With the mother ship usually parked in the middle of a pelagic paradise, there is some excellent trolling action to be had. Fish like Wahoo, Dogtooth Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna, Green Jobfish and even Marlin and Sailfish, can be within the reach of a 4m tinnie.

These pelagic fish are well known for their speed and long runs. After a savage strike its hold on as your reel screams and the fish heads for the horizon.

These fish hit hard enough to wreak lures and tackle. Broken lures, snaps, pulled crimps and chopped leaders are a common sight. You have to spend the time to make sure everything is right, these fish play for keeps.

The most effective lures have an aggressive action, and can be run fast. Able to dive to 2 meters plus, and run at speeds of up to 10 knots.

Trolling out here is best done with outfits from 15kg and up. With the most popular outfits being 15kg and 24kg. Not every fish you catch trolling is a monster. A 15kg outfit is certainly up to the task, but there are fish out there that will stress a 24kg outfit, so be prepared for some long battles on 15kg.

Regardless of rod and reel. It is the lure or bait trolled in the water that the fish eats. No point worrying about the below if you never need to fight a fish using it. It is true that some colours produce more strikes, some lures produce more strikes, and different types of lures produce more strikes.

It’s a wonder you could troll for 1 minute without getting a strike. It’s also true that the speed that you run a particular lure will vary the number of strikes you get.

Other lures you are trolling, can affect the number of strikes on any of the lures, when compared as a whole. It may sound hard, but sometimes, the fish will eat a beer can trolled behind the boat.

The most sense I can make out of this is described here:

Fishing Lures

My preference here is for lever drag reels. This is because they provide the best drag system to tire out these fish. And are easiest to use when trolling, you can release the lever to let the lure out, then push it back to your pre-set position.

The first run on most of these fish is measured in 100s of meters. You drag needs to be smooth, and able to keep a consistent pressure on the fish. A sticking or rough drag can lead to the line breaking.

Also while traveling there is a very good chance of running into a Marlin or other large game fish. While catching a 150kg marlin on 15kg is a great achievement, the time taken will use all the fishing time available. Your mates might not be too keen on that.

The next thing you need is something to stick your reel onto. The rods used are generally fast tapered and in the short stroker mould, a flexible tip and a strong butt section. The butt strength allows you to lift and direct the fish. The lighter tip provides sensitivity and feel.

Fully rollered rods protect the line under strain. They reduce friction as the line is running back and forth on the rod, and are very smooth. At the tip is where most line pressure is, as the line changes direction there. You should at least have a roller on the tip, if not the rest of the rod.

As we fish standing up, the rods are shorter so you can be more mobile. Handy when you are chasing some monster that keeps on swimming around your dory.