we were fishing in the fall the water was low and pretty clear. I kept my lures down about 15-25' deep. That was the depth where I marked most fish.

However, on some days when the weather was nice and calm in the afternoon and you could see trout rising I would drift around and toss a spinner (cast and retrieve). That was a lot of fun and got me way more fish than trolling once they started rising.

So, the take away is to experiment with depth and run some different lures on different rods. (The funny thing is that we would catch a couple on the roostertail then a couple on the panther martin. It did not seem like any one lure stayed hot all day.) Try different techniques. I think impatience and determination are the best qualities any angler can possess.

 

[Seahawkfan]

Now in terms of trolling for trout

I troll out of my kayak. As such I do not want a lot of stuff between me and the fish. I use a 3-way swivel with about a 2' dropper for a 1-2oz sinker and 3-4' leader on the other eye for a lure. The lures I used last fall (really the first time pursuing trout by trolling) were a small panther martin on one rod and a small roostertail on the other. On each spinner I tie a couple of inch leader to a trailer hook. I then put about 1/2 nightcrawler hooked onto the treble and onto the trailer. This worked extremely well for us last year. A ton of the fish we caught were hooked only on the trailer. Now, when we were fishing in the fall the water was low and pretty clear. I kept my lures down about 15-25' deep. That was the depth where I marked most fish.

However, on some days when the weather was nice and calm in the afternoon and you could see trout rising I would drift around and toss a spinner (cast and retrieve). That was a lot of fun and got me way more fish than trolling once they started rising.

So, the take away is to experiment with depth and run some different lures on different rods. (The funny thing is that we would catch a couple on the roostertail then a couple on the panther martin. It did not seem like any one lure stayed hot all day.) Try different techniques. I think impatience and determination are the best qualities any angler can possess.

Thanks Bass, I'm gonna try my luck tomorrow again at Hagg with the same setup that killed em a few weeks ago. Looks like it will be just me and my boat as my oldest Son bailed just a few hours ago. I appreciate your input and will defiantly keep it mind.

Anyone else gonna be at Hagg tomorrow?

 

[bass]

Thanks Bass, I'm gonna try my luck tomorrow again at Hagg with the same setup that killed em a few weeks ago. Looks like it will be just me and my boat as my oldest Son bailed just a few hours ago. I appreciate your input and will defiantly keep it mind.

Anyone else gonna be at Hagg tomorrow?

Best of luck I am sick as a dog or I would be out there tomorrow. My observations are from low water, clear water conditions. Please do not take my advice on particular tactics as useful. Tomorrow you should focus on being flexible and on adapting to the conditions. Best of luck. Please let us know how you do.

 

[SailCat]

Fish can't see directly underneath them but they have quite a wide range of monocular vision. Their binocular vision is best to the top and somewhat in front of the fish. The blind spot of any creature are the angles from which light can't enter the pupil.

Precisely, as substantiated by yet another diagram from the all-knowing Internets:


If trout could see downward, they'd be much stealthier when feeding in the shallows as they would not have the need to rotate their bodies downward (as they do) in order to view the bottom of the lake, exposing their location to anglers by displaying their their tails to anglers (which they also do).

BTW, I have read Kageyama's book (along with a few others). He is in error on this point but them he is a doctor of humanoid, not piscatorial optometrics. The fish can see color is a fact know for decades. As me sometime how purple plastic worms came about.

This is a delightful exchange but science is gonna win this one. <G>

Tight lines, all!

 

[Seahawkfan]

Best of luck I am sick as a dog or I would be out there tomorrow. My observations are from low water, clear water conditions. Please do not take my advice on particular tactics as useful. Tomorrow you should focus on being flexible and on adapting to the conditions. Best of luck. Please let us know how you do.

Did ok today. Got a later start than I was planning. I launched at ramp A about 8:45,... Quickly hooked two on a troll just heading towards Scoggins. Missed about 20 fish on the bite...... Not sure what I was doing wrong, same set up as last week when I didn't lose but a couple on the bite.

Decided to put a snubber on ,... It was weird, that made my flasher want to stay on the surface even at 1mph. Screw that. I took the flasher and snubber off and went straight wedding ring with a couple eggs. At that point I started catching Ended up keeping 4, let 8 go and seriously lost 20 on the bite.

Weird Day.

 

[SailCat]

Did you have the snubber ahead of the flasher or between the flasher and the lure?

 

[bass]

Did ok today. Got a later start than I was planning. I launched at ramp A about 8:45,... Quickly hooked two on a troll just heading towards Scoggins. Missed about 20 fish on the bite...... Not sure what I was doing wrong, same set up as last week when I didn't lose but a couple on the bite.

Decided to put a snubber on ,... It was weird, that made my flasher want to stay on the surface even at 1mph. Screw that. I took the flasher and snubber off and went straight wedding ring with a couple eggs. At that point I started catching Ended up keeping 4, let 8 go and seriously lost 20 on the bite.

Weird Day.

I was missing a lot of fish until I started using a trailer hook. Since then my hookup and landing ratio is quite high. So, when you say you lost 20 fish did you lose them on the fight in or were they missed strikes? Of the fish that you landed how were they hooked (barely, solidly, deeply)?

 

[Seahawkfan]

Did you have the snubber ahead of the flasher or between the flasher and the lure?

Directly behind the flasher.

 

[Seahawkfan]

I was missing a lot of fish until I started using a trailer hook. Since then my hookup and landing ratio is quite high. So, when you say you lost 20 fish did you lose them on the fight in or were they missed strikes? Of the fish that you landed how were they hooked (barely, solidly, deeply)?

Lost them on the bite. I could feel them take the presentations but couldn't get a good hook set. To much worm? I don't really think so because I was experimenting between just tipping the hook and leaving a little worm hanging.

Most of the fish I hooked were lip hooked rather well to where I could easily release them unharmed. Starting to wonder if it was due to the treble hook...., maybe the lost bites were new stockers that weren't able to get the whole hook in their mouth?

Anyway still had fun. Lots of action and as always fun to learn new techniques. Thanks for all of your guys input and advice. What I really like about trolling is the fact that most of the fish are just mouth hooked (not belly hooked) and are easy to release unharmed.

 

[bass]

Glad to hear you had a fun day. That is the real measure of success.

In terms of improving your hookup ratio I recommend you try the trailer hook. Made a huge difference for me. The other thing I learned is to be patient on the bites. I did much better when I left my rod in the holder until they hooked themselves.

 

[troutmasta]

This is a delightful exchange but science is gonna win this one. <G>

Tight lines, all!

Science always wins.

 

[fish face]

Science always wins.

But not always correct.

 

[Denduran87]

Killed them today at Hagg. By just experimenting I found a trolling rig that I could not keep the fish OFF of. The sheriffs said we had the best stringer they had seen all day, and that was at 430 pm. While I was getting my yearly inspection done by a young officer 2 more had to come over and check out the fish and were inquiring about how and where we caught them.

Real nice day.

Awesome!

 

[SailCat]

But not always correct.

"The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

[bass]

"The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Neil deGrasse Tyson

No question about that. The problem is that folks use that quote to try and validate bro-science, pseudo-science and information from non-peer reviewed literature.