Trolling Fishing Tips And Techniques

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Open Water Fishing and Trolling: Fishing Tips, Tactics, Techniques, Articles and
General Information for Great Lakes Salmon, Steelhead, Trout and other species

Trolling the Great Lakes for salmon and trout in the early hours before Trolling in the darkdawn can be invigorating. Setting up your fishing lines in the dark of night with Glow in the Dark lures. The anticipation of waiting for that tell-tale scream of your reels drag when a large salmon or trout slams your lure. The thrill and challenge of fighting multiple salmon at the same time in the dark of night and early morning light from the back of the boat. As dawn first breaks, you can welcome the day with a spectacular sunrise. That early morning Great Lakes salmon and trout bite is legendary. Many successful anglers and charter boat operators catch the majority of their fish during the summer months in the early morning peak bite period. As the sun rises its now time to start changing tactics.

The water clarity of the Great Lakes has changed dramatically in the past decade. When as a child you could stand in the water on the beach ankle deep and barely see your toes. Now water visibility is up to 20-30 feet deep. This increase in water clarity has spawned a growth in stealth trolling techniques and tactics for salmon and trout fishing in the Great Lakes.

The different types of fishing tips, articles and techniques related to open water fishing and trolling are logically separated into several major topic categories:

General Information
Species Tactics and Techniques
Open Water Boat Fishing and Trolling Tips and Techniques

Specific techniques and tips related to each type of fishing can be found in the different categories. Salmon, trout, steelhead and other species of fish fishing articles are also included.

General Information

Boating Safety Information General information about boating safety on the Great Lakes with course information and checklists.

Online Boating Safety Course The Online Boating Course is approved to meet the basic boater education requirements in certain states.
Boating Safety, Tips and Information This online course is approved by NASBLA and recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard. Successful completion of this course may qualify you for marine insurance discounts and meets many states mandatory boating education requirements.
US Coast Guard Information from the US Coast Gaurd for boating safely in the Great Lakes.
Boating Checklist A general checklist of items for boating on the Great Lakes.
Are you insured? A general insurance question that needs to be answered before venturing out fishing on the Great Lakes.

Boat Setup Information Information about general boat setup.
Lowrance Electronics Tutorial A tutorial about electronic sonar and its use.

Species Tactics and Techniques

How to troll Peanut Flies for Spring Coho Salmon:

Bucktailing for Salmon:

Bucktailing for Salmon An article that describes the fishing technique of surface bucktailing for salmon using trolling flies.

Luhr Jensen Technical Reports: (requires Adobe reader)

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Lake Trolling for Trout A technical overview of trolling techniques for Trout.
Spoon Jigging for Trout in Lakes A technical overview of jigging spoon techniques for Trout in lakes.
Drift Jigging Techniques A technical overview of drift jigging spoon techniques.
Kwikfish for Chinook A Technical review of using Kwikfish for Chinook Salmon, uncluding tactics, techniques, and how to bait wrap a kwikfish using herring or bait strips.