Today we are going to review all of the elements of a good salmon trolling plan. Successful salmon trolling depends on having attack plans. The plans need not be overly complicated, but having them can lead to more netted salmon.
The primary items for any day’s fishing plan are:
- Selecting the fishing hole
- Pinpointing productive waters to fish was covered in another blog. Therefore, we’ll not spend time on this trolling plan part here. If you need a refresher on finding a fishing hole, check out this story: How To Find Salmon: Coho In The Saltwater.
- Developing your trolling strategy
- The trolling plan’s other part, covered in the rest of the blog, is formulating the attack strategy. This means a starting point, direction, timing, and flexibility.
Salmon Trolling Plan Start Point
Once the fishing hole is picked, currents, structure, tides, and weather are considerations in choosing the starting point.
A word of caution here: none of the elements of this part of making salmon trolling plans should become overwhelming. This information can be gathered quickly online to help the planning process. Remember, fishing is fun, and planning is to help it remain so!
For example, plan to start near shore or in an island’s lee if your area’s weather report calls for rougher waters. Light winds might mean starting more offshore to troll around a bait-holding hump or reef.
Other trolling starting point considerations are tides and currents. The reason for this is summarized as the food chain/web.
It goes like this: microscopic food (phytoplankton and zooplankton) is pushed around by tides and currents. Baitfish eat and follow these tiny critters. Salmon eat baitfish and follow them. Fishermen follow the salmon, that follow the bait fish, that follow the plankton, that follow the sunlight. You get the idea.
Another point for picking a salmon trolling starting point is fishing lore. I’ve heard enough old salts say salmon point their heads into the current to see and smell oncoming bait that it is near fact. Absolutely true or not, I don’t know. Still, I’ve caught enough salmon trolling with the tide flow that starting points are up-current.
Your starting point, then, is up-current of the body of water you intend to fish. Naturally, this means your trolling direction is with the current.
Salmon Trolling Plan Direction
With a salmon trolling start point up-current, your troll direction naturally falls into place with the current or tide flow.
Salmon Trolling Plan Timing
Ocean water moves slower around the tide change than during its middle.
Overlay the above tide movement concept with the idea that research indicates salmon tend to conserve energy when possible. They say salmon make feeding choices based on how easy it is to catch food. Thus, you end up with the concept that salmon tend to feed most around the tide change.
To be fair, you can catch salmon any time during a tide cycle. However, when choosing which part of the tide to fish, pick the slower waters around the tide change when possible. The timing part of a successful salmon trolling plan keeps attuned to fishing slower moving waters.
Salmon Trolling Plan Flexibility
The last part of a good trolling plan is flexibility. The best way to illustrate this point is through a story.
The day’s trolling plan was going with the tide down the side of a mid-channel island. As we trolled, we found a Coho bit when a particular bait ball shape marked the depthfinder. The first time this happened, we netted a nice silver.
After a while, a similar looking bait ball marked the screen. A few minutes later, a second Coho hit, and that fish was landed. When the gear was back in the water, we continued the troll.
This pattern repeated itself four more times. We even ended up with one double Coho hookup on the bait ball.
I suspect we chased the same herring school drifting with the tide, and each time we found them again, we picked up another hungry Coho. By the end of this troll, we had seven in the fish box.
The flexibility part of the plan is to adapt to the day’s conditions. If that means looping around (as illustrated in the image of the vessel’s track line) and seeking out a drifting bait ball to get the bite, then amend your trolling plan to loop around. It may also mean a zig-zagging pattern, looking for the bait ball. So, staying flexible catches salmon.
To end this blog, we mention a pink Vortaks with a mylar skirt pattern we’re calling Sitka Rose was responsible for five of the hookups. Don’t forget to add Vortaks to your fishing lineup as a part of a successful salmon trolling plan! Order your’s today.
Happy Fishing!
Don Habeger
Founder