01-04-2006, 12:57 AM
I agree with Predator. Two Completely different approaches, both effective if you pay attention to the little details.
Jigging, to me and 99 percent of the folks I take tishing, is more enjoyable because its more one-on-one. Fisherman vs. Fish. Hands on. You can vary and control your presentation more quickly and easily. You get to see the hit, and sometimes even feel it. You get to set the hook, and feel the weight. You can usually use lighter tackle. You can target individual fish, drop on them, and play the mind game with them. Its a combination of torture and great reward. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Trolling? It definitely keeps you fishing longer when the wind comes up. When fish are spread out, you put a lure in front of more fish per hour, therefore increasing your odds of finding a hitter ("dummy" in Flaming Gorge!). You can cover ground much faster. And face it, its easier than jigging because there's less mental and physical stress than going one-on-one, over and over, all day. You set your line, keep it in the zone, vary your speed, steer over the right spot, and wait. About all you can worry about is the lure choice, speed, and depth. With most trolling baits and presentations, especially with a little speed, most of the fish will initially hook themselves. Those who hold their rods instead of using a rod-holder hook nearly all of them. Heck, you can even take a break, have a snack, look around, and enjoy your surroundings a bit--with your line still in the water on the fish!
I'm been soley jigging for macks on the Gorge for about 15 years. Prior to that, I would often mix it up by trolling with downriggers. I eventually found that jigging was much more effective at that time, and for a long time after. And it was certainly more fun. However, in the past few years I've seen trolling make a huge rebound. The fish, more educated than ever, don't have as long to analyze the faster-moving bait, and must make a quicker decision. When the fish on the "known" humps are all getting hammered by boat after boat, and they start running away from anything dropped to them, the trollers can cover the outside water and areas where fish aren't stacked, and catch strays that have not been pounded steadlily for hours or days. There are some "regular" trollers that fish here who can catch just as many big macks as the best jiggers on the lake on many days. And they can do it better on the windier days, when jigging becomes difficult to impossible.
Although most of my fishing guests have no interest in paying to reel in a big mack that "I" catch trolling with them, it is a very viable option, and sometimes the most effective way of catching macks on the Gorge. Although I haven't trolled here in a very long time, I'm reconsidering the idea as of late . . . Besides, there sure a lot of new, sexy trolling baits on the market that these big macks are eating!
I'll still take the jig fishing for the challenge and hands-on experience, but trolling definitely has its place if the main goal is fish in the net however it can be done, and trolling could be back on my boat again sometime soon . . .
Jim
[url "http://www.fishflaminggorge.com"]www.fishflaminggorge.com[/url]
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Jigging, to me and 99 percent of the folks I take tishing, is more enjoyable because its more one-on-one. Fisherman vs. Fish. Hands on. You can vary and control your presentation more quickly and easily. You get to see the hit, and sometimes even feel it. You get to set the hook, and feel the weight. You can usually use lighter tackle. You can target individual fish, drop on them, and play the mind game with them. Its a combination of torture and great reward. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Trolling? It definitely keeps you fishing longer when the wind comes up. When fish are spread out, you put a lure in front of more fish per hour, therefore increasing your odds of finding a hitter ("dummy" in Flaming Gorge!). You can cover ground much faster. And face it, its easier than jigging because there's less mental and physical stress than going one-on-one, over and over, all day. You set your line, keep it in the zone, vary your speed, steer over the right spot, and wait. About all you can worry about is the lure choice, speed, and depth. With most trolling baits and presentations, especially with a little speed, most of the fish will initially hook themselves. Those who hold their rods instead of using a rod-holder hook nearly all of them. Heck, you can even take a break, have a snack, look around, and enjoy your surroundings a bit--with your line still in the water on the fish!
I'm been soley jigging for macks on the Gorge for about 15 years. Prior to that, I would often mix it up by trolling with downriggers. I eventually found that jigging was much more effective at that time, and for a long time after. And it was certainly more fun. However, in the past few years I've seen trolling make a huge rebound. The fish, more educated than ever, don't have as long to analyze the faster-moving bait, and must make a quicker decision. When the fish on the "known" humps are all getting hammered by boat after boat, and they start running away from anything dropped to them, the trollers can cover the outside water and areas where fish aren't stacked, and catch strays that have not been pounded steadlily for hours or days. There are some "regular" trollers that fish here who can catch just as many big macks as the best jiggers on the lake on many days. And they can do it better on the windier days, when jigging becomes difficult to impossible.
Although most of my fishing guests have no interest in paying to reel in a big mack that "I" catch trolling with them, it is a very viable option, and sometimes the most effective way of catching macks on the Gorge. Although I haven't trolled here in a very long time, I'm reconsidering the idea as of late . . . Besides, there sure a lot of new, sexy trolling baits on the market that these big macks are eating!
I'll still take the jig fishing for the challenge and hands-on experience, but trolling definitely has its place if the main goal is fish in the net however it can be done, and trolling could be back on my boat again sometime soon . . .
Jim
[url "http://www.fishflaminggorge.com"]www.fishflaminggorge.com[/url]
[signature]