Trolling Pointers For Offshore Bass

Don't know where to start your search for offshore bass? One of the best bets is trolling; you cover lots of water quickly, and sooner or later you’ll hit the mother lode. Use lures that get down near the bottom or near the structure—choose them based on their diving capabilities, but remember that a trolled lure gets a lot deeper than a retrieved lure.

Bigger plugs with longer lips go deeper. Many lure manufacturers label their plugs based on the design depth. The Norman Deep Diver 22, for example, dives to 22 feet or so, while a Mann’s 20+ will reach 20 feet or more if rigged as suggested by the maker.

CHANGING PACE: Most lures dive deeper when you troll slower and use lighter line, with the lure kept at a greater distance from the boat. You can also regulate the depth by raising or lowering your rod tip. If you’re chugging along, occasionally ticking bottom, and you suddenly note a five-foot ridge or a mound of weeds on the depth finder, you might want to speed up, take in some line or raise your rod tip so that your lure skims just over the top of it. Conversely, if you note a steep drop and you want the lure to follow it down, you might slow down a bit, let out more line or put your rod tip right down on the water.

RUNNING SHALLOW: Trolling can work in surprisingly shallow water. In Florida lakes where the hydrilla comes to within three feet of the surface, some anglers connect by towing shallow-running lipped floaters like the Rapala Minnow, Rebel Minnow or Cordell Redfin. And some anglers even catch fish by pulling propeller-type surface lures on top; you get some spectacular blowups in clear water. (When employing either tactic in shallow water, put the lure well back of the boat—150 feet is not too far.)

IDEAL SPEEDS: The best trolling speed depends on the lures you fish; run just fast enough to bring out their maximum wobble—usually around 2 to 4 mph. And if you’re towing through what appears to be schools of fish on the LCD but not getting bit, try making another pass while going faster, or slower. Or change lures. Sometimes swapping a chrome minnow imitation for a brown crayfish pattern will do the trick.