# Trolling from sailboat help?



## PFFchris (Mar 21, 2012)

Hello all. I'm looking for some info to help me be more successful trolling while sailing. I keep a sailboat in Bayou Chico and come to town once a month, or so, to take it out to Santa Rosa Island or Big Lagoon. I usually try trolling behind the boat while we are underway for a few hours but I have had very little success. I've tried diving rigs like the 'stretch 30', squid lures, cigar minnows, and such with no luck.

I may get roasted for fishing from a sailboat, but it's what I've got Mates. Can you help me make the best of it?

Thanks for the help,
Chris :thumbsup:


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## Breeze (Mar 23, 2012)

PFFchris said:


> Hello all. I'm looking for some info to help me be more successful trolling while sailing. I keep a sailboat in Bayou Chico and come to town once a month, or so, to take it out to Santa Rosa Island or Big Lagoon. I usually try trolling behind the boat while we are underway for a few hours but I have had very little success. I've tried diving rigs like the 'stretch 30', squid lures, cigar minnows, and such with no luck.
> 
> I may get roasted for fishing from a sailboat, but it's what I've got Mates. Can you help me make the best of it?
> 
> ...


I used to troll behind my sailboat, but that was up on the chesapeake bay.. we always used artificial bait.... cant remember what we used but probably wouldnt work down here...

If you ever need a deck hand on that sailboat, give me a shout! Been a long time since we been sailing...


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## Kenton (Nov 16, 2007)

Well trolling behind a sailboat is a bit tricky because unless you are on a nice reach your trolling speeds can be a bit all over the place. Around here, depending on your boat, you normally cruise at around 3-5 knots. On a larger vessel maybe 5-7 on a nice 15+knot day. As far as lures, we have had better success with silver and blue duster skirts hooked with a dead cig, trolled at around 3-5knots. Any faster than that i usually need to add a trolling weight to keep her down. If you are not in a hurry, try only using the small jib and let your main out a bit to spill some air and slow down. Troll the pass and inlet and you should be hooked up on a King or Spanish in no time. Just watch those lines on the tacks and jibes! And drink some rum for me!


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## DTFuqua (Jan 30, 2012)

I hope you get better at it. I need someone to teach me how. I let my kayak go after it dunked me a couple times in the gulf with small swells. That only leaves me a catamaran I'm having to restore. BEWARE OF FREE BOATS!! I hope to have it done by the end of the month and will then have to learn how to rig and sail it. Wish me luck. At least it won't just dump me when I try to put a rod in a holder.


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## Breeze (Mar 23, 2012)

DTFuqua said:


> I hope you get better at it. I let my kayak go after it dunked me a couple times in the gulf with small swells. That only leaves me a catamaran I'm having to restore. BEWARE OF FREE BOATS!! I hope to have it done by the end of the month and will then have to learn how to rig and sail it. Wish me luck. At least it won't just dump me when I try to put a rod in a holder.


If you want some help rigging it and learning to sail it, let me know.. I will help ya out. My first sailboat was a 22 foot southcoast that I learned on. Then I graduated up to a 26 foot columbia that I lived on for a year. We used to take two weeks vacation every year and sail the chesapeake. Would be more than happy to give ya some pointers and help ya learn. 

Wish someone would offer me a free sailboat.. LOL


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## Kenton (Nov 16, 2007)

Hey Breeze, i have a 18 Victoria in my backyard i would let go for $500. Its a project but i have all the parts. Consider it a kit boat. Only money needed to fix her up would be the cost of materials for two stringers, 5200, and the paint. Other than that she is all there. I just need her gone. No time to rebuild her due to another little one on the way. My buddy and I who have rebuilt boats in the past, put the total reconstruct out to 3 months if you only worked on the weekends.


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## Kenton (Nov 16, 2007)

Oh and if you ever want to go sailing hit me up. My best friends owns a charter out at the beach. He has a nice 34 Pearson that i am sure i could get you guys out on. Throw them a nice bottle of rum and it would be all good im sure.


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## scupper (Mar 22, 2009)

Chris, don't apologize to anyone for fishing from your sailboat. If I were an experienced sailing yachtsman like you, I would probably want to do the same thing.

Come to think of it, I've seen tugboats and transport ships out in the blue water and oftentimes wondered if they ever throw a line out the back. 

Good luck to you.....


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## chicon monster (Mar 7, 2012)

I fish bayou chico regulars and does anyone know why people keep their sail boats in the middle of the bayou.I know so.e can't be trailored but keeping it out there doesn't seem like a good alternative.

Trolling from a sailboat seems kid of hard but if it works go for it.


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## Evileye (Aug 5, 2009)

It's a mooring field Chicon. They have been around since boats were invented, or more specifically, since man invented marinas to screw as much cash out of their fellow man as possible. You don't want to know what it costs to pull one of those sailboats out on a lift just to change out a thru hull or something.

