Lake Trolling Techniques

Lake Trout

Trolling is a popular technique for catching fish in lakes, reservoirs, and other large impoundments.

Lake trolling allows anglers to cover a large amount of territory while fishing at multiple depths.

Lake trolling techniques vary regionally. In some areas, anglers employ downriggers, planers, umbrella rigs, or other complex equipment.

In other situations, anglers use only simple tackle such as spoons, crankbaits, or jigs.

Lake trolling techniques have been proven to produce trophy-class fish. While trolling, anglers catch lake trout, musky, pike, salmon, striped bass, white perch, largemouth bass, panfish, and other fish.

The following are a few state record catches that were caught by trolling:

In September 2010, James Brooks was trolling in Bluestone Lake when he set a new West Virginia state record for striped bass. Brooks caught the 47.16-inch, 45.70-pound striper while trolling a crankbait.

In June 2014, Jeffery Todd Smith set a new North Carolina state record with a kokanee salmon that weighed 4 pounds, 1 ounce. Smith caught the fish while trolling in Nantahala Lake.

In 2016, James Stiars of Maryland broke his own non-tidal record for white perch in Loch Raven Reservoir near Baltimore.

Stiars landed his second Maryland state record non-tidal white perch with a 1.74-pound, 14.25 inch fish. His previous record was a 1.70-pound fish caught in 2014.

“We were trolling Shad Rap crank baits and catching them pretty well when this one came over the rail, and I thought it looked bigger than the one from a couple of years ago,” explained Stiars.

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