when trolling for sbft on the bank , if there is no sign of action (birds,bait,ect) is it better to troll on top of the bank , on the edges of the bank , or in the deep water around the bank ? also what is the correct trolling speed for a daisy chain , i was told 6 knots ? one last question are whales a good sign ,bad sign , or does it not matter (other than avoid them especially in an 18' boat) any help would be appreciated

Whales are good... 5-7kts... I like the edges.... stick a few lures down deeper...

Exactly what he said. I'd look for bait and temperature breaks before blind trolling though.

Also keep a sharp eye on your fishfinder, it can spot bait that is below the surface as well as the quarry itself.

there is,,,,, a correct speed,,,,, for the boat............;)
remember whats attracting them to the surface in the first place???? dahh boat.....

could be 5 knots could be 7??

And is it true that the slower you go the better the chances of hooking a giant?

And is it true that the slower you go the better the chances of hooking a giant?

Only if you're trolling bait.

Only if you're trolling bait.

Not nesescarily, when trolling spreader bars and it's known that big fish are in the vicinity, slower speeds are often the trick, especially when trolling large shell squids like 18 inches plus.

Sbft's will often take on a slower troll, if you are getting crashed and not hooking up try dropping her into neutral as soon as you know the fish is not on, count to 10 and slip her in gear again, this makes them nutz sometimes and if your towing a bird and GM and the same thing happens, grab the line and work it by hand, haul in ten to 15 feet of line, while under way of course, then let it all drop back, that creates a pause then the rig sunddenly snaps back and darts ahead, repeat this several times, it works.

Trolling big rigs for giants over 5 knots is a piss in the wind.

Flaptail - interesting tips on working the rig by hand and dropping it back. I've always cranked the rig away to light them up, or get it back on the surface when then they take it down, but don't come tight. - I'll give that a shot when we're screwing around with the smalls. -Thanks.

Thats interesting. When is the spreaderbars going to slow or how do you know when its running correctly? Sorry newbie here.