On the other hand, modern marine science has proven that motorboats can't catch cooties from sailboats and they are often found out there on mooring balls as well.


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## chicon monster (Mar 7, 2012)

Evileye said:


> It's a mooring field Chicon. They have been around since boats were invented, or more specifically, since man invented marinas to screw as much cash out of their fellow man as possible. You don't want to know what it costs to pull one of those sailboats out on a lift just to change out a thru hull or something.
> 
> On the other hand, modern marine science has proven that motorboats can't catch cooties from sailboats and they are often found out there on mooring balls as well.


Alright.thanks ifor personallly would be afraid of someone getting on my boat and taking my stuff out there.I know people can take stuff at a dock but it is not as likely.


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## atlantacapt (Oct 2, 2007)

I've learned not to laugh at any fishing situation, including pulling baits behind a sailboat. The fish don't care what's pulling their "food". 

I remember a summer day back in 1994 or 1995 when I helped run a scuba operation in Destin. One day these guys came into the harbor in their 24' sailboat and started asking us how to catch a big fish. Jokingly, I told them to sail out the pass, pull 2 cigar minnow/duster combos down the bar and slightly offshore while having a nice day. I'll be damned if that evening they didn't pull back into port with a 40 or 50 lb wahoo...just goes to show that you never know unless you go! :thumbup:


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## Breeze (Mar 23, 2012)

Kenton said:


> Hey Breeze, i have a 18 Victoria in my backyard i would let go for $500. Its a project but i have all the parts. Consider it a kit boat. Only money needed to fix her up would be the cost of materials for two stringers, 5200, and the paint. Other than that she is all there. I just need her gone. No time to rebuild her due to another little one on the way. My buddy and I who have rebuilt boats in the past, put the total reconstruct out to 3 months if you only worked on the weekends.


Dude, thats real tempting..... unfortunately with us moving down here and getting the shop up and running our "extra" money is pretty much gone... Maybe if you still have it in a couple of months we can talk.. probably going to take that long to build up a nice play money account...


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## Breeze (Mar 23, 2012)

Kenton said:


> Oh and if you ever want to go sailing hit me up. My best friends owns a charter out at the beach. He has a nice 34 Pearson that i am sure i could get you guys out on. Throw them a nice bottle of rum and it would be all good im sure.



Now that would be real sweet!!!! Might have to see about taking you up on that offer!! :thumbup:


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## Breeze (Mar 23, 2012)

chicon monster said:


> Alright.thanks ifor personallly would be afraid of someone getting on my boat and taking my stuff out there.I know people can take stuff at a dock but it is not as likely.


Believe it or not, most of the time the boats anchored out are safer then the ones in the marinas.. I always preferred anchoring out versus getting a slip.. its alot cheaper and more private


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## Comfortably Numb (Oct 1, 2007)

I also keep a sailboat in Bayou Chico and fish out of it all the time. I keep as much tackle on it as do on my center console boat. We pull lures to Fort McRee and almost always have enough spanish to grill for lunch and dinner. So if you see a red hulled sloop(Pelagia) on the bay dont cut to close to the stern, there are probably lures following! The best lures I have found for bay trolling are straw rigs. Simply slide a 1/2ounce egg weight on your line followed by 3" of a drinking straw and then a treble hook. Very cheap and very effective even at 6 or 7 knots. Set the drag light and take your time reeling in the fish to prevent the hook from tearing out(not always easy to slow down with the sails up as you know). Gotchas are also effective trolling close to the pass. If you slow it down by Ft Pickens pull the stretch lures and watch your bottom machine for structure. I have caught redfish and grouper along that route. Maybe Old Flathead will join in, he is one of the few sailors I have known to have a fighting chair in the cockpit of a sailboat!


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## Mullethead (Oct 4, 2007)

I see you asked about trolling inshore - and I think you got some good advice - its fun to throw lines out offshore too! 

I trolled a lot during deliveries of 35 to 50 ft sailboats in the open Gulf - this is what I learned dragging baits offshore from sailboats: 

- Use heavier tackle - often its not easy to stop or slow down much - so you have to winch the fish in - so heavy line and leader - I use to bring a old 9/0 with 100 lb mono. and attached a safety line - a small rope with snap works fine. 

- Ceder plugs are great - catch-all lures - that store easily - 100 lb mono leader and big 9/0 forged hook - my second choice was a big feather or bullet head 4 oz or bigger lure - with # 9 wire and big hook. Caught kings, big Spanish - tunas wahoo cobia and dolphin on these simple lures. A buddy even got a sailfish on feather last year in the gulf! 

