# how fast do i need to paddle?



## chrispycreme (Jun 21, 2014)

Can anyone help in clearing this up for me? Im not sure how fast i need to be paddling for effective trolling. I currently troll (or arrempt to) 120mm halco laser pros and other similar hardbodys but since im yet to have any action im starting to question my techniques. 
I know its not really the season to be trolling here on the Northern Rivers but when the water warms up id like to know im doing the right thing. Ill be mainly on the hunt for various mackerel and tuna so if anyone has some advice it would be appreciated.
If it makes any difference i have a 3.6m paddle yak.
Cheers.


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

A steady cruise. No point in pushing harder. Make sure the lure is moving well and not skipping.

The only exception is trolling for snapper where slow is the right move.


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## avayak (May 23, 2007)

Hard bodies have a minimum speed at which the action starts. If you see your rod tip pulsing as you paddle then you have enough speed for the lure to work. It is also a good way to check if you have any weed snagged without having to wind in. It only takes a small amount of weed to kill the action. Try different lures and check the minimum speed. With many lures designed for boats you may find that some require quite a fast speed. I've found Rapala CD9's need more pace than I am comfortable cruising at. X-raps seem to require very little speed to get going.
Varying speed often induces a strike, even stopping.


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## laneends (Jan 25, 2013)

run the lure next to the yak and you will be able to see at what speed it shows good action. Shorter line will impair it a bit. also make sur eit is tuned to run straight (bending eyelet), if runs on a tilt it will impair proper action.

Quality lures will get better results than cheapies,if you can afford them.

I have caught trout on a only just moving lure with barely any movement, and also on tassie devil trolled flat out in a hurry to get back.


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## chrispycreme (Jun 21, 2014)

Awesome. Thanks


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

K1 has often asked me why I don't have lures bitten off when trolling, whereas he often loses them that way... and the only reason I can come up with is that I troll faster than does he.

Many years ago when I was a lad, and yellow-tail pike were the only trolled bait for tailor in the Redcliffe area, (WA pillies hadn't hit Qld at that stage) one old fisho claimed that he always knew when they were trolling too slowly... the pike were bitten in the belly region and when trolled too fast, just the tail was nipped off, each time missing the hooks.

So the troll speed was remedied and tailor were caught.

Gang hooks were introduced around the same time that the WA pillies became fashionable as tailor bait. That made the belly bite accessible to a hook or two.

Snapper, jew, tailor & flathead regularly fall to the fast troll for me, and bonito, trevally, tarpon, school macs plus the odd big bream fall as well, but not nearly as regularly as the first four.

I troll mainly when shifting from one spot to another, or sometimes when there's not enough breeze for me to drift for snapper. Although I never deliberately troll slowly, the hard-body lures catch lots of fish for me.

The other reason I troll relatively fast is that I use the paddling as a fitness effort... you don't get fit by trolling or paddling slowly.

I hope that doesn't confuse the issue.

Cheers, Jimbo


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

Paddling over short distances may not be the ideal thing for fitness. Target a heart rate of 180 - your age. You will very likely find this is paddling MUCH slower than your normal fitness run.

Then it's about keeping it going. Lower effort, longer time.


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## donked (Jul 13, 2014)

The lure decides the troll speed IMO for HB's anyway

Paddling too fast and some HB lures will just "blow out" resulting in them skipping along the surface or just wildly spinning out of control underwater. If the lure is close to "blowing out" due to you running at the lures maximum speed - even the tinniest amount of crud will tip it over the edge as well leading to it surfacing or just madly spinning (hope you have swivels if that happens lols)

Paddle too fast and some HB lures will just completely and constantly "drag the bottom" as well, leading to fouled lures in seconds unless your trolling sand flats (in which case doing exactly that is great for attracting flattys)

If your trolling shallow mudflats with a deep bibbed diver HB lure - going too fast can also lead you to losing the lure (the bib gets stuck in the mud, and if your drags too tight...snap goes the line)

But.....

Going too slow for certain HB lure will mean its not achieving its proper depth, and its also not swimming optimally either with the movement it was designed for perhaps - so the fish get suspicious and perhaps are less likely to have a bite at it?

Every lure is different, find one in a size and colour and style you like - then take it out and test it next to the kayak as previously advised to figure out its "happy speed".

If your running a HB lure which keeps blowing due to overspeed and you dont want to slow down your paddling but you really want to use it... Perhaps try letting more line out (it lowers the lines angle to the water) and also run the rod in a scottys rod holder or similar parallel to the waterline and as close as you dare (lowering the lines angle again) This tends to help small lures especially and can actually be all the difference between a lure working or not sometimes when running the "ragged edge" with their optimal speed

Recently I got a magazine at a newsagency where they tested pages of name brand HB lures to find their optimal troll speed. Some were way too high for a paddle yak (7+knots) while some were a great choice for a paddle yak (2 or 3 knots optimal is my aim) Maybe see if your newsagency has a copy?



Hope the info helps, I realise your asking about halcos in particular which I guess arnt so speed sensitive - but why not try some HB's to mix things up and perhaps your results will change (if the fish arnt biting on somthing, try somthing else until you find out what they are biting on for that day)

Dont forget to try different size lures as well. Big lures generally catch only big fish. Smaller lures can catch big and small fish but the bigger ones are possibly less likely to expend energy chasing it as the payoff is less.... so..... its a fine line and can change on the day and the location and fishes mood and probably a million other things.

I think the key is - if it aint working mix it up!


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## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Do you know if you are actually trolling in a productive area? Are others catching stuff where you are trolling? You can't catch fish if they aren't there. Maybe try fish an area that is a known producer of your target species when the season kicks off again.

Whilst many of us always troll when travelling, we are still on the way to particular locations such as noted reefs etc, so while you can catch the odd fish away from the structures that may just be cruising and stumble on your lure by accident, most of the time they are taken closer to the structure and more importantly where the bait is located. A notable exclusion to this theory would be when they have bait schooled up and feeding on the bait balls away from structure, then it would be a matter of trolling in this vicinity.

The lure you have noted is a proven fish catcher and it works well in a wide range of speeds from very slow to faster than we can maintain from a yak, so personally, I don't think speed is the issue, because there really isn't that much you can do wrong with a trolled lure, so your technique probably isn't what I would be questioning.


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