Trolling with the bug wand...

Any techniques for trolling on a lake from a yak with the bug wand?

Check out the backtrolling tactic in this month's kayak guys column in Northwest Sportsman.  Works as well for pulling flies as it does for pulling Bass plastics.    

-Spot-

It's been a while since I've earned an ass hat, don't you think?

Check out the backtrolling tactic in this month's kayak guys column in Northwest Sportsman.  Works as well for pulling flies as it does for pulling Bass plastics.    

-Spot-

It's been a while since I've earned an ass hat, don't you think?

I don't know if you have earned an asshat but that annoying northwest kayak guy that has a column in the Northwest Sportsman has...

shooot, last issue i got of that rag, it was a printing line assembly nightmare!!... never did see a kayak guy article, since they repeatedly inserted the same 5 articles something like 9 times....

spot, you got room on your shelf for another ass hat after running off with so many ofthe other prizes around here?? 

OK, ok, I was just teasing.   

Here's the poop:

Trolling forward with a bug tends to put a weird swing on your fly and gets it moving too fast.  Also, it's nearly impossible to get a decent hookset that way.  Take a hint from the belly boaters and try trolling backward.  Cast your fly out 30 or 40 feet beyond your bow and then slowly work your way backward. 
Stopping and starting can be pretty effective when they're not hitting a flat troll.  It can also create a passable chorominid motion. 
If you have a forward rod holder, rest your rod across your rod holder and tuck the reel into your crotch.  When you see that telltale tick in your rod tip, you can grab your rod and set the hook in one quick sweeping motion. 
You can use this same technique to search for bass too.  Just switch up to a sinking line or add a splitshot above your tippet.  As proof of effectiveness please refer to the "Backup Backup Plan" post.   

-Spot-

Take a hint from the belly boaters and try trolling backward.  Cast your fly out 30 or 40 feet beyond your bow and then slowly work your way backward.  
Stopping and starting can be pretty effective when they're not hitting a flat troll.  It can also create a passable chorominid motion.  
If you have a forward rod holder, rest your rod across your rod holder and tuck the reel into your crotch.  When you see that telltale tick in your rod tip, you can grab your rod and set the hook in one quick sweeping motion.  
You can use this same technique to search for bass too.  Just switch up to a sinking line or add a splitshot above your tippet.  As proof of effectiveness please refer to the "Backup Backup Plan" post.  
-Spot-

Sounds like this backsards approach would work for us peddlers as well, any mirage driver's done this? Your input would be great. holt  

Sounds like this backsards approach would work for us peddlers as well, any mirage driver's done this? Your input would be great. holt 

Yep, it's that long, black paddle-thingy strapped permanently to the side of your yak...

Sounds like this backsards approach would work for us peddlers as well, any mirage driver's done this? Your input would be great. holt 

Yep, it's that long, black paddle-thingy strapped permanently to the side of your yak...

Mine came off the other day, i got out on the side it was strapped and knocked it off..

I think Z put his drive in backwards and pedaled with a less then desirable outcome. Did some damage to his drive if i remember correctly, or maybe it was the rudder.something got damaged. I tried to search up the thread but couldn't find it.

First off, you need at least two different sinking lines to cover your bases. You will need a clear intermediate for fishing water less than 15 feet (I like the Cortland 444 Clear Camo) and also a Type 3 or Type 4 faster sinking line, so you can really get down. These two sinking lines will be all you need, although some lake anglers have experienced times when a type 6 or 7 was needed to get down deep enough.

In the lakes I've been fishing, I usually troll in 8 to 20 feet of water, looking for shoals, dropoffs, and structure to troll over. Old creek beds in impoundments are great places to troll.

 If the trout are biting, I just paddle forward s-l-o-w-l-y a couple of strokes with my flyrod laying across my lap pointing backwards, then pause and maybe pick up my rod and strip a bit, then repeat.
If I am over a bunch of trout, I'll anchor up and cast and strip in.
Sometimes I try to drift up on surface feeders and get them to take a dry or an emerger fished in the film or just under the surface. Small (#14 thru 18) black or dark "soft hackles" are good for fishing the film. The trout all seem to want to keep moving just out of casting range whenever I do this.
Or, if there is a light breeze, i will just wind troll. My Ultimate 12 sits broadside to the wind (most yaks will) in light winds and drifts much slower than the wind.

I try to troll just off the bottom, and along or over dropoffs. I like to "get below" the fresh planters and target the larger holdovers, which will likely be bottom feeding unless they are going after something hatching, like chironomids, mayflies, or caddis.

I have to "get more into" chironomid fishing. It is really effective, since gnat pupae and emergers are a large portion of a trout's diet, and sometimes it is the only approach which works. Its slow fishing...anchored up and really slow retrieval. Sometimes the trout slam the fly hard, though.

I will work dropoffs and any submerged structure most of the day, and fish along the shoreline weeds and overhanging foliage early morning and late evening with streamer patterns for cruising feeders.

Whatever you do, don't be like me and find yourself typing when you should be fishing! I must go now, and do some wrenching!