Trolling lure head differences...

[Dulcecita Lures]

Originally Posted by Patudo

Some lures are designed to be used with bait or to be compatible with bait but many aren't. The best examples of the former are the Carolina witches and some Ilander and similar style heads with small and/or light heads and lightweight skirts. Lures with larger/bulkier heads and heavier skirts are mostly designed to function by themselves.

Very true. I swear by Iland's Hoola Hoods whenever I troll ballyhoo. The new ones have mylar in addition to the hair-type skirt. They are super-flashy, travel perfectly just under the surface, and I've never had a ballyhoo wash out with one of them. Eaten, yes, but no washout. They are great to run on the outriggers.

I had been looking for this pic and couldn't find it. It's a big bait, about 16" long. Bleeding dorado pattern. The head is a real fish. Mi amigos in Hawaii make a few of these for me on special occasions. There was a company called SeaTal that used to make heads very similar to this - with real fish heads, but they went out of business some time ago. Their lures are still highly sought after.

[crothers]

Thanks for all the insights. Back to the basics, I have the skill set to fine tune my trolling spread and be successful in freshwater and believe I am making progress on my salt routine. The boat is a 23' outboard walkaround with 16' Lees outriggers off the hardtop. I have been pulling diving plugs or a daisy off the corners. Is there any "insights" on when to use a smoking lure vs less obvious? ballyhoo plain vs skirted?, etc. Just arrived yesterday in Key Largo (1350mi tow), and trolling 'hoos on the surface is popular here, many wayback off the riggers. Thanks again for any nuggets. (Oh, yay for an uneventful tow other than the 30mph headwind in Fl).
Thanks guys.

[Patudo]

Originally Posted by crothers

Is there any "insights" on when to use a smoking lure vs less obvious? ballyhoo plain vs skirted?, etc. Just arrived yesterday in Key Largo (1350mi tow), and trolling 'hoos on the surface is popular here, many wayback off the riggers.

Plain ballyhoo is considered best for smaller billfish (sails and white marlin) by most folks. The smaller the ballyhoo the better the hookup - these fish have narrow jaws and small mouths compared to blue marlin and the less to get in the way of the hookup the better. A lure is more commonly added for tuna and blue marlin fishing - a smaller lure like a Carolina witch over a smaller bait being more popular for tuna and a larger lure like an Ilander or Iland Express over a larger ballyhoo more popular for blue marlin. The addition of a lure adds a bit of colour/contrast to the bait - often just a flash of colour is needed and the lure hair is often trimmed to be shorter and more sparse. The weighted sea witch heads influence the bait to run sub-surface. Lightweight, flat-face designs like the Express, Sailure, Black Hole and so on add splash and smoke.

There are quite a few here (offshore3144 is one and there are definitely others) that are well schooled in the Carolina style of fishing who can advise you on the intricacies of it better than me.

[crothers]

Thanks, Patudo.
Instead of asking any more questions, I will digest this and continue to monitor posts plus will be starting my winter fishing Sat. Everything said here made good sense. Happy trolling!