trolling bows and browns

[henrythecannibal]

Hey everyone,

 

I had a question on trolling for bows and browns. I'm fairly new to trolling and have had quite a bit of success trolling lakers on cayuga with sd/fly combos.  I'm looking this season to get into trolling for bows and browns. and was wondering about specifics on spoons to buy ... I have quite a bit of sticks that i cast off shore and do well for bows and browns.  I was also wondering about trolling speed throughout the entire season, early, mid and late ..... and what temps to the bows and browns typicallly like in the summer? My main tactics are riggers but also pull a few copper setups and have planer boards also ... thanks guys.

Edited March 14, 2013 by henrythecannibal

[Sk8man]

In the Spring look for the warmest water you can find (off power plants or sometimes stream mouths) for browns (look wherever you see pods of bait all season long). Browns can tolerate less dissolved oxygen content and are often at home in murky water and higher temps than rainbows.They are often found inside mud lines in the shallows of lakes in the Spring. They love areas where there is shallow water nearby drop-offs and they often suspend off these areas as the summer progresses but also can be bottom oriented in the Spring like lake trout. Rainbows can usually be found near stream mouths in the Spring but in summer they are found largely distributed throughout the lakes in deeper water above the thermocline or sometimes within it but seldom below it. Browns are less predictable in summer but almost always located near bait. In  late summer to Fall browns are found near stream mouths while rainbows are often found out deeper all over the lake. I know I didn't give specific temps but those aren't as reliable as knowing their general habits. This is at leas t what I have found in my 50 plus years of trolling for trout and salmon. Others may have additional things to add or different experiences. Mine is based on combined Finger Lakes (mostly) and Lake Ontario to a lesser degree. In terms of speed it is dependent on very many factors (time of year, wind direction and speed, currents, type of lures or rigs used etc.) but n general browns like slower speeds and a lot of distance in the lines (and light lines where possible) as the season progresses and often smaller spoons or stick baits. Rainbows like faster speeds many are caught on fast turns going diagonally or across currents...i..e. they like a lot of action.

Edited March 14, 2013 by Sk8man

[steelydan]

LUV THE MUD LINE BROWNIES, :smile:

[pokepole39]

rainbows are a pain and fishing for them and anything else at the same time is worse ... fish for bows or fish for browns and salmon ..it will be less trouble and yes bows like action and speed more than you would believe at times

[alex1young]

Not to take over your thread but has anyone ever run these 4 inch e-chip pro-trolls for trout?  I've heard rumors of guys running them as cheaters with small spoons for finger lakes bows...

Edited March 15, 2013 by alex1young

[Sk8man]

The smaller spoons part of it is most likely the more productive part other than perhaps in the Spring when they don't seem as line shy or fussy. I don't know personally of their use on Seneca or Canandaigua but I'm sure there are folks out there that have tried about just everything new or different to get those tricky @#$%@#'s to hit   

[Hookedup]

Most important thing for Bows is trolling angle/light reflection and water temp, speed not so much. Certain times of the year you will struggle to catch them, I think this is mainly when alot of insects are hatching like late spring. We will see them feeding on the surface certain days when its calm. We keep a good log on the boat and have got fairly good bow program going. They seem to follow the same schedule every year and travel to different areas of the lake throughout the season year after year .

[DJ 17]

Alex,

I have had "some" success catching trout and salmon on Cayuga and Seneca with the 4" pro trolls with approx an 18" leader to a standard or scorpion size stinger or small honeybee.  Pro trolls were mostly Chrome, white w/ crackle tape, and green w/ crackle tape.  I never ran tham as cheaters though. Either off the riggers, or behind a tru trip diver under an in line board. 

[Sk8man]

I wouldn't try them with salmon though. I used to have the salmon knock the crap out of my small/medium dodgers and fly on lake O  in the late summer and they would release with no fish and after awhile I figured it out they were hitting the dodger itself so I rigged a hook on one and got one of them. It wasn't worth doing a lot because eventually it tangled in the line....but interesting never the less.