# Trolling Blade Lures



## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

I wrote up the following on one of my trip reports in response to the following question:



skorgard said:


> Hi McBigg what vibes would you recommend to start with? I presume you troll slowly as close to snags as you dare? Advice appreciated.


I thought that the answer may be useful to others considering buying blade lures, so I'll post it up here as well:

Actually no, I found that most hits were occurring in the middle of the river on the last two trips with them. (Which is fine by me because I'd rather stay as far as possible away from the snags with my $15-$25 lures). This may just be because it's where the fish happen to be congregating at this time of year, though. (I do suspect however, that I would get more and bigger estuary perch if I did go closer to the snags.)

I bought a couple of Switchblade TT vibe lures. One was a darker red colour and one was the colour you can see in the shot below. The lighter coloured one seems to get many more hits - i like to tell myself it's because its closer in colour to the baitfish in the river, but in reality it's more likely just because I had it on the rod that I was holding and twitching, verses the rod-holder held rod.

The lighter coloured lure:








(Note this small sized bream was the exception, not the rule as most of the fish caught so far have been over 30cm - the photo just happens to show the lure really well)

I chose the switchblades over the ecogear blades due to economic reasons. ($15 vs $25). 
I have also tried the Bushy's Stiffy blade lures which have a plastic blade on a metal head. They all feel very similar in their action, but I have found that the Stiffy lures tended to foul up in their own hooks when casting a LOT more often. This isn't really an issue when trolling, but when casting towards the bank, if every second cast fails due to the hooks getting caught up in the line or the lure, then it gets really frustrating. The all metal lures still do that, but nowhere near as often.

One tip when trolling the blades is to have them _really_ far back (like 30-40m). Too close and they come to the surface to easily. This does mean it takes a long time to bring in a hooked fish, but it also means that you will hook the fish, rather than pass over them.

Another tip is to constantly bring the rod tip forwards slowly and then back suddenly, allowing the blade to pause and drop in the water column. 7 out of 10 hits I've had have been as the lure is dropping, rather than traveling forwards. I have actually had quite a few hits just after casting the lure back and whilst i was still playing out line to get the lure the right distance back from the yak.

The best speed for me is at about 3-4km/h, which is great, because it's a nice leisurely pace that I could keep up all day.

The only drawback I find with trolling them (even though they seem to be really successful) is that every fish I hook, I'm pulling it in from behind me, over my shoulder. I much prefer to fight a fish from in front. If I was only trolling the one lure, this wouldn't be an issue, as I'd simply turn the kayak and fight them front on, but seeings as I usually have two out, this isn't feasible. This is a small issue, and I know I should be grateful to be catching these fish at all, let alone this many of them.

Hope this helps!


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## Fishpod (Oct 11, 2006)

Thanks for all the information there mate   
Good stuff.


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## YakN00b (Jun 9, 2008)

I dont troll blades because a soon as I stop they hit the bottom they snag and its goodbye blade.


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## GoneFishn (May 17, 2007)

Have been using the blade lures for a little while now, and love them. But the first thin I did was change the rear treble to a single and the front treble I cut off the bottom hook turning it into a double  still gets wedge in the reef but all you need to do is back track and pull it up.

I have been using the larger size and trolling it around for the Salmon and pinkies with great success  Have been using the Damiki Vault in the 55 and just got a TT in the 1/2oz in the Peacock Blue http://www.ttlures.com.au/switchblade.php great looking colour.


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## soggypilchard (Dec 1, 2008)

thanks for the info, so what brands and models should i be looking at, and colors?


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## Nhibbo (Mar 15, 2009)

Mcbigg, I recall reading somewhere (maybe even AKFF) of a guy turning his drive back to front so the yak runs rudder first into the water and you can then bring the fish in towards you. Most of my fishing is bay and ocean so haven't been game to try it, but in estuaries after bream, could be worth a try.
Might be harder to see where you're going but guys have been doing something similar for yonks in rowboats.

Cheers,

Norm


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## tryto2fish (Nov 14, 2008)

try inovator weedless hook.reckon that they do the job better than trebels.have since switch to them on all my vibes.


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## mtfisho (May 30, 2009)

Good STuff Mcbigg,
Just ordered some off ebay and keen to give them a try.
Great info.

Mitch


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## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

I brought a Damiki vault a little while ago for the Snapper,,have not tried trolling yet,,i thought it would sink straight to the bottom,,this does not seem to be the case,,will give it a go,,i guess i will have to beef up the hooks though,,cheers,,


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## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

Shorty said:


> i thought it would sink straight to the bottom,,this does not seem to be the case


If anything, it's the opposite when you troll them. I have more trouble stopping them from breaking the surface.

(Unless you stop of course, then they sink).


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