Could someone tell me about trolling a fly?

[triehl27]

Still pretty new to the game, and it has been mentioned about trolling a wooly bugger fly. (Newbie comment coming) I thought that fly fishing was quite different the trolling. bviously.

What are the particulars of trolling a fly? Special fly? Wieght? Float on top and go?

Could someone go over then for a newbie? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hey trieh27,
When I troll a fly...this is the style of woolly bugger I use at Rufus Woods. Large fly = Large fish right? Also if you add a wiggle fin and a little bit of weight to your fly it will have a lot of movement and travel just below the surface. I troll these flies anywhere from 1 to 2 mph and catch fish almost every time I use them.

[Anonymous]

I just use my spinning rig with 4-6 lbs. mono tied to a swivel. Then the fly has 2-4 lb. leader about 12" long attached to the swivel.
I have a minnkota 46 thrust motor and I troll mostly at 2. But also 1 or 3. I don't know how fast that is.

[littlefishingbuddy]

I grew up fishing Fish Lake and grandpa use to tie a Grey Hackle fly onto the end of light line and Like the Sweede said put out at least 25 pulls, The fly will make a little plowing motion in the water looking like it is trying to dry it's wings and trying to break the water tension. Strikes are very hard and this is a fun way to catch big trout!

good luck
Scott
Littlefishingbuddy

[triehl27]

Two things

First off all I could find were weihted flies, with like 1/8 1/16 wieghts.

Two, No one knew what the heck a wiggle fin is, where might I find wiggle fins?

I think I have something simular in my lure box. kinda a day glo orange or green V cap that I use in making some lures. maybe if I just turn it around it'll work. they are not as wide as the ones shown and are a deeper cup though.

[Anonymous]

Hi,
I can purchase wiggle fins at my local sporting goods store here in Wenatchee (Hooked on Toys) You can purchase them online at:
http://www.wigglefin.com/

At the wiggle fin site you can see the wiggle fins in action. They have several videos showing how they work and how to rig them. You should be able to purchase woolly bugger flies at any sporting goods store. Just purchase the largest ones they have. Weighted will work just fine. Just don't add a worm weight to your set-up. I would recommend that you start with the 1/6 oz and if you don't hook up switch to the heavier 1/8 oz.
Good Luck.

[triehl27]

Okay, i ordered some up. Until they get here I am going to try and turn a Tee Bead around and see if that works, since I am planning on heading out for a couple a lake tomorrow.

[HillbillyGeek]

Not sure how much the wiggle fin action disk costs, but you can use cheap suction cups from the dollar store as an alternative.

[fish_4_all]

Around here all it takes is a size 8-10 whooly bugger and you are off into fish. It helps to have some chop on the water but isn't really "needed".

I troll them in my float tube as slow as I can and I run a LOT of line out behind me. I have actually had a good 100 feet out behind me when it is sunny and the water is calm to get bites.

Bigger here is not better most of the time. Color matters more than anything else. Clear days bright flies, dark days dark flies. I have a lot more luck with a streamer than a wooly worm/bugger. For some reason the smaller fish seem to take anythingw ith a hackle body before the big fish will. But I have caught some nice fish on both types so keep trying different colors, sizes and styles until you find what the big boys will come up for.

I have even started using really small jigs for this and they have worked well. 1/64 and 1/100 have hooked up over 30 times this year on about 4 hours of fishing them.

Just one thing to remember, I know of at least 8 poles at the bottom of the lake from trolling flies and that is one lake. They hit hard and fast so make sure you have it secure!


Bottom right and top middle have both done well here on a cloudy day with a little wind or still water after and during a rain shower. The Chartreuse body and yellow orange head did really good with full sun and lots of wind.

I have caught trout on all of them though. Gonna take them all out and try them for crappie, hopefully soon. The light weight jig head allows me to vary the depth by trolling faster or slower and when using a casting bobber it is awesome to get down a little without adding shot.

[Easy Limits]

I just tie them on to my main line and drag them through the water. Works great!

[Anglinarcher]

There is no right or wrong way to troll with a fly. I have done well trolling a woolly worm with no weight, or multiple split shot two to three feet ahead of the fly, for large fish. I have done well trolling a streamer with no weight, behind a planner board or long line. I have done well trolling buggers behind a Dodger on downriggers. I have done well trolling all wet fly styles behind my float tube as I fins around. I have done well.....................

Again, there is no right or wrong way, just different ways for different times.