Trolling vs Casting

[LittleWorm]

Just wanted to see what everyone opinion is on trolling vs casting for pike and walleye. I myself seem to have better luck casting ( maybe that's because I do most of my fishing from shore ) then trolling. Even when I am in the boat with my dad I am casting ahead of it. My dad on the other had will only troll, he does not believe in casting in any way. It has led to may arguments when we are in the boat together. I guess eves very old school about things, has to be trolling and pretty much will only use spoons ( red and white and the silver red eye ) .

I believe both have their place but in the end I do think casting is better, you have more control over your line and can react better I think.

I'm bored at work so I just wanted to see what experienced ( and not so experienced ) fishermen think.

Eric

P.S I had posted this by mistake in the wrong section. On my phone at work and I have stubby sausage fingers.

[mike rousseau]

For me on the river here trolling is more effective but casting or jigging is more fun

 

If I have to catch I troll

[porkpie]

I troll for pickerel about 70 percent of the time. It's very effective, the rest of my time is spent vertical jigging or casting husky jerks in the spring. If you become a competent troller you can become very effective at catching pics (and plenty of bonus pike). But it's not just chucking a daredevil over the side and calling it good!

[Governator]

I find trolling rather boring but find it more successful during the day. If I'm going for the morning bite, I prefer drift casting over weed beds.

[lookinforwalleye]

Listen to your Father grasshopper!!!!

[manitoubass2]

Casting for me, 95% of the time.

 

I know the structure etc im looking for and can pick off specific areas of said structure.

 

If I was on huge water bodies, I'd probably change my tune real quick though

 

Only time I've trolling is if we need a quick lunch and aren't doing shore lunch

Edited May 10, 2017 by manitoubass2

[misfish]

When I know and only know, the bite is trolling, Im trolling by rowing or bumming a ride on a real boat. BUT, when I know, and only know, the bite is from just out from shore, Im casting or jigging or just dead sticking. Thats only if I know. If I dont, I just follow Terry. LOL

 

 

Having a toon is so much fun, and takes the shore thing out of the equation. Find a spot, drop it in, and away you go.

 

 

You say your a big guy, but that dose not mean you got to be stuck on shore. I was a boat guy. No more boats for me, so when I found that fishing from a toon was so much fun, well, I fish from a toon now.

 

Search them, you might just find yourself, floating about and enjoying just like me,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, oh and Terry,,,,,,,,

[Raf]

fish hold in spots where trolling is ineffective and fish hold in spots where casting is ineffective

 

pick the method for the spot.

 

it's hard to beat the amount of water you can cover trolling. it's hard to beat how well you can pick apart a spot casting

[Terry]

f i know the spot to fish...jig

if i know an area...cast

if i am searching...troll

[Musky Plug]

I also fish with a buddy who is like you dad and likes to troll constantly. I believe that every situation is different so you need to decide which is best.

[b_cdot]

Such a hard answer for that one. I prefer whatever one catches more fish some applications is casting, jigging, drifting but great lakes walleyes trolling is the only way to go!

[OhioFisherman]

Depth control and keeping a lure in the strike zone was pretty easy on Lake Erie years back, trolling a wiggle wart or hot n tot for walleye was usually the way to go, it also worked for finding smallies on Erie. If you're fishing an 8 - 10 mile section of rocky bottom do you really want to make a million casts to locate them if you don't have to?

 

Used to catch a lot of pike trolling up north.

[GBW]

f i know the spot to fish...jig

if i know an area...cast

if i am searching...troll

Same.

However Eric you and your father are are covering the best of both worlds at the same time. I don't troll often at all because I have my areas and key spots. Also the spots I go to the weeds come up to about 7" to 12" from surface to top of weeds even in 14' of water

[kickingfrog]

I'd rather catch fish casting, but I know that when it's done right trolling of often more effective. Your lure is at the proper depth the whole time versus a cast where part of the retrieve is getting the lure down to the correct depth and then part is the lure coming up again and then you cast it again. But again, for me, I'm out to enjoy myself and I don't solely measure that in fish caught. We do troll, but often it's to move to another casting spot, take a break or eat.

[kickingfrog]

Another point to consider is that back in the day, good casting reels just didn't exist the way they do now, so you either still fished or dragged line.

Edited May 11, 2017 by kickingfrog

[SirCranksalot]

f i know the spot to fish...jig

if i know an area...cast

if i am searching...troll

That's it in a nutshell!

[Rizzo]

Most of my fishing is done for muskies on L St Clair. Since the people I take are usually pretty new to musky fishing no way am I gonna cast! Couple rookies launching giant baits is not good for my health. Plus in L St Clair you can have 2 lines per person. With three guys in a boat, trolling 6 lines off planer boards, it works out pretty effective most days

[scuro2]

"Cold" fishing troll, "hot" fishing cast.

[LittleWorm]

Thanks for the info guys.

Guess I can't really show my dad this post and say " see, told you I was right " bu then again he can't really say that to me either.

I guess each situation is different. I think want really grinds my gears is when we are trolling and there are fish on the fish finder, he trolls by once and if he does not get a bite he just leaves . To me trolling through a bunch of fish once and moving on if you do not get a bite on the first try is not really good.

[Old Ironmaker]

f i know the spot to fish...jig

if i know an area...cast

if i am searching...troll

Yes Siree. Troll to locate then cast away to your hearts content. This time of year trolling for Pike can be snaggy where Mr. and Mrs. Pike are sunning them selves in shallow water.

 

Now when you get to be as old as your Dad and I ask me then, well I probably won't hear you, why old fellas like trolling? Especially when casting those bricks the Essox guys call lures.

[msp]

My buddy and I do a technique I call strolling.

He loves to troll and I prefer casting. I stand in the front and cast the shoreline while he sits on his ass and trolls.

Very low speeds. When I need a bit more time on a piece of structure he puts the boat in neutral or turns off the trolling motor. I get a couple extra casts in on said piece of structure and we continue on. We both catch fish. Very effective way of fishing. Cover lots of water.

[floater]

Whom ever is running the boat decides! The passenger should be ready for both.

[AKRISONER]

im sure on some lakes and areas trolling eyes is the most effective, especially during the summer with planer boards etc etc...you also cant argue against the water you get to cover...however, if you know an area well enough, its hard to say that trolling will produce more than a pickerel honey hole.

 

Drop shotting has provided 20 fish an hour multiple times, i just dont think thats possible trolling.

[grimsbylander]

There's no right answer here. They're two completely different techniques that when used correctly, will outshine the other. Go tell a salmon guy on the Great lakes to start casting, or a bass fisherman in the pads to troll?

Oh and when I'm in new water and have no spots, the LAST thing I would do is troll. Trolling is non-specific enough without adding the element of vast unknown water. Use visual land structure and charts and if you find fish are scattered on certain features including an area in the water column, troll away if you wish. But as a search tool? Not for me.

[BillM]

im sure on some lakes and areas trolling eyes is the most effective, especially during the summer with planer boards etc etc...you also cant argue against the water you get to cover...however, if you know an area well enough, its hard to say that trolling will produce more than a pickerel honey hole.

 

Drop shotting has provided 20 fish an hour multiple times, i just dont think thats possible trolling.

 

More then possible trolling, again it all depends on the lake, time of year and what structure the fish are holding against. When those walleyes are tucked into the weed edges, you won't find a better approach then trolling those edges with harnesses, etc. You could drop shot, but you'd be covering so much less water.