Sheer trolling from a boat: fishing technique and selection of gear

With the advent of modern spinning gear and various artificial baits in amateur fishing, interest in vertical trolling from a boat has clearly faded, moving this type of hunting to the category of an exotic type of predator prey. Many anglers are only familiar with the technique of open water fishing by hearsay, preferring to use vertical lures for fishing from ice. Although today there are all the prerequisites for the cultivation and development of hunting techniques due to the availability of accessible small-sized motorized swimming devices and gadgets with navigation functions capable of providing accurate characteristics of the structure of a reservoir, the presence of fish in it and marking promising places in the memory of the device.

The attractiveness of vertical fishing is also added by the fact that you can catch many types of predatory fish, the main ones being pike perch, perch and pike, and also, with certain specifics in the selection of baits and fishing techniques, you can have trophies in the form of chub and even catfish.

Having familiarized himself with the information offered to the reader throughout the article, he will be able to learn the main nuances of organizing fishing from a boat in a plumb line, assemble an effective fishing rod with an arsenal of working baits, and also delve into the essence of the classic fishing technique for catching the main group of freshwater predators inhabiting our rivers.

Gear used

Let’s immediately make a reservation that choosing a specialized fishing rod for vertical lures in a fishing store will not be easy due to the scanty number of offers. Manufacturers are not focused on this product due to low demand, so the fisherman will have to look for the optimal gear among the options for winter spinning rods and selecting a spinning rod for open water fishing with a short whip. With reels and cords, the problem is not so acute, and it will not be difficult for a future lure-maker to select the necessary accessories according to the parameters. We will talk further about the intricacies of selecting components for plumb fishing gear.

The rod as the main tool

As has already become clear to the reader, the choice of fishing rod is the most problematic issue on which attention is focused when completing the tackle. The fishing technique requires a rigid form that can respond to any contact of the fish with the bait with a reliable hook. Such requirements can be provided by ultra-fast and rapid construction of the gear.

The optimal rod length for comfortable trolling from a boat will be in the range from 75 cm to 1.2 meters. Miniature-sized gear can be found in the line of winter spinning rods; options over one meter are looked for in the classic spinning fishing gear departments. A one-piece form or, in extreme cases, a plug-in type of connection is considered effective in fishing.

Important! Telescopic rods are not suitable for vertical fishing methods, as they quickly fail due to the appearance of strong backlash in the joints, which causes a loss of sensitivity.

The blank material can also be fiberglass, which will provide a certain power reserve, but it is more convenient to fish with a lighter rod made of a composite or carbon fiber composition. A cork or polyurethane handle will be a good addition to any fishing rod.

Coil

When choosing a reel, preference is given to inertial mechanism options with medium diameters, not exceeding 10–12 cm. A classic inertial reel with a substantial reserve will accommodate the required number and diameter of cord on the reel, quickly deliver bait to any depth and help in retrieving the caught trophy. From the reel's functionality, a ratchet brake is sufficient. Casting baits is carried out short, and the spinner does not have to worry about the beards that frighten the spinner during normal spinning fishing, so the spinning reel meets all the requirements for a set of tackle.

fishing line

Short fishing distances provide all the prerequisites for using monofilament lines as cords. In the case of vertical trolling from a boat, high stretch coefficients of the material are considered a positive quality of the monofilament, compensating for overloads when fishing for massive fish. Depending on the size of the trophy expected in the catches, fishing line with a diameter of 0.25-0.30 mm is used. In special cases, a fishing line of 0.4 -0.6 mm is used, taking into account the fact that the performance of the bait on a thick cord will be much worse, but this disadvantage can be smoothed out by catching an active and large trophy.

Important! When fishing for pike, a soft Kevlar leash about 20 cm long is included in the rig.

When catching other types of fish, bait is tied directly to the fishing line. As a rule, to ensure vertical fishing, it is enough to have a supply of colorless cord of 25–30 meters.

What kind of live bait does pike prefer?

Based on this, live bait is truly a universal and very effective bait.

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As for pike, roaches, perches, and brushes are well suited as live bait, but in general, the bait is selected depending on which fry lives in a particular body of water. That is, what the pike feeds on is what you need to catch it for!

Selection of working baits

For fishing from a boat in the classic style, large and heavy vertical lures are used. Hunting tactics involve fishing places with moderate and strong currents at significant depths, so it is easier and faster to deliver a heavy bait to the desired water horizon, to give it a stable and even game, and it is also more noticeable to a predator. According to some fishing strategies, massive oscillating spoons, silicone baits, dead fish and even winter balancers are used in fishing.

