BAD WEATHER FISHING TACTICS

The Deadliest Tactic of All

EDITOR'S NOTE: For too long, many of us have allowed competitive bass fishing to dictate how we catch bass. In doing so, we may have forgotten one of the deadliest bass fishing tactics ever. Most bass tournaments don't allow anglers to troll, but this technique can produce more bass on any lake in the country - at any time of the year - than most other methods of fishing. When you troll, you keep your lure in the fish's strike zone longer and cover more water more quickly than with other tactics. Trolling a deep-diving crankbait on the edges of creek channels, river channels, underwater humps and islands and across main rivers and secondary points will produce bass at any time of the year.

WHAT TO TROLL WHERE:

In cool weather, the bass may prefer that you troll a bait smaller than a deep-diving crankbait when you troll. To increase your odds of catching more bass, tie a 12- to 14-inch piece of 17-pound test monofilament to the end of the last treble hook on the crankbait. To the other end of the monofilament, tie a small silver spoon or a Rooster Tail. This strategy lets you troll two baits at one time, increasing the variety, and therefore the number, of fish you attract. When you troll the lip of the break on creek and river channels, you'll find that crappie, catfish, white bass and walleye (on lakes that contain walleye) like to hold on this breakline. That's fine - successful trolling means you will take a mixed bag of fish, not just bass. When you troll main river and secondary points, this tandem-trolling tactic can produce largemouth, smallmouth, and/or spotted bass, depending on the variety of bass in the lake. If you locate bass on deep-water humps, underwater islands or Indian mounds beneath the surface of the water, you can use a Gapen Baitwalker to help get your bait down to the bottom. You also can fish with a three-way swivel up the line from your crankbait. Then add a small teardrop or egg-shaped sinker to one eye of the three-way swivel to get your lure down to the deep water depths.

Use your depth finder when trolling to mark off a portion of a river or a creek ledge to find more fish. By knowing the exact position of the breakline, you can troll one rod on the shallow side and another rod on the deep side of the breakline. Once you locate fish on either side of the breakline, you can concentrate your trolling efforts on the most-productive side.

TOMORROW: MORE ON TROLLING