Trolling with flies & fly
tackle is a form of our sport that has long been practiced in the Northeast, & with great style. The artful Maine & Adirondack guide boats & the
transcendental streamer fly patterns of Carrie Stevens reflect a rich tradition
rooted in the Atlantic salmon tradition of the British Isles, yet adapted &
evolved to meet
the dictates of the unique brook trout, mackinaw, landlocked salmon fishery
present in the deep, glacier-carved lakes of northern New England where trout
grow to fine proportions feeding on freshwater smelt, the principle forage of
the lakes. A practical people, the Yankees discovered that trolling with fly
tackle & streamer flies designed to imitate the native smelt was an
effective & fun way to go. And the
fishing presented an opportunity to design some sweet boats for the purpose –
resplendent with wicker-back seats so that the sport might recline in grand comfort, dragging the fly, while the guide rows.
So what happened to this
entertaining branch of our sport in the West? It is true that there is a pocket
of fly trolling in the waters around Puget Sound, particularly in B.C. waters,
yet beyond that it seems trolling in the far West is, for the most part, the
furtive practice of sore, tired, lazy (content), or half-froze kick-boaters who
keep quiet about it, as dragging the fly is not generally regarded as “real fly
fishing”. However, the West is full of irony, & based on the number of anglers
I see doing it (dragging the fly) from their float tubes, I have to suspect
that western folks must secretly think it is fun & sporting enough.
Personally, I love to troll
& mooch with flies. If & when my casting ability is lost & I am too
feeble to clamber or wade, I’ll be content dragging my fly behind the pram, enjoying
the scenery, musing on new, creative trolling fly designs to tie when I get
home while anticipating that honking strike.
And to those who say it is
not fly fishing, I say: It may not be fly casting,
but it certainly is fly fishing, in
every other regard – & also the opportunity to learn & expand our bag
of entertaining & useful tricks. And with sinking line systems now making
it possible to fish 60 feet deep fairly comfortably, & the advent of UV
enhanced materials to make our flies more visible in the dark depths, we see
the ability to use fly tackle as an effective method for taking deep-dwelling
lake trout (mackinaw) & kokanee, species not often pursued by western fly
anglers.
Most of us prefer to cast
& I am no exception. I love fishing the shoreline weeds in the early &
late season when trout are shallow, casting & retrieving nymph, leech &
midge imitations. But there are times & places trolling will prove the most
productive method. Like when it’s too windy to do anything else. I’ve seen guys
arrive at Eastern Washington lakes & be dismayed at the windy condition,
seeking out protective coves where they might cast, or in some cases simply
giving up & leaving, overlooking the opportunity to troll or mooch using
the wind to advantage as propulsion. Trolling is a good approach mid-summer
when trout are holding 20 to 30 feet deep or deeper. Trolling can be very
effective on lakes where baitfish are a primary food item, as trout &
salmon often follow baitfish for some distance before striking – too great a
distance for a caster to cover – & trolling allows us to cover infinitely
more water than we can still-casting.
Northeastern anglers know
that lake trout & landlocked salmon will be located fairly shallow in early
spring following ice-out on the lakes & that is a favorite time to troll the
shoreline with streamer flies in the Northeast. Yet we have a nearly identical
situation at several of the lakes I fish in NE Washington
which host mackinaw & landlocked kokanee salmon, & though the caliber
of the fishing might inspire envy in a New Englander, it is extremely rare to
encounter anybody pursuing these western fish with fly tackle.
And one more thing: Trolling
is an excellent way to introduce kids & other non-casting novices to
flyfishing.
Trolling Tackle
As an all-around trolling rod
for trout, I like an 8 to 9 foot 7-weight. Of course one could go lighter or
heavier as the size of fish one might encounter dictates, but the 7wt covers
most of it. If you own a fast-action rod that you find a bit stiff for casting,
you have a trolling rod candidate. For casting I prefer moderate/slow action
rods, but for trolling, ideally, I want a fast-action rod that loads up &
shuts off quickly toward the tip portion of the rod, which results in better
hook sets.
Any fly reel will function as
a trolling reel in a pinch, but as a designated trolling reel, a larger
diameter, narrow-spool, large-arbor type is ideal. The reel I’m using on the
7wt rod is rated for 8wt lines, allowing a bit more diameter for quicker line
retrieval.