Retrieving medium and small baits can be done successfully if you use additional weight in the rigs and attach the spoon itself through a retractable leash. The color design of the bait when fishing at great depths does not play an important role in the success of the bite. A positive result depends directly on the manner of play and accurate delivery.

When fishing areas with depths of 3–5 meters, in clear water, copper and brass spoons in a natural dull color are promising. In turbid waters, silver baits show the best results. Experienced spinners advise purchasing or making double-sided bimetallic spinners, where one side is made of copper or brass, and the other part is made of lead with silver applied to its surface. This design of a spinner for vertical trolling is considered universal.

Sea fishing from a boat at a rate.

The gear for this method of fishing is quite simple and can be made independently at home.
Rules for choosing:

If you use store-bought fishing rods, you can purchase the shortest stick, no more than 1 meter long. Pike perch is not too fond of large baits, so the rod test can be only 20 g.
The reel, also chosen without “bells and whistles”, copes with its function very well; a small inertial reel, although inertia-free, at a slightly higher cost, is successfully used for this method of catching pike perch.
The fishing line must have a diameter of at least 0.4 mm. If the fishing line is chosen thinner, then the play of the bait at depth, with a vertical lure, is not so attractive for this fish.

The bait for hunting pike perch in this way is a vertical spoon, which, when lowered to the bottom and then rises, plays in the water column, thereby resembling a small fish that pike perch feeds on. To catch this fish, small spinners with a length of 50–70 mm are used.

To fish for pike perch from a boat in a vertical position, you can use not only spinners designed for such fishing, but also live fish. When fishing with live bait, the movements of the rod should be smoother so that the live bait retains the ability to move underwater attractively for the fish longer.

You can fish this way with an artificial wobbler fish. Small sinking models with a capsule with balls inside are suitable for this purpose; such wobblers create a noise effect to better attract a predator.

But live bait still has advantages over artificial baits; not a single spinner or wobbler is able to replicate the attractive smell of live fish, and even a virtuoso fisherman is not able to imitate the “dancing under water” that live bait performs.

Bleak, the favorite delicacy of this predator, is used as live bait. To ensure that the fish is preserved for a long time and does not lose its “marketable appearance,” live bait is placed in a can for storing fish. Many models of this device are equipped with an aerator that saturates the water with oxygen, which significantly increases the lifespan of small fish.

If it is not possible to stock up on a sufficient amount of bleak for pike-perch fishing, then you can use sprat, which can just as successfully be used for catching pike-perch from a boat in a vertical line.

When fishing with heavy winter lures, you can make sudden movements with the rod without fear for the safety of the metal gear. Unlike live bait, it is almost impossible to damage the spoon.

You can try to catch this predator using silicone bait.

The tackle must be loaded, otherwise the light rubber will not be delivered to the bottom of the reservoir where the “saber-tooth monster” is located. In warm water, this fishing method very often brings results, especially if the sinker, to which a silicone bait is attached, is slowly drawn along the bottom of the reservoir.

With such wiring, a cloud of turbidity, which is raised by a lead sinker, will definitely be noticed by pike perch or other predatory fish.

Not all spinning baits are suitable for vertically catching predators. The most commonly used baits are oscillating spoons and soft minnows.

Some of the most catchy baits for vertical trolling are frogs and cuttlefish. They have a certain planning effect. Thanks to him, the action of the bait is smooth and quite natural.
The best passive bait is considered to be an octopus with long tentacles. For some reason this monster attracts the attention of pike. By the way, something similar happened with our ancestors, when a bunch of worms clung to a heavy jig.

As for jig heads, most varieties are suitable for vertical fishing. These can be models with an upper ring located in the central part (rugby, ball), or weights with a front mounting loop (spoon, banana). Useful additions to jig heads include rattles, noise eyes, etc.

For catching sea fish, as for fishing on the river, use a standard float rod. Its use is limited to places where there are piers, moorings, breakwaters or breakwaters. In such a place, long-distance casting of the tackle is not required; the fish stands along the wall and eagerly responds to the offered bait. Rods are used with a length of 4 - 5 meters; a spinning reel with a spool length of 1000 or more is required.

