HOW TO USE TROLLING FLIES

Return To Arctic Fox Trolling Fly Patterns

The use of fur and feathers tied on a hook for trolling dates back into antiquity. Before the advent of motorized boats, pulling flies behind an oar powered craft worked well. It my still work better   because the surge & coast inherent in this method of propulsion gives life to the presentation. Even with our modern fly materials it is the movement of the fly that gives the impression of life. Just dragging a fly through the water at a constant speed is not very effective. As with other fly techniques the key to success is the movement imparted to the fly.  

NOTE FOR COMPULSIVE CASTERS: Even those who only cast can troll flies to find concentrations of fish or to make the passage from casting point to casting point productive by trailing a fly over the side.  Then too, in states like Idaho that offer two rod licenses, you can troll with one outfit as your float tube, cataraft, canoe, kayak move you along as you cast to likely spots on shore.

Much ingenuity has gone into developing trolling fly techniques. Speeds range from 1 mph or less up to 4 mph in freshwater lakes, and trolling is also a solid system for big rivers.  

Realize that with a boat under power and the fish near the surface you must often separate the fly from the boat because the boat will often scare the fish and they will move away from it. I recommend the fly be at least 100’ behind the boat and 130’ to 160’ back is a common distance for many stillwater trollers. Another technique is to use side planers, which move the trolled presentation out to the side of the boat. When there is a wind chop on the water the side planer will jump and dive through the swells giving a great action to the fly. Side planers also allow you to troll close to shore while the boat is out in deeper water.

For fish at or near the top of the water column “long lining” with monofilament can be very effective. Adding weight to the line will get the fly deeper and there are a number of ways to do this. Some anglers will just add a few split shot but you want to avoid weighting the line in such a way as to make the fly spin. A good solution is to tie in a section of lead core line. By varying the length of lead core you can vary the depth reached. Try pieces from 2’ to 25’ ahead of 20’ to 40’ of leader material. Loop to loop connections is a quick solution for changing out lead core sections.

When trolling with a weighted system, as you change speeds your fly will change depth. If you have a line out from each corner, at the rear of the boat, as you turn the boat the inside line will follow a shorter course and the out side line will track on a longer course. This will translate into different speeds for the flies and different depths.

There are an infinite number of line length/weight/boat speed combinations to play with. The best advice is to run more than one line system and keep varying your speed until you start to get results. Fish finding electronics that look side ways as well as down can save you hours or days of experimentation.

Tip: Try using a floating fly line with 50 to 100 yards of backing. Onto this add the lead core and the 20’ to 40’ of leader material ( 8# test is a good place to start for trout.) The floating fly line will track on top of the water allowing you to see where it goes below the surface and give you a better idea of where your fly is. This allows you to steer the flies close to structure. Also if you are trolling in “S” turns, and a fish hits, you will see the fly line curves straighten before you feel the hit. This will put more fish in the boat. When you have the fly line to backing connection just off the reel, you will be fishing 100’ to 140’ behind the boat.  

Of course those who prefer technology to technique can simply use downriggers to control depth.

In either case Fly movement is as critical as depth and speed. What you are trying to achieve is fly movement that surges forward and then slows down. The fly casters call this a pull/pause retrieve. On the pull the fly will show a compressed slim profile and on the pause/slow down the fly will bulk out making a very effective lifelike swimming motion.

There are a number of ways to achieve this. One way is to hold the rod pointing back over the rear corner of the boat. Move the rod tip in a circular motion about 8” to 12” in diameter. Or move the rod tip up and down about 8” to 12” with a flick of the wrist. You want a consistent small pulsing movements not 4’ pulls and then the fly stopping. The best advice is to get two boats and watch from the second boat as someone in the first boat tries various techniques. Trying this in just one boat does not give a true representation of what the fly does with 100’+ of line out. You will be surprised at how little rod movement it takes to make a well designed fly look alive. This can also be done in a river with two people.

During warm weather when trout go deep the most efficient way to get down to the fish is with a downrigger. To impart motion to the fly in this situation many anglers use dodgers. Dodgers are sheet metal ovals, with swivels at both ends. Dodgers “kick” back & forth when pulled through the water. If your dodger is spinning in the water you are going to fast. One theory about dodgers says that the back & forth action makes the same sound as predator fish make with their tails, when they accelerate after bait fish. Short leaders between the fly and dodger ( 1.5 X dodger length) give maximum motion to the fly. Conversely the longer the leader the less motion is imparted to the fly.

Another downrigger technique is to lengthen the wire connecting the release to the ball or cable, to 3’ to 6’. Then set the line in the release to with stand heavy pressure. This set up will allow you to pump your rod up and down to give movement to the fly.

Trolling with flies is a topic that would be better covered with hundreds of pages rather than hundreds of words. In a nut shell, trolling with flies is a very effective technique that covers a lot of water in a short amount of time. The key elements are: the depth at which the fish are feeding and your fly should be, the color of the fly, a lifelike movement and the correct speed. The combinations are endless. If you have not used them before, my hope is you will give them a try and open up a new way of fishing. Most streamer styles can be trolled effectively. But if it is big fish that you are after our Arctic Fox Trolling Flies are scaled up to meat the appetites of larger fish.

Arctic Fox Trolling Flies size #2 (4X-long) hook. These trolling flies are the next evolutionary step in streamer design. This fly series is based on marabou leech patterns that have been around for some time. These have been up-sized from fly-casting sizes to appeal to the larger predators of various freshwater species. We have also changed the wing and tail material from marabou feathers to Arctic Fox Fur.

By its nature, fur is a much more durable fly material than feathers. Feathers are designed for flight requiring a lighter more fragile material. Fur on the other hand is meant to protect an animal and is tougher than feathers. This fox fur comes from ranch raised animals and is procured as scraps from the fur trade. Arctic Fox Fur has the unique combination of tensile strength and suppleness that provides great movement as the fly is pulled through the water. As time goes on we may be adding more color combinations to mimic more baitfish species.  

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