The line system I’m using is
simple & inexpensive. I use 30lb test mono for a backing/running line. The
mono has a long enough loop tied into the end to accept a coiled sinking head
for quick rigging. I purchase 30 feet of Rio T-20 (for about 30 bucks) which
has a sink rate of about a foot per second – cut the 30 foot section into 2
equal 15 foot sections – then cut 5 feet from one, which makes 3 heads of 5, 10
& 15 foot lengths. I affix a camo loop to one end for easy handshake loop connection to
the mono running line. The 5 foot head fishes the top 10 feet of water; the 10
foot head fishes 10 to 20 feet deep; & the 15 foot head will fish 20 to 40
feet deep, & even down to 60 feet. I prefer the 30lb mono to braid as a
running line, as it is easier to handle, doesn’t saw the guides, & provides
shock-absorbing stretch when big fish hammer the fly – & it has much less
water resistance than an integrated sinking line, so less line belly & buoying.
For leader, I nail-knot 3
feet of 15 lb test fluorocarbon to each head section & tie a tiny black
barrel swivel to that for fastening the ‘tippet’ to, usually 20-30 feet of 8lb
test fluorocarbon – though one might go lighter or heavier, depending. The long
leader allows the fly to swing & swim free from line drag & angle. The
little barrel swivel allows for easy tippet change & prevents line twist
should the fly roll or foul.
Propulsion
Flippering from a float tube
is fine, yet exhausting for the long haul. Rowing, with the rod set in a
holder, or better still, holding the rod while somebody else rows, is the first
choice. Trout are shy of motor noise, necessitating dragging the fly a long
distance from the boat. Also, flies don’t require the speed it takes to buoy
hardware (one reason they are usually more effective than hardware) & fish
at slower speeds than hardware – an easy feathering of the oars is usually all
that’s required to maintain the right trolling speed. An electric motor would
be my second choice, & last, a low horsepower, 4-stroke gas motor. But the
oars allow a more nuanced range of speed & motion in addition to stealthy
silence.
Ideal speeds for dragging
streamer flies are as follows: slow walk, walk, & fast walk – estimated by
watching the shoreline.
Dragonfly/damselfly nymph
& leech imitations can be effective trolled at very slow speeds, a slow
walk & slower, & are good choices for mooching (drifting, using the
breeze for propulsion). Got mackinaw 40 to 60 feet deep? try mooching or
slow-trolling a 4 inch long purple & black leech behind the 15 foot T-20
head.
Tactics
Though not an absolute
necessity, a depth/fish finder is a handy tool for trolling, particularly on
bigger lakes. The advantage of having a meter is obvious, of course. My
favorite is a compact, portable unit that runs on D-cell batteries & simply
clamps to the rail of a pram, or any small boat. They sell for a little over a
hundred bucks & perform very well to reveal the depth & location of
bait schools & fish, eliminating a lot of guesswork on big water.
If possible, it’s good to
have two lines out working at different depths until fish are located. Baitfish
follow the contour of the shoreline & trollers should do the same. Don’t
troll in a straight line. If you are consistently finding the fish suspended
at, say, 20 feet deep over a 30-foot bottom, then follow that 30 foot contour
line relative to the shore, using the meter to keep you over the right depth
(30 feet) while your flies are working at 20 feet. If fish are concentrated in
a certain area, keep turning back & trolling through, gridding the area.
Using an outboard motor
requires trolling flies at least 70 feet behind the boat, but the use of an
electric motor or oars will allow trolling at much shorter distance. That said,
70 feet behind the boat is about right to achieve the best hooking angle, the
line angling down at between 35 to 45 degrees. A 15-foot T-20 head will troll
at a 40 foot depth at ‘walk’ speed with about 70 feet of line out. I control
the depth by counting the number of ‘pulls’ from the reel. Pulling the line
from the reel to arm’s length gives me a little over 2 feet. When fish are in the
top 10 feet, the 5 foot sinking head works fine at 12 pulls of the running line
once the head & leader are beyond the tip, which puts the fly out about 50
feet.
Trolling with flies opens a
whole new world of possibilities for western anglers. A fun game with no shame.
Ask any Mainer.
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