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Shallow trolling tips

4K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  jim float 
#1 ·
Hi folks, I've looked through this thread and can't find any reference to trolling shallow. I live in north Florida and fish the Saint Johns river. We have stripers here (not talking about sunshine bass or hybrids) that don't follow the same rules as their northern kin. I'm learning as I go here as local striper fishermen are few and quiet.
I want to troll at or just below the surface, the most shallow running plugs I have are Bombers and when trolled 60' behind the boat they seem to be around 6-8' deep. I know this goes against the popular grain here- I keep reading about low and slow then slower, but I can SEE the fish sometimes just below the surface, holding position and facing the current around structure.
The river is cooling down now and live bait (mullet/menhaden) are getting hard to catch so I'm thinking trolling artificials.
Anchoring and casting would be a last resort, water is about 80' deep, fast and bottom is littered with old bridges and such.
Any input on shallow running lures would be appreciated, Ive thought about attaching a cigar float ahead of the lure but it just doesn't seem right. Thank you.
 
#3 ·
The stripers here in New England love soft plastics.

I've caught many nice ones trolling behind my kayak with 4.5 inch sluggos on a light jig head and also 7" sluggo type soft baits. Same thing with a texas rigged (to run on it's side) 9" Banjo Minnow. Or why not a large plastic worm rigged the same way.

You can also troll them behind a planer board as mentioned in a previous post or with small trolling weight, rubber core sinker etc. to achieve the desired trolling depth.

Brad
 
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