Another Boat Trolling Trick For Lake Ontario
Another boat trolling trick that we use I like to call the “power side turn”. In a previous post, we talked about boat trolling skills on Lake Ontario. This is another handy little technique that will keep you on the fish during a hot bite. So, what is the power side turn all about?
When divers or other long lines like coppers or cores get bit, one’s instinct is to keep the fish centered at the back of the boat until it is landed. This may be OK with rigger bites and short lines! But, is it really the thing to do on long lines? For one thing, long line fish can take several minutes or longer to get them to the back of the boat. You could be miles away from where the bite took place by the time the fish gets landed, . In other words, you will be quite a distance away from the active fish that bit you.
The Power Side Turn
What if I told you that there is another boat trolling trick that will keep you on the fish and not miles away when you finally do land the initial long line bite. Well there is! We call it power side turning. It works this way. Which ever side the bite takes place on, the driver begins to steer the boat in a slow, wide circle to the other side. Begin to circle the boat in the direction where the other long lines are still out being fished.
Like most tips and tricks discovered, they happen by accident or circumstance. I actually learned this technique while getting cut off by another vessel during a tournament. We were fighting a port side bite on a copper and were forced to turn to starboard to avoid another boat. I was cussing under my breath but, low and behold, we didn’t tangle our lines and landed the fish. I remembered this and decided to try it again one day when another long line took off. It worked again! It seems that the other long lines will be farthest away from the line with the fish attached to it by turning into them. Its worked time and time again. So next time a long line takes off, consider the power side turn. Your bites will increase and your box will thank you for it!