Concord River 9-11

I hit the river yesterday afternoon around 2:30 till about 6. Dad and I had just one pickerel for our efforts. We threw the usual spinnerbaits and topwater stuff that have been working all along. Dad also was casting a jointed Rapala in fire tiger which is what the pickerel hit. There were a decent number of boats on the water many of which were trolling. I talked with a few of the guys and they were much more successful while trolling. We trolled back to the launch but had no luck. On our lines were Dad's new favorite J11 fire tiger Rapala and a chartreuse Yozuri shallow swimmer. Both lures were hitting weeds once in a while. I figured that was a good thing because the fish would be waiting in ambush?

Questions: I am new to trolling and am wondering what you knowledgable bunch can advise to make trolling more productive. Are you sticking to the deepest channels? Are you pulling deep divers? Mid range? Top? Do you have favorite lures? Are colors that important?

I am not looking for the "great secret weapon" here. I am willing to put in the time and effort....just looking to be steered in the right direction.

Thanks for your input.

Charlie

While I can't offer you much advice on the trolling questions I can talk about the Concord a little bit. I fish from shore 95% of the time.
The Concord River is becoming one of my favorite places to fish. It does help that I live really close to it and drive by it almost daily, but of course thats not why its my favorite place to fish...
Its that the fish that I catch there seem to be really good size, consistently. I tried a different bridge today in Billerica for an hour and a half and caught my first fish on a spinnerbait, a 3.5 lb largey. Combine the great bass with the capability of catching pike, this place thrills me.

On the trolling topic, do spinnerbaits troll well? If so, they obviously catch bass there and have witnessed them catch pike on the river, spinnerbaits might be worth a shot. I was reeling mine in really fast when I caught my bass because when I didnt reel fast I was getting stuck.

hey...thanks for the response. i had thought about trolling spinnerbaits as well, but went the more typical swimming lure. i agree that there are lots of quality fish here. i caught the biggest crappie i have seen fishing with a popping bug while targeting bass.

i am going to try and head out saturday morning with my dad and have been considering starting out trolling. you mentioned that you sped up your retrieve and that plays into an article i read about speed trolling. the article suggested that trying 4.5-5 mph for pike could be a good bet. i am open to anything.

thanks for the response,

charlie

I've never really trolled before, or had any desire to, but I don't think a spinnerbait would go deep enough while trolling. I've left mine in the water while paddling my kayak, I guess it was kinda like trolling, but the lure tracks only a few inches under the surface, where the water has just been stirred up by the boat. I think most people use something a little deeper diving, or weight down their lures while trolling. Don't take that for fact...just my thoughts...

sounds plausible....i am not a big fan of trolling either to be honest. i would much rather pepper areas with casts but, i am also up for learning something new.

i fish out of a 16' princecraft utility boat. if anyone here sees me, please come and say hi.

charlie