Despite the fact that fishing is carried out along coastal structures, the depth along them reaches several tens of meters; therefore, for successful fishing, at least 30 - 35 meters of fishing line with a diameter of 0.25 millimeters are used. You can catch with a float rod:

sea crucian;
sea bass;
bull;
mullet;

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For catching horse mackerel in a plumb line, from piers and other structures, a cunning, catchy tackle is used, called “tyrant”. Its peculiarity is that no bait is required when using it. It is usually used in combination with a spinning rod up to 3 meters long and a dough of at least 200 grams.

The “tyrant” itself is a garland of 8 – 10 hooks equipped with shiny threads (the “rain” Christmas tree decoration is often used). Hooks are used No. 4, No. 5 with a long shank. The installation distance between the hook attachment points is 25 centimeters, the length of the leash is 10 - 15 centimeters. This tackle can easily be used both for vertical fishing and when fishing from the shore over long distances.

Bottom coastal fishing allows the fisherman to get such Black Sea trophies as:

1 flounder;
2 mullet;
3 foreheads;
4 croakers;
5 garfish and other fish.

The structure of the bottom tackle is quite simple. A spinning rod with a cast weight of more than 300 grams is necessary for long-distance casting and reliable fixation of gear with a load of 200 grams or more on the seabed. If you use light weights, then the waves and sea current will not allow you to fix the bait with hooks on the seabed and fishing will not bring results.

Saltwater angler's tip: When installing a bottom hook, you should put a foam ball on the shank of the hook, which will raise the hook above the bottom seaweed and make the bait more attractive. This tip is suitable for catching small fish, including flounder.

The Black Sea water area is famous for the fact that in the autumn and spring periods fishing is especially effective using various spinners, vibrating tails, and other silicone or foam baits for spinning rods. With this type of fishing, the result is brought by the presence of a large number of different baits that imitate wounded fish or a sea worm, squid or shrimp.

Spinning rods are used with a rod length of more than 3 meters for confident long-distance casting. The reels use spinning reels with a spool that can easily accommodate 150 meters of fishing line. When fishing from the shore, you should take several gear with you, equip the bottoms with bite alarms in the daytime with bells, and at night with light alarms.

Separately, it is worth paying attention to the reliability of the vessel; the sea does not forgive mistakes and requires extreme caution and strict adherence to safety requirements. It would also be a good idea to use life jackets. What do they use to catch fish from a boat in the sea? Fishing on the open sea does not require special knowledge.

The main requirement is reliable, high-quality gear. Often cheap fakes break after the first or second use. So, the main method of fishing from a boat (boat) is trolling. This technique is relevant at sea, since a huge area opens up for the fisherman to search for fish and catch it. The basis of trolling is a short spinning rod up to two meters long, equipped with a multiplier reel capable of holding up to 300 - 400 meters of fishing line.

With this type of fishing, the line is set strong and with a lot of dough. Often, when fishing from a boat, you come across trophy specimens of enormous size, which still need to be lifted from great depths. When fishing by trolling, several gears located at the stern of the vessel are used simultaneously.

This will require two or three spinning rods. For fishing from a boat, you should choose a rod from 2.4 to 3 meters. It will allow you to catch a trophy without much effort. Tests of such spinning rods must be at least 60 grams. It can be equipped with both multiplier and spinning reels. The requirements for them are the same as for fishing from the shore.

Unlike fishing from the shore, fishing with a tyrant has more prospects; a fisherman can use a larger number of hooks and mount up to 15–20 of them on the tackle, thereby increasing the chances of catching a large number of fish. The “tyrant” sinks into the water without casting far and while it sinks to the bottom - the boat moves away from the casting point under the influence of waves or sea currents, the fisherman can only wait for the line to weaken and select the tackle with smooth jerks, winding the fishing line onto the reel.

Choosing the right boat and echo sounder

To organize vertical lure fishing, the right solution would be to use a boat with a motor. The motor will allow you to quickly change fishing points, quickly searching large water areas for promising predator sites, which is incomparable in comparison with fishing on a row-powered boat.

Important! Wooden boats and PVC boats, when rafted and at anchor, create less noise from wave impacts, so their use is more rational than the use of metal watercraft and is given priority when fishing with vertical lures, causing less alarm to the fish.

