Trolling Motors - A beginner's guide. (Part 3)

In part 1 and 2 of this article I discussed the important factors to consider when buying your first trolling motor. In part 3 I assume that you have decided on asuitable trolling motor and fitted such to your boat. Equipped with this very importanttool, you will now have to practice on mastering boat control and ultimately apply this skill to get the best possible boat position when targeting fish holding to different kinds of structure.

Boat Control

To start with, let's put "boat control" in the right context here. It is not how you control your boat while flying at 90km/h over the water. The boat control I'm referring to is when you reached your preferred fishing spot, the outboard is switched off and you are approaching the target area on trolling motor. At this point I must mention that I have seen many a novice ramming his boat into a jetty, a laydown or put his trolling motor on the only visible rocks for miles! Needless to say those spot produced no fish for some time. To avoid this you have to practice boat control. It is very important that you have a mental image of what your target area looks like under water. If it is visible structure, you must be positioned to take the most advantage of the spot. This is essential to determine how to position your boat effectively (discussed in next paragraph).

So now you know where you're going and exactly how you want to "park" your boat. How you go about it can determine whether you get the maximum benefit from your spot. Going in too fast and overshooting your target could ruin the spot and leave the fish spooked for the next hour or so. Research has also shown that excessive use of trolling motors does irritate fish and affects the bite pattern. For this reason it is very important that you know the capability of your trolling motor, how your boat reacts to it and what adjustments to make.

Be aware of your environmental conditions at all times. The position of the sun as well as the direction of the breeze if there is one. You should use both these factors to plan your desired boat position. If there is a breeze present, drive past your spot and use the breeze to drift past. This way you will get maximum exposure to your spot with minimum use of your trolling motor. The trolling motor can be used to do intermittent directional drift corrections. If a strong breeze prevails, it is advisable to approach your spot from down wind. The wind and surface current will naturally move your boat away from your spot. Use your trolling motor at the desired power to keep you in position. Remember that the swirls created by your trolling motor prop and the associated current will be away from the spot you are targeting, thus causing the minimum disturbance. If you are targeting a shoal of fish, you'll have the added advantage when you hook into a fish that you will drift away and not into the shoal while landing the hooked fish.

Many anglers get too confident with their trolling motors and tend to use them at too high speed settings. This also tends to happen when it's nearing weigh-inn time and you are short of a keeper or two. Keep in mind that you might come across a very good looking area and will inevitable have to "back pedal" causing your trolling motor prop to send pressure waves into the identified spot. Avoid this scenario by using your trolling motor on 50% speed setting most of the time. Make finer adjustments to stealthily approach or remain in position. Another important aspect to master is to "match your speed to the spot", find the speed that allows you the maximum number of casts at a certain spot without having to stop/start your trolling motor all the time.

A continuous slow speed will have less effect on the fish than an intermittent stop/start of the electric motor.

Whether you use a hand control, foot control or servomotor control, make sure you understand your trolling motor and get to know how it reacts in different conditions. Your fishing is guaranteed to improve with better boat control!

Boat Positioning

Now that we know how to effectively "sneak" up to a fishing spot, we also have to understand what would be the optimal boat position for the particular spot. What does this mean? It means that you have to position your boat in such a way that you can target most of the likely areas of a certain spot without having to move your boat unnecessarily. In other words, you want to be able to put your lure "in the zone" for as long as possible as many times as possible without having to move your boat. It allows you the luxury to completely focus on the lure without having to worry about controlling your trolling motor. It also limits the amount of disturbance caused by the electric motor.

Once you understand boat positioning and know how to approach a fishing spot, your confidence will grow automatically and your fishing results will improve tenfold. Let's discuss a few of the above-mentioned scenarios in more detail.

Keep in mind that this is a rough guide to shaft lengths. Please consult the manufacturer's brochure for the specific recommended shaft lengths.

I hope with the knowledge gained in this and the previous article, you'll be in a better position to make an informed decision about the most suitable trolling motor for your boat. In the third and final article I will discuss tips on Boat Control and Positioning. This is a technique that you should master to improve your bass fishing skills.

Bass on nests:

It is important to take note of the sun's position as well as the wind direction if any. Try to approach bedding bass against the wind with the sun over your shoulder. This way you will be able to keep your boat in position without much effort and the risk of disturbing the fish. You will also be able to have the best visual penetration into the water with minimum glare. Take note of any vegetation and/or structure that will assist in hiding your presence and make use of this cover. Be aware of possible snagging risks and try and plan a route down which you will fight the fish once hooked. By doing proper planning with your boat position you will increase your successes rate tremendously.

Pitching a laydown:

Let's say you have a tree that fell into the water. The trunk is on the bank while the branches could be in as much as 30ft of water. What is the ultimate boat position in this case? Put your boat in such a position that you are able to cast to the bank on either side of the trunk and retrieve your lure parallel to the trunk. This way you explore the shallows around the tree trunk (cover) as well as the deeper water around the branches (more cover). You are also able to do this on both sides of the laydown. Make a mental note of where you catch your first fish and then move your boat to get better access to that and similar areas.

Eddy currents:

Once you have identified a likely eddy current, make sure that you remain downstream of it. Study the flow of water and work out where the current will try to place your boat. You'll find that there is more often than not a stretch of "quiet" water directly below the eddy current. Make use of this water to position your boat and keep it in position with minimum effort. Cast your lure upstream and directly over the eddy current. Use the current to transport your lure towards the eddy and reel in just fast enough to get your lure into the "honey hole"! Once in the eddy you can stop retrieving to give the lure more time in the strike zone.

Under water structure (brushpiles, timber and rocks):

You are aware of the structure in question because you placed it there, or because you found it while pre-fishing. Be aware of the weather conditions again. If the structure in question is deep enough, drive over it once with your outboard and watch your sonar to see if any fish is holding on it. If you identify fish on it, see if you can fish the shady part of this structure from down wind. From down wind you will be able to keep your boat off the structure, and the fish is more likely to stick to the shady part of the structure.

Main lake points:

These areas vary in size and composition. They are often close to a drop-off and in close vicinity to a gradual slope leading onto a bank. As in the case with the laydown, position your boat in such a way that you can cast onto the bank and retrieve into deeper water. If possible it will be great if you could let the lure drop down the drop-off some time during your retrieve. The main aim is to have your lure in the strike zone for as long as possible. Some time the bass will be very finicky and will force you to use drastic measures. In this case you can also try to park your boat in the shallows, cast into the depths or over the drop-off and retrieve very slowly into the shallows.

Fishing a channel:

Often you'll find that fish will be suspended in a channel or keeping close to a channel for various reasons. The secret to fishing a channel is to know exactly where the channel runs. To determine the exact course of the channel it is necessary to drive over it a couple of times with your boat. Make use of marker buoys to plot the channel. Move away slightly and give the fish time to settle. To make optimal use of the channel position your boat as close as possible without going over the channel. You can now start fan-casting in a 90 degree radius from the front of the boat all the way to your left or right hand side. This way your lure will cross over and into the channel, run in the channel and ultimately parallel to the channel on the outside. Make a mental note of where you got the first bite and try to replicate this scenario as often as possible.

As you can see from the discussion above, your success rate can improve drastically by mastering boat control and positioning. Make sure that you get to know your favourite spots well to be able to plan your boat position carefully. Enjoy practicing!

Ruffneck
Bassing.co.za Pro Staff Member

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