When faced with large areas of water on fisheries such as the Broads, their associated river systems, lakes reservoirs or lochs up and down the country and the problems of locating where and how to fish, there is one method that many experienced pike anglers will use that allows exploration and fishing at the same time, that method is float trolling.

Whilst the name tends to imply a specific method there are variations that can apply to this descriptive title in different disciplines within angling. It will be impractical to try and embrace all of those here in this article, possibly it may be worthwhile covering some of the options and variations at a later date so keep an eye open for these!

Please read the information notice at the foot of the page!

Trolling is probably one of the simplest methods and is the induced movement of the tackle and bait being fished, live or dead, being fished from a boat. This particular article will cover this method for use within the Broads and its tidal river network, but with minor adjustments could easily be adapted to bigger and deeper venues around the Country!

In its simplest incarnation a trolling rig will look like a free roving live bait set up and at a push the rig shown on this site could be pushed into service, providing the float and weight are adjusted to suit the conditions encountered. However there are variations in tackle and set up which will be necessary to make the rig more efficient.

Where you will be trolling (river, lake or reservoir) will ultimately decide how you set up your tackle to present a bait or lure to the pike you hope to catch. Clearly there are similarities in each, but each also has its ‘specific’ needs in terms of how you set up the tackle to do the job. The rig described below and illustrated above is a good reference to the method, this is specifically shown as a river trolling rig, but would not be too dramatically different for large medium depth still waters. You may need to address certain aspects of this set up to fish large venues like reservoirs and loch’s etc. Lets look at the method in detail below.

The basic rig is very similar to a free rover or trotting rig, however the float here is a purpose designed one from Prowla, also available from Fox or other manufacturers. It is in basic terms a ‘through the middle’ slider, the difference being that the inner tube is curved for part of its length inside the floats body. The fox version has this ‘curved’ tube outside at the bottom. Both do the same job and rely on friction between the line/braid and the tube curve to partially lock the float in position. It only does this though when the line is under tension. This is achieved when fishing by the motion of the boat and the current against the bait.

In the rig diagram above there is a silicone braid stop and bead, it could be a Powergum stop knot and bead that would be your preference. In principle the use of this is to set the depth the rig will work at, and would be something that would allow you to choose at what depth you want to fish the bait. In essence you can fish this rig with this float without any depth stops, you might do this where you don’t know the depth and would allow the float to lock at full depth when stationary and control the trolling depth with the speed of the boat. A more practical method when fishing deep waters like reservoirs etc. You could use it on rivers, but there are two pressures at work on the rig that will influence how deep it fishes, boat speed and current strength. You would only have boat speed on a still water venue.

Fixed depths are probably better for river work, you might also need to set a locking knot or float stop below the float in strong flows as the current may drag the float down the line, lifting the baited rig towards the surface and away from your quarry.

In most situations you will probably choose to run two trolled rigs from a boat, any more becomes difficult to manage when following contours and turns on a lake and river. The first rig may be run at around 20 yards behind the boat and the second run anywhere between 30 and 40 yards behind the boat so offering any missed fish a second chance as they turn back from a follow on the first bait.

This also makes direction changes easier to control as the rigs don’t get tangled, by being close together.

Moving into the rig set up in detail, this shows the rig from uptrace through to bait. Uptraces are a common, recommended feature of Pikeonline rigs, here we use one to provide the ideal setting point for the weight, typically an 18 to 25 gram quick change sinker, but do match this to the float being used, and match the float to the bait size and likely strength of the current/flow. If this is likely to be fast flowing then up the float size and accordingly the weight to get the rig to run at the chosen depth, too small a float will make it difficult to distinguish false bites as the float is easily pulled under in the flow or an active bait. Its surprising how much resistance there is in the bait which will make it rise if the troll is too fast or the weight is to small. You will undoubtedly need to experiment on your set up to suit your venue. The uptrace should be at least twice the length of the hook trace, around 30 inches of 30lb BS multi-strand (7) wire, attach the hook trace using a quick link swivel and cover this with a short length of silicone tubing to prevent any snagging.

Moving down, the hook trace is typically a two hook rig with the hooks size and spaces to suit the bait you will be using. 2 size 4, 6, 8 or 10 semi-barbless trebles on 15 to 18 inches of 20lb BS multi-strand (7) wire spaced between 11/2 and 3 inches should work OK.
The bait should ideally be a bait caught on the venue***, typically a roach or dace, but perch and skimmers will suffice if roach are not available, try and use baits no larger than 4 ounces. The bait should be hooked with the upper treble in the top lip and the end hook in the pectoral root on one side or the other. This mount allows the bait to behave normally in the flow, rather than be dragged sideways, and offers a visually appealing meal to esox.

Now it gets a bit more interesting in that once you have the rig up and working correctly matched to the venue, you can start to work the trolled bait in a way that should attract your quarry. The function of trolling is to use the freedom of the boat to explore the river or stillwater in a way you can’t from the bank. To start you will decide on a depth to fish, probably varying the depth of each rig so that you cover two depths and work along a chosen area. These initial trolls might be at a fairly steady pace with the boat moving very slowly. If nothing is forthcoming you might try running one or both deeper or shallower until you have explored the stretch catching fish if they are present.

You can also use the current and your boat speed to vary the depth your baits are fished by speeding up to raise the bait, then slowing down to let it drop back down again. These variations can add attraction as you might with a lure. You may even speed up to troll across a shallow area that you may see appear on an echo sounder as you troll the venue, should be using one.

Other tactics to employ are to run the farthest rig out on a free line occasionally to both let it sit in the flow and to actually drop away back further, on occasions this may pick up a fish that has turned off from a follow, and which sees an opportunity that might not normally occur.

You will eventually develop your own personal way to fish on the troll, but hopefully bearing in mind the references and rigs here you should be able to get started with every chance of catching a fish or two! It’s a great method and you can cover a lot of water and see a lot more than sat in one place on the bank, so give it a try!}

*** NB: it is illegal under Environment Agency By-laws to move fish from one water to another with out consent and Pike Online supports this restriction on the translocation of fish wholeheartedly and recommends each angler observes this ruling and any that may apply on the individual fisheries you may visit.Additionally, trolling under power from any outboard, even electrically powered outboards is illegal within the Broads Authority area and enforced by a local Bylaw, this is despite the Environment Agency having no similar Bylaw preventing trolling under power. The Broads Authority will prosecute anyone caught trolling under any method of propulsion other than trolling with oars, which is still legal! You have been warned!