What is the best speed to troll for Blues ?

[Fish on]

What is the best speed range to troll for Blues, MPH

[gghisalberti]

from my experience trolling stretch 25s in the low 4mph range should produce, that being said when the blues are around its tough not to catch them at almost any speed from 3 to 5 mph

[Gerry Zagorski]

We've caught them @ 7 knots trolling for Tuna but I'd say 2.5 to 3 knots is a good general speed and at that speed if Stripers are around you have a shot at them too.

This goes out the window if you are trolling bunker spoons though. The action of the rod tip/spoon is what dictates the correct speed. You want a slow pulse of the pole tip, if the pulse is fast your spoon is just spinning and you wont catch squat. Here you also need to make adjustments for the direction you are trolling since the current and direction you are traveling will effect how the spoon runs.

One other thing I've noticed is that some days the fish only seem to want to hit while you are trolling in one direction. Take notice of what is working and repeat.

[Fish on]

Thanks guys, last week I trolled 5 mph and only caught one.

[makosnax]

2.5-3 like Gerry said. For bass and blues

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by Fish on

Thanks guys, last week I trolled 5 mph and only caught one.

Slow it down, try different speeds and directions, see what works and stick to it.

One other little trick is to take the boat out of gear every so often and let your lures sink for 10 secs or so and put it back in gear. That will sometimes trigger a strike.

[Capt Sal]

If you troll a stretch 25 too fast it does not go down deep enough. Slow it down and you will not only catch blues but stripers also. Although the stretches are rather easy bunker spooning is an art. Bunker spoons trolled on wire line rods with the proper reels are expensive as compared to trolling stretches. Almost any rod with 30lb test will work for stretches but not so with bunker spoons.

[jerseyhunter]

Gerry's post was spot on.