The boat is equipped with an anchor capable of holding the craft in the river current, and its carrying capacity must correspond to the number of fishermen simultaneously fishing. An echo sounder will become a reliable assistant for a fisherman. After all, even anglers who constantly fish in the same places will not be able to predict where the fish are exactly. With an echo sounder, you can quickly study the structure of the bottom of an unfamiliar body of water, looking for differences in depth, snags and bottom anomalies where a predator will most often stand and with a high degree of probability conduct obviously successful fishing.

Modern models of echo sounders have options for storing points by navigation coordinates, as well as the ability to display the movements of the trophy itself on the monitor, which makes searching for and catching fish much easier.

Features of tactics

Since this type of fishing is aimed at great depths, it is not advisable to use vertical lures at depths of less than 3 meters - large predators are quite cautious and will be suspicious of the shadow of a boat. In reservoirs, it is better to immediately look for differences in depth and purposefully fish for them, using the wind or current to move slowly along the promising area. If the wind or current is too strong, it is necessary to use various options for braking anchors or so-called water sails. It is important to remember that the angle at which the fishing line or cord departs from the swimming device should approach 90 degrees; sharp angles are not suitable for vertical fishing, as the action of the bait deteriorates and the likelihood of a snag increases.

The tactics on lowland rivers are somewhat different. Their bed can also often be quite deep, but obvious differences in depth are rare. In such conditions, a zigzag trajectory of the boat with the catching of the encountered concentrations of fish would be appropriate.

Sheer luster technique

The technique of vertical fishing is uncomplicated and simple. There are two main methods of doing this type of fishing from a boat: the boat is anchored at a promising point or the boat is floated downstream. The actions of the spinner consist of supplying bait to the bottom water horizon, followed by tossing the spinner with a certain frequency and amplitude, depending on the activity of the fish. Hunting for perch, pike and catching pike perch from a boat using the vertical trolling method are identical.

Important! The key to the success of this technique is the correct choice of fishing location with active fish at the point.

As with trolling from ice, an angler should not linger in the same place for a long time without getting bites. 15–20 minutes is enough to determine the presence of a feeding predator in the hunting zone.

The Principle of Plumb Fishing

It is necessary to choose a direction so that the boat floats with the wind or with the current.
You should swim slowly along the water surface in search of those places where the predator lives. It is best to use vertical fishing from a boat on rivers, since lakes and reservoirs do not have the necessary current. The choice of speed depends on weather conditions.

For example, a strong wind allows a boat to travel a greater distance, thereby covering a vast area of water. In the absence of wind, it is best not to sail long distances, but to concentrate on the nearby area.

How to achieve maximum results

The best lure results come from fishing at dawn and on the eve of twilight, especially when the surface of the water is covered with small ripples that camouflage the boat and the lure. Initially, the bait is fed by touching the bottom. Thus, the sound and the rise of a cloud of turbidity lures fish. To continue the animation, the spoons are made 20–40 cm from the bottom base, throwing the bait 15–20 cm, giving it free movement as it falls.

When biting activity is low, but you are confident that the predator is on the spots, it is recommended to attach pieces of fish or dung worms to the hook of the spoon, stimulating bites by irritating the fish’s sense of smell. Experimental fishing using large and loaded silicone baits is useful, especially if the spinner has suitable edible rubber options in his arsenal. Catching pike perch with vertical lures, especially in the summer with the onset of intense heat, is successful at night.

Place and time

The time when you can catch fish in this way begins early in the morning and can last all day until the evening dawn.

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The advantage of this method of fishing is that even a passive pike perch, which is located in a deep hole for an “afternoon rest,” can be easily caught with a vertical lure if positioned for fishing directly above the hole.

Pike perch lives in almost all freshwater bodies of Russia. This fish can be found in deep snags; this is the predator’s favorite habitat. Therefore, if you can correctly identify a sharp deepening of the bottom topography, then half the work in preparing for fishing for this predatory fish has already been done.

How is flashing done in the current?

Sheer trolling in the current, especially if the draft is strong enough, has a number of nuances that require special attention from the angler. First of all, it is worth considering the fact that when bait is supplied, it is carried away by the current, and the greater the depth, the correspondingly greater the error, which affects the accuracy of fishing a certain promising point. In this case, the mass of the bait used is increased or additional weight is added to the installation.

When trolling on rafting in strong winds, the boat is equipped with a parachute anchor that slows down the movement, thereby adjusting the drift speed to suit the fishing conditions. With a successfully spotted trophy, the only exception can be perch; they don’t stand on ceremony when forcing fishing. Any predator takes a plumb line reliably and bites are rare, but the complete swallowing of a spoon by a large fish is a fairly common occurrence.

