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Terminal tackle comes first. Floating minnow-type plugs do a great job as they track at higher speeds than deeper running models with long bills or water-resistant lures such as spinners. Special plugs with smaller than average bills are well-suited to high speed use. Troll spinners or baits at high speed and you may reinvent line twist!
Plug size seems more important than finish in many cases. Six-inch plugs don't make it for smallmouth bass; the fish you seek had better be able to get the plug you select into their mouths. Free swimming baitfish come in schools of nearly uniform length. Baitfish start small in the spring and grow during the summer. A few make it over to the next year to spawn and start the cycle over. So you need several size plugs in a finish that matches that of the common baitfish. My tests in saltwater and freshwater show that a plug that's more than an inch longer or shorter than the average natural baitfish gets half as many hits as a size match. Lure or bait size also affect speed. Most fish swim 1 mph per inch of length, so you can pull a six-inch plug 6 mph! "Ambush" species take what they can get so finish seems more important here. Crayfish and gold colors suit most shore trolling. In lakes where small trout or shad are more common, go with silver plugs. A few plugs, each in two or three sizes and finishes, seems a better choice than an assortment of "one ofs." So ask your local tackle shop for recommendations on type, finish and size. Other options can work at high speed too. A baitfish rigged on a trolling hook so it tracks without excessive spin can produce. So do hoochies and a number of plastic squid imitations designed for salmon and offshore species. Pike, in particular, nail squid dragged along weed beds at high speed. Just don't expect too many pike per soft plastic bait! Line selection is critical for high speed trolling. Low stretch lines such as Trilene XT work very well and stand up to abrasion better than softer lines. However, more line stretch can be an advantage when trolling for kokanee and other soft mouth species as it cushions the shock of strikes. If you use a premium line in a test no heavier than the weight of the largest fish you expect to take you won't go wrong. So 4 pound test for trout, 8 pound for most everything else and 12 pound where snags are a problem. Do realize that you hook twice as many fish on 4 pound as on 8 pound in clear water where fishing pressures are high.
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