Kayak Trolling Tutorial with Jeff Little

[Jeff Little]

Thanks for the offer gkreps! Will do. I just looked at my video channel and the video had 276 views in a day. I also had two new subscriptions to the channel. I'm pretty sure they came from here, so thank you whoever subscribed. It helps keep me in video equipment and hard drives!

[Yak Fish]

Thanks for the offer gkreps! Will do. I just looked at my video channel and the video had 276 views in a day. I also had two new subscriptions to the channel. I'm pretty sure they came from here, so thank you whoever subscribed. It helps keep me in video equipment and hard drives!

Nice Jeff, congrats. I got to see first hand the ridiculously expensive equipment Jeff takes with him to make his films so I'm glad to see him getting some support. A couple of bucks (less than the cost of a cheap lure) to see those videos is money well spent for all the work he put in. I rented the one with Kimbro, best two bucks I've spent. I went out and jigged a few dozen mid 30 inch fish after watching it where I was not very good before, so thanks man! I found out it's not like jigging perch or bass, no wonder I couldn't hook up with one. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't watch it.

[creolo25]

Is the video still available?

[Yak Fish]

Is the video still available?

It looks like the 24 hour free period is over. Good news is that Jeff's only asking a buck for it. There's a free preview though which is 4 minutes of the original 12.
https://tightlinejunkiejournal.pivot...-battista/7233

[Jeff Little]

I kept it up for 24 hours as I mentioned earlier, but I'll extend it another 24 so you can see it. Give me a moment, and consider a subscription. Thanks!

[Runnin]

Thanks Jeff. It really is a good video. Are you still paddling? I'm surprised you haven't traded in the paddle for pedals.

[Shady]

Great Video! I think I need to make a few more adjustments to my trolling game...

[gkreps]

Alan, what is the height of the rod holder poles?,I'm thinking of going your way as I have the same problem as Jeff, hitting my rods while paddling.

[Yak Fish]

Alan, what is the height of the rod holder poles?,I'm thinking of going your way as I have the same problem as Jeff, hitting my rods while paddling.

This is what I'm using: http://www.amazon.com/Scotty-Power-H...tty+rod+holder

[J.A. Veil]

Alan, what is the height of the rod holder poles?,I'm thinking of going your way as I have the same problem as Jeff, hitting my rods while paddling.

Greg -

Alan uses the elevated rod holders and has great success with that configuration. They may give an advantage, particularly when pedaling, but I have never used them (I may try them this summer when I try trolling while pedaling). For my two front rods, I use Scotty rod holders on #438 Scotty gear track head mounts and slide the rod holders to the very front of my gear tracks.

001.jpg

I rarely bumped into the rods themselves, but found that periodically I did bump into the line as I lifted the paddle out of the water after a stroke. In my case, I did not want to use my most powerful paddle stroke (a vertical stroke pattern) when trolling because that would have raised the speed higher than my preferred trolling speed of 1.8 to 2.8 mph (Note that I did get bites at speeds outside of that range but that speed range produced the best results). I found that I could use a slightly modified paddle stroke that was more horizontal than I use for normal cruising, and I often shortened the length of the stroke to keep the speed within range.

Another consideration when trolling with a paddle kayak is what angle do you use between the hull and the rod. Alan shows a 90 deg angle -- he noted that he chose that to give maximum separation of his lures. That is a great idea, particularly when trolling swimming plugs that move around a bit. Alan had the advantage of using his pedal drive for propulsion and did not need to worry about having his paddle bang into the rod on the front or back of a paddle stroke.

Last year I used only a paddle-powered kayak. As a tall guy, I have a long front-to-back reach on my paddle stroke. If I had placed either the front or the rear trolled rods at a 90 deg angle, I would have bumped the rods on most paddle strokes. After some trial and error, I found that I could set the two front rods at about a 30-45 deg angle to the front of perpendicular and set the two rear rods at about a rearward 45 deg angle (the photo shows just three rods that day as I had not yet purchased my second #438 gear track head mount).

015.jpg

That gave me enough room for my paddle stroke. It was a compromise, however, and did bring my lures closer together. I was able to tolerate that most of the time because I was fishing jigheads and soft plastic paddletails or small spinnerbaits that do not jump back and forth as much as plugs do. If you troll plugs, this might not work for you.

If you are planning to get into trolling, study Alan and Jeff's video for some great tips and visuals. Then get out and try it starting with two rods. Figure out where and how you want to position your rods (there is not just one right way to troll -- it is very specific to your own kayak and how you set it up). You need to take your own paddle stroke/pedal stroke and FF/GPS mounting spot into account too so that they do not interfere with the trolled rods and lines. Once you get comfortable with those techniques, consider adding a third or a fourth rod. Note that during January 2014, the Maryland DNR adopted regulations that limited each person to using only three rods at one time. There was quite an uproar about this. Efforts were made to withdraw those regulations. I do not know the current status of that requirement. If you do want to troll 4 rods at a time, please check into the DNR rules to avoid inadvertent violation of the rules.

