Friday, July 8, 2011

Locating a Productive Area to Troll a Tube and Worm

By Captain Ryan Collins


Before placing a tube within the water, the most significant choice a fisherman will make is selecting exactly where to fish.

There are several places around Cape Cod that are ideal for trolling tubes. The rips off Chatham, the boulders down along the Elizabeth Islands, and the expansive waters of Cape Cod Bay quickly spring to mind.

It's difficult to beat a properly trolled tube and worm during the peak of a sweltering Cape Cod summer. Even so, one blunder that countless anglers make is wasting too much time trolling through an area that does not hold any life. Trolling tubes has a natural propensity to put anglers to sleep-literally. It is really easy to simply place the rods in the holders, and troll along for an entire afternoon, praying to run into a nice school of bass.

Kicking back and relaxing is wonderful, however it is definitely not the most effective way to fish the tube and worm. A much more proactive approach is often necessary to find a prime location with a lot of life. Spending extra time traveling around, and less time with lines in the water, will in most cases result in more bass hitting the decks.

If this seems counterproductive to you, give Developing a Strategy for Finding Big Fish a read, to get a better understanding of what I mean.

Deciding Upon an Effective Tube and Depth to Troll

Once an area holding bass is found, we can then focus on discovering the most productive depth, tube length, and tube color to troll. The simplest way to achieve this is via a process of elimination.

I'll typically troll three tubes when tube and worm fishing. The first tube is trolled down the center of the Miss Loretta, as the other tubes are trolled off of the port and starboard sides. All three tubes are trolled by way of leadcore fishing line.

If fish are being marked through the entire water column, then my regular decision would be to put the port and starboard lines at a specific depth (say five colors) and maintain the line running down the center at a separate depth (say three colors).

Tube color and length will depend on the situation. The important principle to know is that it is vital to change your tube spread based on the reaction you're getting from the fish.

For example, if stripers consistently bite the 24 inch red tube from the center line (that is set at three colors) then it could be worthwhile to alter the 30 inch orange tube that was running on the starboard line to a 24 inch red tube. Switching the starboard line to a depth of three colors as a substitute for five colors may not be a bad idea either.




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