As I fired up the boat engine, ready to push off from the boat launch, another angler walked by my boat, seeing my same Okuma rod and reel trout trolling combo, and said, “Does it matter that you have the same rod/real/line setup for your trout trolling?” My Answer back to him: Absolutely it matters!
My approach to trolling for trout has always been to look at the conditions before launching the boat, use my experience and knowledge to start with a flasher and bait that give the best chance at an early bite. Then get the gear in the water at different depths to find the trout.
Having the same rod/reel trolling setup has advantages. Trolling with the same setup allows for your gear to fish the same. Meaning, the flashers, bait and weight will have the same action. Making adjustments to your speed will keep the gear fishing the same. With different setups, one of the rods could be fishing correctly, but the other could not be fishing properly. And having one of the rods not fishing properly will cost you fish and opportunities. Ask any salmon fishing guide in the Northwest, and they will talk about their gear “working properly” and that starts with the same setup.
One of the biggest advantages for having multiple of the same trolling rod and reel is making quick adjustments. Once you find trout, get a bite, it’s very easy to use line counter reels (I highly recommend the Okuma Convector line counter reels) and adjust the amount of line out to get to the “right depth.” This way, you can have multiple rods fishing the same depth and build a “wall of baits” through the same zone in the water. And no trout can resist a wall of baits when they are looking for a meal.
As you walk through the sporting goods store next time, think about multiple trolling setups with the same gear. Not only will you hook more fish, you will start to go from those 1 bite and 1 fish days, to multiple bites, a limit, and quick limits.