- Have a plan for landing a fish - a long gaff- tail rope - and billy (a winch handle will do to make a quick kill) - not a lot of room on most sail boats -
Without big ice boxes, we landded - killed, & cleaned the fish immediately and bagged up the meat- again we were well away from the wild life and fishery folks 

- I shy away from big lipped plugs or divers - they foul grass, and after a couple days that fatigue the leader - crimps - swivels - 

- A hand line works great - we got some big wahoos on heavy parachute cord - and 300 lb mono leader and marlin type chugger with big double hoo. We had a bungee cord to absorb the shock from the strike. and let the fish play him self out the then drug em in. 

- An you never know what will pop up - comming back from Mexico - 150 miles out form Pcola - I was cleaning a small black fin at sun set - I still had a pair of hand lines out when they both popped within 5 seconds! I looked back and saw 100 lb yellow fin leaping into the air behind us!


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## snake 166 (Oct 2, 2007)

PFFchris said:


> Hello all. I'm looking for some info to help me be more successful trolling while sailing. I keep a sailboat in Bayou Chico and come to town once a month, or so, to take it out to Santa Rosa Island or Big Lagoon. I usually try trolling behind the boat while we are underway for a few hours but I have had very little success. I've tried diving rigs like the 'stretch 30', squid lures, cigar minnows, and such with no luck.
> 
> I may get roasted for fishing from a sailboat, but it's what I've got Mates. Can you help me make the best of it?
> 
> ...


 Of course you can troll from your sailboat. Normal cruising speed is about perfect for trolling. Management once on the line is a little more challenging especially if under sail and you need to have a landing strategy worked out because of the small cockpit. You have to fish spots just like any successful angler. I have even bottom fished from my sailboat--the small deisel holds up well. Need a bottom machine and GPS well populated with spots.


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## PFFchris (Mar 21, 2012)

Thank you all for your commentary. A couple weekends ago I pulled a weighted Bait-O-Matic with cigar minnow on our way around Pensacola Sound. We hooked up on what looked like a large Spanish or a small King. I made sure the hook was set well then I handed it off to the lady friend who horsed around and slacked the line about 20 yards from the boat. Bye bye fishy. :fishslap:


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## DTFuqua (Jan 30, 2012)

Makes ya wonder if it was worth bothering with the lady friend. :blink:


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## oldflathead (Oct 3, 2007)

*50+ years of sailboat trolling*

I love to sail and love fresh fish to eat. I have caught up to a 185# Striped Marlin off my 46' sailboat which I have had over 30 years. Yes, I do have a fighting chair on my sailboat, trolling rod holders as well as outriggers when I am offshore. After I clear the pass, I have two lines in the water. 

Usually I have a Penn Squidder with 30# line and a lead head feather jig.
The other side is my Penn Senator, 80# line and a similar jig. Color, feathers, etc. depends on weather, visibility, boat speed and how hungry I am. Since we have a 400 gallon fuel capacity, if the wind will not move us at least 6 knots, I turn the diesel on to maintain my ideal trolling speed.

We lived on our boat 18 years, over ten years roaming around from SoCal, two years in Mexico, west coast, (best fishing yet), Central America, three years in the Caribbean, east coast to the Chesapeake, Cuba & on.

Landing bigger fish can be a challenge due to deck height off the water, obstructions like back stays, and access. I keep a large gaff handy as well as a long handle net for smaller species. Getting that big Marlin on board was a job. He was pretty well tired out, but just in case three rounds from Mr. Berreta put him to sleep. We had a gaff in, then I managed to get a lassoo around his tail. I ran the line through a snatch block on the end of the boom, (sail was down), then back to my aft anchor windlass and hoisted him aboard. After pix, I butchered him out, well over 100# of great eating. We were returning to Long Beach, CA from Cabo San Lucas after a few months playing and the freezer was almost empty. Good eating!

In the summer of 1989 we were in the northern Sea of Cortez and the Yellow Fin Tuna were running. We drifted, deep jigging until we filled the freezer. In November 1985 we were crossing the Atlantic, Canary Islands to Barbados with some friends. A little blow came up and we were reducing sail when a 25-30# Dorado hit. Let them sails go! I landed that beauty. Hard to beat fresh Dorado, (some call it Dolphin Fish or Mahi Mahi).

Give me a call 572 1225 and come over, sit on the deck and enjoy a cool one or two and I will tell you about the 100# Sailfish we caught from our 12' skiff.















Tom


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## PFFchris (Mar 21, 2012)

Thanks for the encouragement guys. We hooked up on a good size Spanish the other day on out way to Peg Leg's from Ft McRee. 

Ya can't catch 'em if you don't have a line in the water.


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## Orion45 (Jun 26, 2008)

PFFchris said:


> I may get roasted for fishing from a sailboat, but it's what I've got Mates. Can you help me make the best of it?
> 
> Thanks for the help,
> Chris :thumbsup:


Go for it. I still remember the wonderful times I spent sailing and fishing with my parents in Brazil when I was I kid. There is nothing like trolling from a sailboat...the sun, the wind, the sea, and...the peace. :thumbup:


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