Trolling Plane

[WeeIan1877]

Not a boating question as such but i'm just wondering if anyone has used these trolling planes before for trolling lures? I've never used one so i was wondering how they work and if they are effective? Any info much appreciated. Ian

 

[KAL]

Do you mean a Paravane or something similar? If so, they're great for getting the lure down deeper and pop up as soon as they hook a fish (or snag some weed!). They do cause more strain on the line because it's effectively fighting the angle of tow, but that's fine. Good results. had some nice pollock.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

I use Paravane; they go deep where the fish is so more likely to catch one.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

They are excellent.
I find it best to go relatively slowly when towing one. About 3 knots seems to get best results.

 

[WeeIan1877]

Do you mean a Paravane or something similar? If so, they're great for getting the lure down deeper and pop up as soon as they hook a fish (or snag some weed!). They do cause more strain on the line because it's effectively fighting the angle of tow, but that's fine. Good results. had some nice pollock.

One of these ?

 

[KAL]

One of these View attachment 30638?

Haven't seen one like that before. Mine is one of these:

Same idea I guess. This one's £3.40 on ebay.

 

[WeeIan1877]

How do they work and is there any control over the depths you can fish?

 

[sailorman]

How do they work and is there any control over the depths you can fish?

controlled by how far back the line is attached, the further back the greater the depth.
when a fish is caught it (the paravane) rises to the surface

 

[VicMallows]

Good results. had some nice pollock.

What lure do you use for pollock ? .... anything other than mackerel would be nice for a change

 

[Iain C]

I did 250 miles with just a lead weight and caught one solitary garfish. I bought a paravane and for the rest of the trip could absolutely 100% depend on catching mackerel for dinner. And lunch...and breakfast...

Slow is better, however I have also caught the biggest effing mackerel I have ever seen off Portland at 6kts...

 

[Spyro]

I've used one and they do work, rising to the surface when a fish is hooked. Only troubles is if you are doing anything above 4 knts the rod is bent double with the extra resistance.

 

[Spyro]

Pollock tend to be on the bottom hiding amongst weed so trolling for them is out.

 

[KAL]

Pollock tend to be on the bottom hiding amongst weed so trolling for them is out.

I've caught them with my paravane...and a lot of weed too...

 

[Bodach na mara]

A made one about 25 years ago following an article in PBO when they used to have a regular article of fishing. It worked well and I regret that I left it on the boat when I sold it. I made another one a few years ago but it has not been successful. It is unstable and jumps back to the surface after a short time. The only real control over depth is the length of line out, although going faster makes it go deeper as well.

 

[Amulet]

Yep, they work - I started catching fish when I started using them.

 

[rob2]

The thing it does best is to ensure you look behind you regularly! When the wind is light it works well, and the lookout is far less likely to doze off.

Rob.

 

[KellysEye]

>trolling planes before for trolling lures?

Fish tend to feed at a shallow depth from dawn to about 09.00 and the same again from about 17.00 to dusk. They go deeper as the water warms up and are deepest at noon, that's the period when a when paravane can be useful. That's the accepted theory but we caught lots of fish over the Atlantic with different coloured swimming lures and no paravane. I think the lure colur is more important than a paravane because different fish take different coloured lures and it changes by season, if they see the colour they like the will come up to get it even at noon. If you are in area where sport fishing boats are check the colour(s) of their lures.

As an example we used two rods one had a blue and yellow swimming lure and the other was red and white. Just east of Gibralter we caught six mackerel all on the blue and yellow lure. Moral of that story is if you are not catching anything change to a different coloured lure, use it for a couple of hours, and keep changing until you start catching.

 

[sailorman]

A made one about 25 years ago following an article in PBO when they used to have a regular article of fishing. It worked well and I regret that I left it on the boat when I sold it. I made another one a few years ago but it has not been successful. It is unstable and jumps back to the surface after a short time. The only real control over depth is the length of line out, although going faster makes it go deeper as well.

the depth is also governed by where the line is attached to the paravane, the further aft the deeper it will go due to the "angle of attack"

 

[lenten]

I did 250 miles with just a lead weight and caught one solitary garfish. I bought a paravane and for the rest of the trip could absolutely 100% depend on catching mackerel for dinner. And lunch...and breakfast...

Slow is better, however I have also caught the biggest effing mackerel I have ever seen off Portland at 6kts...

but what size lead weight did you use?----i used to use a 5 pound weight for mackerel----about the size of a light bulb----regards lenten

 

[lenten]

ps----anyone know where you can buy 5 pound bomb weights----regards lenten