Trolling Umbrella Rigs for Stripers on the Chesapeake

[monomoy74]

Hey guys,

This will be my first full season fishing down here. I'd like to know what length/weight/action rods (casting rods of course) and which lb. test line I should plan to use for trolling these for Stripers:



I like to use the lightest gear possible, but it still needs to be effective.

[green74]

it depends on which season your fishing. in the spring you troll the heavy stuff up high. in the summer you troll lighter down deep. either way your not gonna use casting rods.maybe in the summer you could get away with a real heavy baitcaster. keep in mind youll be trolling rigs that have a minimum of 4 oz. wieght plus shad boddies.

[Captain Fred Archer]

DC,

Drop me an email at fredarcher@cox.net and I'll send you information of our new, lightweight Spider composite umbrella's/dredges. They might be perfect for what you are looking to do. You can just get the frame and rig them with swimbaits, but that adds more weight and more pulling pressure on this kind of lure. Hollow squids pull like feathers, letting you use lighter tackle if that is what you want and the squids are known around the world as big time fish catchers for everything from salmon to tuna. We already have anglers back there catching the heck out of bass on them up in Montauk, so we know that they work. Lots of different sizes and models. Here's just one...

[shemstreet]

If you are trolling in fall or spring trophy season you are hoping for 30-50lb fish. The umbrella rigs themselves put a lot of stress on your trolling rigs as well. Most of the guys I know would be using 6-7', 20-40lb trolling rigs with Penn 309, Shimano TLD 25, or similar size gear and 50-80lb line (depending on whether they are using mono or braid). Your leader could be in the 100lb range to allow you to handline the fish aboard. Striper are not leader shy.

It you were chasing the little resident striper (18" to 28") in the summer, you would most likely be pulling double bucktail rigs and your trolling weight would be the limiting factor (up to 24 ozs, but usually about a lb or less). You could get away with medium to medium heavy rods and line down to 20-30lb mono, but your reel would still be chosen for line capacity, so not too many plain old casting reels could hold 300 yds of line.

Lots different than light tackle jigging or sight casting, mainly due to the weight of the trolled lead and the resistance of a bunch of shad bodies.

[ALLTACKLE]

Drop me a line and I will give you the exact information you need concerning Chesapeake Bay trolling which is what I have done for the past 18 years out of Annapolis and the middle bay.

[monomoy74]

Awesome, thanks for the tips guys. I'll contact everyone after the weekend. Oh yes, I meant to mention that this is for Fall and Spring fishing. In the Summer, I like to liveline for Stripers, or troll small spoons for Spanish Mackerel. Looks like I'll need some heavier gear than I had initially realized!

[Captain Fred Archer]

John,

The smallest SuperBars and DaisyBars are absolute death on Spaniards and their various cousins around the world. We used to absolutely murder them trolling the above on light tackle. The bars/DaisyBars drive them insane and all of the strikes are fast, violent surface ones. So, when you switch over from the bass, just switch chasebaits like we discussed, be sure to rig them on single strand wire and stand back and watch the show!

[monomoy74]

Thanks for the tips. I sent you an email asking about sizes and colors that you recommend. I'm going to pick up some rigs from alltackle.com, and run them side by side with your gear (one heavy one light).