How to Be Successful At Trolling Lures


by Yvonne James

Fishing lures are used for catching pelagic species in the ocean. These lures typically have a flexible plastic skirting and a cylindrical resin head, taking the appearance of a squid. These lures skirts come in vibrant colours, and the shape of their head is where the action happens.

Their heads can be cone-faced, cup-faced, flat, or angled. Anglers usually troll them at speed. When it comes to buying lure skirts for sale, it pays to know the basics and significant features, so you are in a better position to catch your trophy fish.

What a Skirted Lure Does

The kinds of lures discussed in this article are surface running lures. When these skirted trolling lures are running behind your boat, they tend to move in a repetitive cycle. You will know that a lure is moving well when it follows a specific cycle, which is to come to the surface, grab air to breathe, then dive down to leave a smoking bubble trail.

When the lure stops smoking, it will come up to the surface again for another breath. In case it runs through the water without leaving a smoke trail for a specific period, it is considered a lazy lure.

Various shapes and sizes of these lure skirts go through these movements with different timing and aggressions. Some lures explode on the water surface like a rocket, while others softly breathe as they come to the surface before diving. Some lures shake their tails or heads when diving; others dive straight like an arrow. There are also lures that dive deep in a consistent arc.

The smoke trails they create also vary from creating a prop wash to a pencil-thin type. The smoke trail depends on the trolling speed of the lure, and the length and shape of the head. The position of the lure, the line class, line height, boat speed, rigging, distance, and sea conditions, all determine the frequency of a lure going through the working cycle.

Lure Skirts in Action

The set of lures you use must be compatible with one another in trolling speed, vibration, and action. To test their compatibility, try running lures in similar types. If you’re starting with this sport, it’s not advisable to mix various brands and types of lures because each developer of lure designs their products to move in certain positions in a pattern at specific speeds. If you lack experience, it can be quite challenging to get it right by merely looking at the lures.

Whether the lures work in a specific position and pattern depends significantly on the angle that it hits the water. Therefore, the performance and angle of the lure vary considerably. When designing and positioning your lures, it is essential to understand this concept completely.

There are many techniques of adjusting your lure angle, in which it enters the water. You may lower or raise the rigger halyards, or put the rods in angled rod holders or straight holders. You can use a rubber band to release the clips to the gunnels so you can lower your angle on flat lines. The length of the leader, diameter, and line class are other factors that impact the angle.

It has been long accepted that these artificial lure skirts for sale are effective tools for catching game fish. In most cases, they are responsible for winning in fishing compared to using other methods.