Day of the Pearl Zman

[UnkleRob2020]

I launched onto the Patapsco yesterday at sunrise. I trolled paddletails on two rods and trailed a 3rd rod with a popping cork and a 5" Gulp twistertail. The zman pearl paddletail was responsible for every single fish I caught on paddletails yesterday. I switched colors, sizes, manufacturers, etc on the second trolling rod and nothing worked.

In such a situation, would anyone have switched all rods to the Zman Pearl?

[dsaavedra]

Nice day! Any notable catches?

In that situation I'd have to be really convinced that the fish wanted nothing else before I went all in on a single bait. I'd probably put the hot bait on 2 out of 3 rods, and leave the 3rd rod with something different. It's chaotic in a fun way when you have 2 fish on at the same time while trolling, I'm not sure how you'd even handle 3 rods all going down at the same time.

[UnkleRob2020]

Hi Dave. I am grateful that you posted the zman rigging video or I would not have used zman yesterday. The pulling them over the hook keepers (as opposed to trying to push them) really helps me to rig them. Yesterday was fun, but my largest was only 18.5"

[ronaultmtd]

Of course...if only one color is working in the water conditions you are fishing...you load up the other rod with the same lure...pearl, opening night, bad shad- all the lighter color ZMan minnowz bodies are an option...I carry a variety of colors all rigged and ready to go in zip lock bags...the jighead design you use as well as how you secure the ZMan body to the jighead plays a role...

[Mark]

UnkleRob,

I think it depends on your goals.

If catching the most fish you can on a particular outing is your goal, then yes, switch to the hot lure.

But if you're curious about other possibilities, then use them. That's what I would do.

I used to troll more than I do now. My goals when I started kayak fishing were to unhook as many fish boat side as I could. So, if I found a favored lure color on an outing I would rig both rods with it. (I never trolled more than two rods.)

But now, I like to see what else fish will hit. Even if I'm casting lures or flies, in lieu of trolling, I'll switch from a productive offering to something new, just to see if it works. Sometimes, the fish are so aggressive, it doesn't matter what you put in front of them. Other times they show preferences. Discovering that is fun to me.

My point is that we never really know what the fish are thinking. If we use only one kind of lure or a specific color, we don't know if others will work. If your goal is catching as many fish as you can, and you are using a productive lure, that's an excellent approach. But if you want to know if presentation, depth, size, color, etc. matter, then add a little variety to your approach. That's all part of the fun of fishing to me.

[Red_Beard]

I fished the upper Patapsco from shore a couple mornings ago, and got several decent schoolies on topwater, both a walking bait and a popper. Biggest was a keeper in the mid-20 inch range.