No outriggers, no problem! Trolling without outriggers on a small boat is a great way to get into big fish. Troll these easy spread along weedlines, shrimp boats, color changes and structure this summer off the Texas coast. Simplify down to two or three lures depending on your crew and experience. Fewer lines are easier to manage for beginners. Mount release clips on reel seats or to your boat to change the angle of lines and prevent tangles. Rubber bands to cleats or reel handles will also work.
SMALL BOAT TROLLING SPREAD FOR DORADO
Proven dorado colors are blue/white, pink/white and green/yellow. Change your spread to the colors they are hitting the hardest. Feather jigs, Ilanders, small Mold Crafts and C&H lures are excellent, inexpensive lures. Place bigger baits closer to the boat and smaller ones further back in your spread. To hungry dorado, your boat resembles fleeing bait and your lures are the crippled fish, easily picked off. Rig baits with 100-150# hard mono and 6/0 or 7/0 hooks. Use single strand or cable for ballyhoo baits around platforms and shrimp boats to prevent cutoffs from toothy fish.
SMALL BOAT TROLLING SPREAD FORÂ KINGFISH
Kingfish are abundant in the Gulf and will strike baits with unbridled aggression and speed. Gold and silver Russelures are proven lures, as well as Rapala diving plugs, baited feather jigs and Mann’s Stretch Lures. Experiment with other colors like pink or chartreuse if the fish are not cooperating. Troll this spread right outside the jetties, around offshore platforms or near shrimp boats. Rig baits with 80-100# coffee colored single strand wire or crimped multistrand cable. Subdue kingfish before bringing them on board. A thrashing kingfish with a mouth of big treble hooks is no joke.
