Rockfish/ling thoughts

I always did it that way simply to use the idea that the fish may notice the weight less when it picks up the lure. When I'm trolling with the clicker, I'll have it set so that any pull or tug will pull line off the reel. With a mooching sinker, the fish picks up the lure and has to also lift the weight of the lead. That feeling of resistance may spook the fish into spitting out the lure before a good hook-set is made. Just a school of thought I've gone with and seems to have worked in the past. (that and I have a bunch of egg sinkers laying around so I might as well use them, right?)

Good thread!  I'm definitely taking notes.....   

Ppaddlr. What I'm thinking is something like the setup that's commonly used at Drano. A Mag Wart on a line w/ a sliding sinker. It just extends the depth at which your plug will run. The biggest mag will get you to 25'. If you had that setup you could chase deeper schools probably down to 40' or so.   

Something like this but just replace the jetdriver with some lead.

Something like this but just replace the jetdriver with some lead.

That's the idea.

Z

Got it.  Sounds like a cool game plan, and definitely a way reduce tooling if you can still catch a wide variety of fish with the same rod. 

Wonder what kinda of beast you could hook up if you trolled a small gimped rock fish?

A big, tasty one...

Ppaddlr. What I'm thinking is something like the setup that's commonly used at Drano. A Mag Wart on a line w/ a sliding sinker. It just extends the depth at which your plug will run. The biggest mag will get you to 25'. If you had that setup you could chase deeper schools probably down to 40' or so.   

Sorry, maybe I was unclear, weight in the range of 3-6+ oz was always part of the plan. I was more wondering if making it a slider made much difference in a trolling situation like this. Lings and rockfish aren't really all to particular . Depending on amount of weight used, you could fish anywhere in the water column.  It would also be fun to cast these to fish feeding on the surface (no weight added)

Casting to rockfish on the surface is a blast.    I often take an old bass rod for just such fun, 1/4 oz kastmasters, 3-4" swimbaits w/ 3/4 oz heads, and Rapala saltwater x-raps are my favorites.  Any saltwater lure you can "walk the dog" with is especially fun.

Brian

Not to try and sway the topic, but has anyone had any luck trolling a bass lure like these for rockfish? 
The kind with rattle balls, and lots of wiggle.  Maybe swap the trebs for some singles?

I don't think rockfish are that picky.  Any old wiggling plug in front of its face will do the trick.  I've used rat-l-traps before, not because I picked them for any specific reason other than they were in the bargin bin.

-Allen

Good thread!  I'm definitely taking notes.....   

heh, yeh, like you need to take notes, Spot.......

Sorry, maybe I was unclear, weight in the range of 3-6+ oz was always part of the plan. I was more wondering if making it a slider made much difference in a trolling situation like this. Lings and rockfish aren't really all to particular

Good point. But you never know what you're going to hook into when you're out in open water. They were hammering white seabass in NorCal this summer... 

Z

I almost always troll in the upper half of the water column while paddling out. I've caught lots of 18 - 20 inch blacks & several legal lings (nothing huge) this way. I use the old standbys, both 6 & 8 inchers, tied directly on the line:


They're cheap, effective & lots of fun. I use 1 oz jig heads for the 8's & 3/4 oz for the 6's.
I'd love to try it sometime while making a long paddle out to some hali grounds. I'd definitely be willing to make the trip to PC for that!

Allen - I replied to your email

Someone correct me if I'm wrong because I've never run a mooching rig, but I believe they're also referred to as a "banana weight", or "trolling weights". They have an integrated bead chain swivel on one end. Here's a pic I found on Cabela's:

Something I have often wondered, does it matter which end goes first, swivel or bead chain?  I've always used the bead chain on the bait end.