[gkreps]

This is what I'm using: http://www.amazon.com/Scotty-Power-H...tty+rod+holder

Thanks Alan !

[gkreps]

Greg -

Alan uses the elevated rod holders and has great success with that configuration. They may give an advantage, particularly when pedaling, but I have never used them (I may try them this summer when I try trolling while pedaling). For my two front rods, I use Scotty rod holders on #438 Scotty gear track head mounts and slide the rod holders to the very front of my gear tracks.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11159[/ATTACH]

I rarely bumped into the rods themselves, but found that periodically I did bump into the line as I lifted the paddle out of the water after a stroke. In my case, I did not want to use my most powerful paddle stroke (a vertical stroke pattern) when trolling because that would have raised the speed higher than my preferred trolling speed of 1.8 to 2.8 mph (Note that I did get bites at speeds outside of that range but that speed range produced the best results). I found that I could use a slightly modified paddle stroke that was more horizontal than I use for normal cruising, and I often shortened the length of the stroke to keep the speed within range.

Another consideration when trolling with a paddle kayak is what angle do you use between the hull and the rod. Alan shows a 90 deg angle -- he noted that he chose that to give maximum separation of his lures. That is a great idea, particularly when trolling swimming plugs that move around a bit. Alan had the advantage of using his pedal drive for propulsion and did not need to worry about having his paddle bang into the rod on the front or back of a paddle stroke.

Last year I used only a paddle-powered kayak. As a tall guy, I have a long front-to-back reach on my paddle stroke. If I had placed either the front or the rear trolled rods at a 90 deg angle, I would have bumped the rods on most paddle strokes. After some trial and error, I found that I could set the two front rods at about a 30-45 deg angle to the front of perpendicular and set the two rear rods at about a rearward 45 deg angle (the photo shows just three rods that day as I had not yet purchased my second #438 gear track head mount).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11160[/ATTACH]

That gave me enough room for my paddle stroke. It was a compromise, however, and did bring my lures closer together. I was able to tolerate that most of the time because I was fishing jigheads and soft plastic paddletails or small spinnerbaits that do not jump back and forth as much as plugs do. If you troll plugs, this might not work for you.

If you are planning to get into trolling, study Alan and Jeff's video for some great tips and visuals. Then get out and try it starting with two rods. Figure out where and how you want to position your rods (there is not just one right way to troll -- it is very specific to your own kayak and how you set it up). You need to take your own paddle stroke/pedal stroke and FF/GPS mounting spot into account too so that they do not interfere with the trolled rods and lines. Once you get comfortable with those techniques, consider adding a third or a fourth rod. Note that during January 2014, the Maryland DNR adopted regulations that limited each person to using only three rods at one time. There was quite an uproar about this. Efforts were made to withdraw those regulations. I do not know the current status of that requirement. If you do want to troll 4 rods at a time, please check into the DNR rules to avoid inadvertent violation of the rules.

Thanks for the info John, when we trolled last year together on the flats and at your honey hole on the Severn, I had my rods angled forward about 45 degrees. I wasn't hitting them like Jeff was in the video, but every once in a while I would. Like you said I would pick up or hit the line also. I hope to cure that some this year with some 7ft rods, last year I was using a 6 and a 6.5 ft rods.

[J.A. Veil]

Thanks for the info John, when we trolled last year together on the flats and at your honey hole on the Severn, I had my rods angled forward about 45 degrees. I wasn't hitting them like Jeff was in the video, but every once in a while I would. Like you said I would pick up or hit the line also. I hope to cure that some this year with some 7ft rods, last year I was using a 6 and a 6.5 ft rods.

The longer rods should help spread the lines. Also the more time you spend trolling, you will develop a paddle stroke path that minimizes the line bump. You won't even consciously think about it -- it will come naturally. Good luck working out your own preferred trolling style.

[Yak Fish]

Absolutely, do what works for you guys. There are lots of ways to catch fish, we just showed what we did and our setups. I happen to like my rods straight out, slightly forward may be the best for your kayak geometry, style and reach. The great thing about this sport is how many cool ideas people have to set up their rigs. I've never seen two of the same.

[snapper]

After seeing this great video, I am glad I built my motored kayak over the winter.

Do you guys think a OC Mod Pod is sturdy enough to mount a Scotty holder for trolling? It is held on with two nylon snap straps and seems pretty secure.

John

I have two scotty rod holders for the mod pod, it's very sturdy