I am kinda new too saltwater fishing. For the life of me I cannot figure out how in the heck too catch a fish trolling. I have spent countless hours every night trying too troll all along CBBT with NOTHING for luck. I have been told use a storm on a 6-7 foot leeder on a three way with like a 16 ounce wait. I normally run two of them then chuck out some heavy jig heads too. I have tried going slow... I have tried not going slow... but for some reason my lines a cursed. I want nothing more than too hook just one fish trolling. I dont care if he is smaller than my lure!! ....Anyways anyone with any good tips for me.... let me know. What baits too use what rigs anything becouse I am stumped!

trolling near cbbt can be tough cause there are lots of snags, if i am near the cbbt i typically would cast or jig or live bait, but thats just me. this is a typical setup for trolling, but better used in the ocean where there are less snags. short left and right rod - rigged with a stretch or mojo combo (spoon/tomic/storm - whatever) these lines will be closest in because they run deepest with the least line out (hopefully u have braid cause it gets deeper faster) to get a mojo to the proper depth, let line out and find the speed u want and it should be hitting the bottom, then crank it up a few winds so its near the bottom but not on it constantly. mid range left and right- umbrella rigs or possibly another mojo combo. down the middle way back - umbrella or spoon/tomic with inline sinker. put the way back line in a rocket launcher on the ttop if u have one. the key to finding fish when trolling is to get good marks before u put ur spread out. u have to know where the fish are before u start fishing otherwise u r fishing blind and that is almost always unproductive. when u go through a big baitball with fish hit waypoint so u can hit the area again. hope this helps.

You seem to be doing everything right. Make sure you are covering the water column top to bottom until you find out where they are. Also, you said you have tried slow and fast...how slow? Sometimes you need to be brutally slow (1.5-2 mph). One last thing. I have had minimal luck on most everything except umbrella rigs this year (outfishing everything else I own 2 to 1. The most successful umbrella I have is golden mullet. Hope this helps. Good luck.

--Brett

Try some other things too. Mojos, umbrellas, stretches, spoons, you gotta see what works.

I don't troll very often along the CBBT for stripers, for me trolling season starts when the big hawgs show up at the baymouth/ocean in late December, Jan, Feb. Along the bridge I usually just cast the pilings with storms on light action. When I do troll my setup consists of 4 rods which is about all my boat can handle.

Two off the stern that are set up with mojos off a three way swivel along with a long leader with either a tomic, spoon or storm. You need to get the mojo (or large ball weight) on the bottom. Make sure you use a heavy enough setup. Many guys use wire which cuts thru the water alot better then mono. I prefer powerpro. Mono gives you to much drag in the water. Let this baby drop until it hits bottom, I usually then give it a couple of cranks to get it a little off the bottom. While you are trolling it is often a good idea for someone to jig the mojo/ball weight setup. Occasionally I use an umbrella rig but I lost my umbrellas last year and have been slow to replace them. As for weight 16oz may be to light, with a strong current you may need 32+oz to hold bottom.

Off the port and starboard I run rods with stretch 25s. Vary the colors you use but almost always one of them is chartreusse (you can fish any color as long as its chartreuse, ain't no use unless its chartreuse, etc).

I usually troll around Cape Henry, Green can, Ramada, etc. Keep your speed slow, I repeat SLOW. Sometimes you have to bump it in and out of gear to keep it slow enough, usually under 2 knots.

Always keep a rod or two setup with a 6" storm. Often you will find schooling stripers feeding on menhaden schools. When I do, I pull in the trolling rods and cast the storms while drifting. We caught alot of 40" fish last year doing this and its alot more fun when your not fighting that heavy mojo.

Keep at it and you'll score some stripers.

Tight lines.

Pete

Everything the other guys said, plus I normally run a downrigger with a spoon on it.

If you think you are going too slow, slow down some more. (You can't go too slow)

Welcome to the board! You should come out to our meet-n-greet (aka liar's club) next friday and meet some of the guys.

