I am trying to get into more saltwater fishing, and I am still a relative newbie with my Marlin. How many lines do you guys troll at one time? Where do you put the rods? My Marlin only has 4 rod holders on the gunnels. I have outriggers that I just re-rigged with two lines on each, but I have never used them. I am heading to Reedville in two weeks and would like to try my hand at trolling. Do Grady owners use the t-top rocket launchers while they troll? If so, that would give me a place to put a couple of rods off the stern. I'd like to fish 6 lines....two on each outrigger, and two out back, but I don't know if it is possible. Any advice or photos would be appreciated.
How many lines do you troll?
- Thread starter dgreen1069
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I typically troll 9 lines on my Gulfstream. I added extra gunnel rod holders(so now there are a total of six) and I have 2 lee clamp on rod holders mounted off the support legs for the hardtop. I also run my way back lure from the hardtop rod holders. The only problem with having rods in the hardtop is when a large fish is hooked up it can be difficult to get the rod out of the holder. Good luck.
I do not yet have outriggers...stupid economy. I troll 6 lines. I bought these keeled bird things called outrovers. We will run two on each side and I use a combination of the side mounted rod holders on the 228 and the aft rod holders on the bait station. I flatline at least one of the bait station and use a shot gun long line out of either the hard top or bait station. You are on easy shape to run 6 or more.
Fishtales
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Hi,
First, it depends where and how dense (#boats) are around.
When I fish the rips for bass and blues, I usually troll one line per man with six max - usually four though. I will use what I call poor man outriggers aka out rodders in two of the gunnel rod holders to get space between the lines. In these conditions you can't really use outriggers as the boats are too close and there are usually lobster pots on the edge of the structure where you want to be. Once there is a hook up, you need to get all the others out of the water - often you will hit more at this time but if you don't get the others out you can have a real mess with crossed lines.
If in deeper water and there is room you can use the outriggers and present four to nine (two on each outrigger, four in the gunnel and maybe one held, in the hardtop rod holder or center rigger if you have one. Really depends on the conditions and how good your crew is. I'll give my crew a B- so we usually run 6.
I'd experiment and see what your team can handle.
First, it depends where and how dense (#boats) are around.
When I fish the rips for bass and blues, I usually troll one line per man with six max - usually four though. I will use what I call poor man outriggers aka out rodders in two of the gunnel rod holders to get space between the lines. In these conditions you can't really use outriggers as the boats are too close and there are usually lobster pots on the edge of the structure where you want to be. Once there is a hook up, you need to get all the others out of the water - often you will hit more at this time but if you don't get the others out you can have a real mess with crossed lines.
If in deeper water and there is room you can use the outriggers and present four to nine (two on each outrigger, four in the gunnel and maybe one held, in the hardtop rod holder or center rigger if you have one. Really depends on the conditions and how good your crew is. I'll give my crew a B- so we usually run 6.
I'd experiment and see what your team can handle.
Gman25
GreatGrady Captain
We usually troll about 10 (Tuna)..I installed 3 more on the gunnel for a total of 7 and we use the hardtop holders as well..Quite a trip when they all go off at once.. YAHOO!!! :dance
'05 300 Marlin F250's
'05 300 Marlin F250's
troll 7-8 if we can. 4 from outriggers. 1 way way way back. 2 off stern. 1 down rigger when we can. We have a sailfish and use 4 in the gunnels, 6 rocket launchers and we added 4 off stern behind the seat and 2 on each side midday way up.
We typically troll 7-9 when we are offshore. For stripers we troll two, three or four depending on how hard we have to work for them.
Tuna fishing, 7 to 13 rods depending on crew and weather... and bite.
Striped Bass fishing the Chessy Bay, different game..
Fall and spring runs of trophey rock....
Planer boards, between 75 feet and 125 feet from the boat depending on traffic. When I have a good crew we troll 20 lines, last week with juts two of us we trolled 13. As for rod holders, I have added two on each gunnel and two on the transom. I bolt three to the hard top pipes, low enough to reach. I am too short to deal with the rod holders accross the hardtop so I had a few of these made:
Four of the added rod holders are verticle, to handle these.
Striped Bass fishing the Chessy Bay, different game..
Fall and spring runs of trophey rock....
Planer boards, between 75 feet and 125 feet from the boat depending on traffic. When I have a good crew we troll 20 lines, last week with juts two of us we trolled 13. As for rod holders, I have added two on each gunnel and two on the transom. I bolt three to the hard top pipes, low enough to reach. I am too short to deal with the rod holders accross the hardtop so I had a few of these made:
Four of the added rod holders are verticle, to handle these.
You did not say what boat you have..the wider the boat, the more you can troll..typically. I used to troll 9 to 11 from the 26 Shamrocks that I have owned (2) and the 24 Rampage....all inboard style baots with full transoms...I can drag 9 off my Gulfstream....I have 4 gunnel rod holders and I also put 2 rod holders in the lids of the aft bait wells (moved the hinges to the front) ...2 from each outrigger (4), 2 flat lines from the bait well holders, 2 short lines from the rear gunnel holder and 1 way way way back from the fighting chair...you can also hook a flat line clip to the middle of the transom gate for the line down the middle....the number of lines you pull will depend on conditions and how crazy you are..I have done 9-11 with just me and dad in the boat...and have had bluefin knock down 5 or 6 at 1 time.......yahooo...
I have a 23' Gulfstream and can troll as many as 12 lines with my current setup using planner boards. The trick is to get the lines closest to the boat ( Boat rods) set so that they are down deep, about 15-20 feet and the way way back lines only about 2-3 below the surface. I run 2 lines back about 200' and 2 more about 150' with additional weight if needed to get them slightly deeper, about 7-8 feet down. The rest are on the planner boards and usually have doubles or small 4-arm umbrellas. Imagine your trying to cover the water coulmn in a "V" starting from the center of the boat to the outer edges of the planner lines. Rockfish will tend to swimmunder the boat to a lower depth near the boat, but stay nearer the surface away from the boat. Planner boards can be a REAL PITA when they flip over and can cause a HUGE MESS when they do. If you've never used them, get a day out on someones boat and get them to show you the setup. It really helps.
Man, you guys are SERIOUS!
With my Marlin, I troll mostly for dolphin and I keep it simple with only 4 lines total. One line off each outrigger and two flat lines off the stern rod holders. I stagger them and will sometimes drag a squid teaser as well. I'm not set up for more lines plus I tend to fish alone and trying to keep the lines clean of weeds keeps me busy!
With my Marlin, I troll mostly for dolphin and I keep it simple with only 4 lines total. One line off each outrigger and two flat lines off the stern rod holders. I stagger them and will sometimes drag a squid teaser as well. I'm not set up for more lines plus I tend to fish alone and trying to keep the lines clean of weeds keeps me busy!
I'm with you Gary....I was expecting most to say they trolled 4-8 lines. I have a Marlin, and I can't imagine trolling 20 lines. I think it would take me at least an hour to get that many rigs in the water! I'm impressed gentlemen.....post some pictures if you have them!