Recommendations

You can fish vertically throughout the year, but the highest catches of the fanged predator can be obtained in late autumn, when this fish begins to eat heavily.
It is worth doing vertical fishing for pike perch in areas of the reservoir with a rocky bottom. In such places, when casting spinning tackle from the shore, frequent hooks and breaks of the tackle occur, which is practically eliminated when vertical trolling from a boat or cutter.
When fishing for predatory fish this way, the spoon is tied to the main fishing line without the use of leashes. Even if such a toothy predator as a pike lives in the reservoir. When fishing vertically, the hooking of the fish is carried out instantly and in most cases, even the pike does not manage to gnaw the line, due to the vertical rise of the fish and the predator not swallowing the bait too deeply.
If it is not possible to purchase or rent a watercraft, then good results can be obtained by vertical fishing from some hydraulic structure, for example, a bridge or dam.
When hunting for pike perch from a boat in a plumb line, you can do without a rod and reel at all; just wind the required amount of fishing line on a reel, tie a spoon, and you can fish by hand. With this method of fishing, you should use a fishing line with a diameter of at least 0.5 mm, so as not to cut your hands when fishing for trophy fish. If a rubber inflatable boat is used, then this method should be abandoned to prevent damage to the craft from sharp hooks.
If pike perch fishing is carried out on a large body of water or on a river with intense current, then the use of a boat motor will provide high mobility and allow you to explore a large area of the lake or river.
If the fish is so passive that for a long time the fisherman has to “play” with his gear on his own, then when fishing with artificial bait, you can use the tactics that are used for catching pike perch in the winter. To do this, you should tap the bait on the bottom, then slightly lift the bait, then repeat these steps again.
In order to determine promising places in a reservoir for vertical trolling, you should pay attention to sections of rivers with reverse flows and whirlpools; in reservoirs with standing water, deep holes can be identified by the absence of ripples in the water.
Catching pike perch from a boat in a vertical position can be very exciting during the post-spawning feast; at this time, a fisherman, upon discovering a school of this predator, can catch a lot of fanged predators.
It is necessary to start catching pike perch vertically only at depths of 3 meters or more; if the depth is less, then the shy fish will not take the bait, and the angler will only waste time fishing in shallow water.
If the current on the river is significant, then after the predator bites, you need to go back a little upstream and fish the lucky spot again. Pike perch very rarely travels alone, so most likely in this place there is a school that is not at all concerned about the disappearance of its fish brother, and will be interested in the bait lowered to the bottom again.
If at the fishing site there is a hole more than 12 meters deep, and no bites occur when placing the bait near the bottom, then you can try to look for pike perch in the water column. This arrangement of the bait can be very catchy, especially when fishing with live fish.
To successfully catch pike perch from a boat in a vertical position, the weather plays a big role; if it rains a little, then it is still possible to effectively catch pike perch using this method, but if a hurricane wind starts to blow and there is excitement in the reservoir, then you must stop fishing and immediately moor to the shore . Staying in open water under such weather conditions is quite dangerous.
In summer, during extreme heat, it is also not safe to be in open areas of the reservoir; moreover, predatory fish such as pike perch and perch often stand in the shade of trees or bridges at such times. If there is a hole in such places, then the chance of catching a large representative of this type of fish increases many times over.
When fishing vertically, the intensity of movement of the rod should be selected based on the water temperature. In cold water, sudden movements of the bait can even scare off a predator; in summer, on the contrary, it is necessary to manipulate the bait much more sharply.

Plumb trolling of different types of fish

Despite the common features, catching different types of fish using this method has its own distinctive characteristics. Catching pike vertically is quite similar to fishing for pike perch. They use the same fairly large baits, which have a fairly wide and low-amplitude game. Pike wiring is also somewhat different - if for pike perch you usually twitch the rod frequently, then for pike it is believed that a calmer wiring is suitable - with more uniform oscillations and long stops.

Photo 3. Fishing vertically is akin to winter trolling.

Catching perch vertically involves the use of much smaller baits than in the case of pike perch or pike perch. There are also differences in the fishing technique - the perch is more interested in short strokes and lifting of the bait, the play of which is enlivened by the trembling of the rod tip. Such movements can be alternated with sharp strokes, and you can start fishing from the middle horizons of the reservoir. It should be remembered that the higher the water temperature, the higher the chance of meeting perch at medium depths.