Another thing about trolling the CBBT I learned is that you keep the boat up tide from the pilings. Fish face into the current. When you troll up tide your spread will be pulled toward the pilings. This is also where your speed comes into play. If you dont keep your speed just right you will be either reversing to get your spread off the pilings of breaking off some tackle. I usually only run 2 rods when I am trolling the CBBT because of this reason. On the down tide side I will have my 3 way rigged being that it is heaviest. On the up tide side I will have something like a stretch or umbrella rig. The current will pull that rig over in the strile zone. Trolling down tide takes all the baits away from the structure that defeats the purpose of trolling next to the bridge anyway. Other than that I think everything else was covered above. Tight lines!!!!

Thanks too everyone who has responded. I was gonna go out tonight but there is NO WAY. I Am gonna head out tomorow if this wind will go away. I am going too search for some of these locations and explore more than the bay. When I get a fish trolling I will be sure too post a picture of the S.O.B for all too see! (even if he is 18 inches)

Keep trying, you'll get em. Not knowing what type boat you have, it's like 71 Whaler stated above sometimes you have to bump the
x-mission in and out of gear to go slow enough. Find the birds, find the bait, find the fish on the water column and you'll get bit; guaranteed!

If you just want some action, I would try casting the pilings or rocks of the islands. You'll get smaller fish but its a lot of fun. The HRBT is a great spot at night for schoolie action and is a good place to head if its blowing out on the bay. I'm not sure if the bite has turned on at the Baymouth yet (Cape Henry,e tc) but should soon hopefully. We want the water to drop to around 45 and then the hawgs will start showing. I wouldn't head out today (Friday) unless you have a really big boat and even then I'd probably stay at the dock.

One caveat about slow trolling - if you go too slow while pulling Stretches or other diving swimbaits, it will negatively affect the depth and action.

It's not even close to 45 yet. It was 55 in the ocean, if I remember right.

Eric

[quote=peejcj8,Dec 8 2006, 09:29 AM][quote=71Whaler,Dec 8 2006, 08:57 AM]If you just want some action, I would try casting the pilings or rocks of the islands. You'll get smaller fish but its a lot of fun. The HRBT is a great spot at night for schoolie action and is a good place to head if its blowing out on the bay. I'm not sure if the bite has turned on at the Baymouth yet (Cape Henry,e tc) but should soon hopefully. We want the water to drop to around 45 and then the hawgs will start showing. I wouldn't head out today (Friday) unless you have a really big boat and even then I'd probably stay at the dock.
[/quote]

It's not even close to 45 yet. It was 55 in the ocean, if I remember right.

Eric

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Yeah, I know but I'm hoping it'll start dropping with this cold front. Looking at my log from last year. It was 53 on 11/26/05 and then hit 43 on 12/20/05. The year before it was 52 on 12/04/04 and dropped to 47 by 12/18/04 and 44 by 12/22/04 so I think the temps will start dropping soon. In both years I noticed a big increase in fish size with these temp drops. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

[quote=peejcj8,Dec 8 2006, 09:29 AM][quote=71Whaler,Dec 8 2006, 08:57 AM]If you just want some action, I would try casting the pilings or rocks of the islands. You'll get smaller fish but its a lot of fun. The HRBT is a great spot at night for schoolie action and is a good place to head if its blowing out on the bay. I'm not sure if the bite has turned on at the Baymouth yet (Cape Henry,e tc) but should soon hopefully. We want the water to drop to around 45 and then the hawgs will start showing. I wouldn't head out today (Friday) unless you have a really big boat and even then I'd probably stay at the dock.
[/quote]

It's not even close to 45 yet. It was 55 in the ocean, if I remember right.

Eric

[/quote]


Yeah, I know but I'm hoping it'll start dropping with this cold front. Looking at my log from last year. It was 53 on 11/26/05 and then hit 43 on 12/20/05. The year before it was 52 on 12/04/04 and dropped to 47 by 12/18/04 and 44 by 12/22/04 so I think the temps will start dropping soon. In both years I noticed a big increase in fish size with these temp drops. Lets keep our fingers crossed.