Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Sweetwater-Impoundments-Brackish » To Troll Or Not To Troll

To Troll Or Not To Troll

To totally misquote the Bard of Avon - Will Shakespeare: "To troll, or not to troll, that is the question."

To this very day, anglers the world round are divided on this subject. Some see trolling as an art in itself and a legitimate tactic to target specific fish. Others view trolling as something akin to cheating and attach little or no merit to any trolled capture. Undoubtedly there are many who are more moderate in their views and are happy just to catch a fish, be it trolling, casting, or soaking a bait.

My own views run more to the moderate, and while I must admit that I would prefer to catch a fish casting a lure, I know that there is a time and place for all fishing techniques. Freshwater impoundments (dams) that are stocked with native species, such as bass and golden perch, are a great place to learn and hone all of your angling skills.

As I fish mostly from a Hobie pedal kayak, my speed over the water is limited compared to a boat, however it allows me to access waters that boats cannot. I like to cast lures and do some jigging, but as I move between casting locations, it makes sense to me to utilise my time on the water and have a lure or two trolling out the back.

On my first trip to Lake Samsonvale (AKA NPD or North Pine Dam) I had the opportunity to practice and refine my trolling game and it payed big dividends. NPD has only recently been opened to non-motorised watercraft, however it has been stocked for many years by a dedicated group known as the PRFMA. They have their own area of the dam to fish, based on a limited number of permits for electric or paddle craft, and have been catching trophy bass for ages. Now the general public can purchase a S.I.P (Stocked Impoundment Permit) and fish a large section of previously untouched water.

My day started well with a bass hooked just minutes from the launch site. It was a glorious still morning as we left the bank and I deployed a brand new Bagley Deep Diving Shad 07 in Purple Bumble Bee colour, as soon as I got past the weed banks that fringe the shore. In just a few moments I noted some fish on the sounder, sitting at approximately 6-7m in 10m of water. The Deep Diving Shad lived up to its name and quickly made its way down to the school, where it was smacked!

Despite having a large appetite and attitude to match, the bass itself was not huge, so the fight was over quickly and he was returned to the school to grow some more. Encouraged by my early success I headed off in search of more and bigger bass. I hooked a few more small to medium size bass over the next hour or so, all falling to the Bagley trolled in 8-10m of water. I was marking the fish sitting at 6-8m and they appeared to be holding on dead trees. So far I had yet to tangle with any of the famed NPD monsters that I was so keen to meet, but the morning was young and I was feeling good!

The first snag in my plan was quite literal. A hungry tree jumped up from the watery depths and grabbed my lovely Bagley. It was quite unwilling to relinquish its grip and despite my best efforts the lure remained in the tree and the leader broke... lure down. Oh well, as much as I hate to donate lures to the water gods, you buy them to fish with and you can't catch fish with them if they are at home in your tackle box. If they are in the water they are a chance of catching a fish... but there is also a chance you will lose one every now and then.

Shrugging off the pain I decided to stick with what was working and tied on another Deep Diving Shad. Unfortunately I did not have another of the same colour, so I was forced to change to the as yet unproven Silver colour. I interspersed my trolling with some casting at timber in shallow bays, concentrating on covering water and exploring this extensive new playground.

There was plenty of activity on my sounder and most of it seemed to be concentrated around the submerged trees that fringe the dam in many places. Over the years NPD has had vastly fluctuating water levels and at times the foliage on the dam banks has had plenty of time to grow. In more recent times we have had more reliable rains and water levels are high, so the vegetation that was once high and dry is now well and truly underwater. These trees were constantly threatening to snag my lures if I strayed too close, however the fish were also in that zone, tempting me to run the gauntlet.

After snagging and successfully retrieving my lure a few times, I decided to venture a bit further to see if there were any bass holding deeper off the points. Approaching a protected bay I decided to do a few trolling runs at varying depths, both to familiarise myself with the area (via my sounder) and to see if there was any action to be had.

The sounder was showing plenty of bait and the odd school of fish holding in the bay, but frustratingly, I was unable to get anything to take my lures on the first few passes. I came to the end of my run and was pondering if I should start looking for another spot. I was still slowly drifting as I picked up the rod, I gave it a few gentle pump and winds when it came to life! Something had belted the lure as I was winding it back to the kayak.

Judging by the bend in the 3-6kg Okuma Cerros rod, this fish was substantially larger than any that I had hooked so far this morning and my adrenaline levels started to increase in line with my expectations. NPD is home to a number of other species including lungfish, golden perch, Mary River cod and fork tail catfish. I had to temper my excitement as it was entirely possible that I had hooked a hard running but much less desirable catfish. As the drag sang on my Okuma Inspira reel, I could not help but hope I had my target in site.

When you have a big fish on, it can be easy to get caught up in the moment and rush things. You want to see the fish, you need to get it into the net as soon as possible to ensure your moment of glory... but in reality that is the quickest and surest way to lose a good fish. Knowing this, I took a few deep breaths and enjoyed the moment, trusted my gear and allowed the fish to run against drag and tire itself out until it was ready to come to the net.

When the moment arrived I was quite unprepared for the sheer volume of fish that emerged.
I had come to NPD hoping to tangle with one of the fabled 50cm+ beasts that it was becoming renowned for and the proof of my success was glistening in my lap.

Too excited to keep the moment to myself, I called over my two fishing companions and we shared in the wonder. I was conscious of just how old a fish of this size is and how valuable they are as a resource, so I took care to swim it regularly as we took some photos and made some measurements.
The beast recovered and eventually swam away, leaving us all in awe and thankful to be able to partake in such a great fishery.

There were many other bass caught in that session, using a variety of methods including casting blades, jigging Flash Point tail spinners and Jig Spinners. I was also lucky enough to score another 51cm model that crunched the Bagley Deep Diving Shad, but my brightest memory will be of the seeing that first 50+ come gliding through the water towards the kayak in all its majesty.

To misquote some other legends, Masters Bill and Ted: "Troll on dudes."

You can catch all the action from this session at Rocket's Fishing Adventures on YouTube!

Gear List

Okuma Cerros Spinning Rods
Okuma Inspira Spinning Reels

Bagley Deep Diving Shad 07

TT Lures Flash Point Tail Spinners
TT Lures Switchblade
TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads
TT Lures Jig Spinners

ZMan 3" MinnowZ