Trolling for stripers on the bay in a 44DA?

[importmonkey]

I am curious...can I get a trolling rig (or two) and troll up/down the Chesapeake Bay catching stripers on my 44DA? It can't be that hard, right?

I was thinking of two rods (one in each rod holder) - maybe one for now. No need for planer boards or a crazy setup. Hoping to get something used to start, or can I get something decent for under $100? Just want to have fun and maximize my chances to catch something.

Can I go slow enough? I'll probably have to bump in and out of gear to go 3 knots, or do you think 5-5.5 knots is okay?

What would the rig look like? Umbrellas? Test?

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.

 

[importmonkey]

man. i thought there'd be someone on here that has experience trolling for striped bass on the chesapeake.

 

[LTD.330]

I thought you left out a 'p' in your subject line and was bragging.

 

[bbwhitejr]

I have been contemplating the same thing here on Lake Lanier. There is a good population of landlocked fish here. I am afraid that we cannot idle down low enough to slow down. Might be possible at slower RPMs and one engine at a time...

Bennett

 

[importmonkey]

would using the Slow Idle button, on one motor, with auto-pilot put too much strain on the motor?

 

[Henry Boyd]

You might be better of either anchoring where the fish will be moving, mouth of a creek as the tide is dropping, or just drifting.

Henry

 

[doozie]

Sure you can, but the thought of pulling a bleeding rock across the boat or catching a hook in the vinyl seats or bouncing an 10 0z. weight off the transom. I'm not sure about that. I'd rather use my local charter guy,

 

[dtfeld]

I don't know about strippers, but for near or even off shore 5-7 kts is about right. That's about what I do at idle.

Is 3kts the right trolling speed for strippers? Get a large drouge/sea anchor or 2...one off each rear cleat. That might get to slowed down to the right speed

 

[JVM225]

Hmmmm..... might have to consider this.....

 

[importmonkey]

Interesting concept. I've never even heard about these until now. I can imagine it would be challenging keeping these apart from lines and fish, and I'd admit to nothing if one comes loose and falls prey to another boat's prop or intake. But...might be worth the $25 gamble on Amazon.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Sure you can, but the thought of pulling a bleeding rock across the boat or catching a hook in the vinyl seats or bouncing an 10 0z. weight off the transom. I'm not sure about that. I'd rather use my local charter guy,

That’s why I’m wasn’t allowed to fish from the boat for the first couple years.

 

[JVM225]

Normally troll on my Uncles 22’ Eastern, often while freezing.
Might be nice to do it with genny running and heat on in the cabin with a hot cup of coffee close at hand.
But it would kill me to have to clean up fish blood or catch a hook on some vinyl.
Not sure how I could keep those big Cats back at trolling speed.

 

[OllieC]

I troll on Lake Superior for trout. I need to be around 1.5 - 2.0 knots, however at idle, I am around 3.0-3.5 knots which is too fast.

I use a sea anchor or drift sock while trolling which slows me down to that range. Not sure how that would work in a 440 DA tho....

 

[Pilot]

I have gas engines and a trolling setting on my throttle. I tried it last year and the boat flooded and stalled after 30 minutes. Searay gas engines don't like going that slow I guess.

 

[Pierpressure1]

I tried this with my 340 and found that running with both motors was too fast for trolling. We did catch a single striper near the mouth of the Rappahanock a couple years ago using single engine with autopilot keeping it running in straight line.

 

[importmonkey]

Great feedback. Thanks!

 

[kiloil]

Now your speaking my language. That is only thing I used to live for in VB was the striper season for 16 years. We used to go out on a 29' center console dual Merc Pro line boat. We would go in and out of island 3 and 4 on the bridge and fished in between them. I know your boat is too big to go in and out of the bridge, and probably a little too fast. You'll have to modulate the throttle a lot. It was best fishing when it was 45d out and the wind just from the east.

 

[play dough]

Drift bags aren't tough enough for trolling. In the Great Lakes, we use bags made by Big Papa Sports or Amish Buggy Bags to troll for salmon. Both are quality bags designed for that purpose. The lead line attaches to a midship cleat with a trailing line to a rear cleat. Bags come in a variety of sizes. The largest bag(s) are likely needed for a 40' boat. That's what I used on my 300DA shown here. These bags are very effective.

 

[villain style]

These bags are very effective.View attachment 56902
Put a couple chicken necks in this bag with some weights - - I know you know what I'm thinking about Toby.

 

[Alegria]

I have a friend with your exact same DA model. He has the Zeus drives on it. If I see him I'll ask how they slow troll with the planner boards on their boat. They have a really neat rocket launcher that holds 5 rods in one holder. They use 2 and troll 12 lines in the bay and always catch some. Where there is a will there is a way.