I edited this tip to make it clearer on 4/20.

FISHING TIP #137

TROLLING IN THE TRASH

BY

CAPT. KEN ROY

        Scattered and broken weed lines are the bane of offshore fishermen.  When I was a kid, I worked as a deckhand.   I worked my butt off many days clearing all 6 lines then clearing them again and again.  Some days, grass is everywhere and you cannot avoid it.  On a tournament day or with a billfish charter aboard, you can’t say "To heck with it" and go fish for Snapper.  You have four choices; pull grassed up baits, pull lines and pluck grass continuously, try to find clean water or fish smarter.
       Downriggers can sometimes be used to good advantage to position your lures just below the floating grass.  There are a couple of things I dislike about downriggers, though:  They are unwiped butt ugly and they are in the way, big time.  I often use a 4# ball with a release clip or rubber band on the back eye, trolled on just enough Parachute Cord to keep it below the grass and short enough to keep it out of the prop.   The ball will collect most of the grass, leaving very little to slide down to your bait or lure.  Trolled close, you can see the grass wad up on the ball.  It is a simple matter to pull it up and clear it without disturbing your bait.  This is much simpler than using a downrigger and you don’t have a downrigger in your way when fighting a fish.  Some grass gets on your line but it usually stops at the release clip and can be cleared when you clear the grass on your ball.  Pulling a short hand line sure beats pulling, picking and resetting  every 5 minutes.
       Streamlining your knots and terminal gear is a great way to minimize grass problems.  I am always on the look out for clear barrel ball point pens.  A short length of the clear barrel portion slid down over knots and swivels keeps grass to a minimum.  Yes, an occasional Mackerel or other sharp toothed critter cuts you off but it seems to be a good trade off on really grassy days.
       Rigging baits and lures in a manner that sheds weeds may reduce your hook up ratio drastically unless you know a trick or two.  I prefer to use a Bonita strip in a larger than normal skirt.   I use wide gap hooks like the Mustad Sea Demon rather than the Southern Tuna style hooks because the wider gap hook penetrates the skirt easier on the strike or when you set the hook.   By rigging the hook point slightly inside the cone of the skirt, the point is protected from grass.    The pointed end of the skirt sheds most of the grass.  Bright colored skirts are easily seen even from the cockpit.  You will see any grass on your bait a lot easier.  I have no experience with fake plastic strips but they should work fine inside a skirt.
       A large Jap Feather rigged with a strip or baitfish can also be rigged inside a skirt.  Make sure that the hook is inside the cone of the skirt.  You should trim the skirt to match the size of the Jap Feather and bait combo.  I like to see the tail of the baitfish or strip kicking behind the skirt.
       Any hook forward rigged bait or lure should work well with a large skirt over the head and hook.  These streamlined lures create very little commotion so trolling them close behind a large teaser might be in order.
       You may sacrifice a few missed hookups when you rig this way but you can keep more bait in the water more of the time.   A bait out of the water for cleaning gets no strikes. Clean baits get more strikes than grassed up baits. There is a trade.

 

Life is too short to catch little fish.

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Life is too short to catch little fish.

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