Deep Sea Fishing Cabo: The best deep sea fishing techniques involves trolling natural or artificial baits, but what is trolling? Trolling is the name given to the fishing style in which a natural or artificial bait, either fitted or without hooks, is towed from a line attached to a moving boat. The appearance and motion of the lure is intended to excite predatory fish, bringing it closer or hooking it. This method aims to catch that the fish that we pursue when sportfishing, those big which chase and eat other types of fish.

For the most charter captains from Los Cabos and the world, trolling is one of the most effective fishing techniques because it works well in large bodies of water. This method can be simple if you know your target fish, What are the habits of the billfish? How deep do they swim? What do they eat? Detect where your game fish are likely to be and use the proper lure. This may sound simple but it requires time and practice to learn how to get the lure to the correct depth. Consider the following four key points for a good trolling: speed, depth, position, and the appropriate lure.

Billfish, wahoo, tuna and dorado (mahi mahi) feed on schools of bait fish that stay in shallow water in order to escape the bait fish swimming close to the surface – some even fly out of the water, so one of the most used techniques drops several trolling lures or bait into the water from different positions (over the side or behind the boat) to resemble a school of baitfish in the wake of a departing boat. The idea is to cover as much area as possible! There are many kinds of lures, but many fishermen agree that the best should look or imitate the natural bait fish of the area.

Billfish, wahoo, dorado and tuna are high-speed predatory fish so a fast-trolling fishing lure combined with slow-troll live baits would be perfect. Common lure trolling speeds vary from 6 to 12 knots while those for bait is 3 to 7 knots.

Marlin, wahoo and dorado can be caught using the “shallow trolling” method, meaning your bait must be close to the surface. Then “spoons” lures are used to lower these lines down to certain depths, depending on model and speed. It’s worth noting that the packing of these lures show the specs of speed and depth at which they fall (around 10 to 30 feet).

The lure distance will range from 25 to 150 feet for more boats. As you might have seen while sailing, vessels disturb the water surface with its hull and propellers which form waves and turbulence. This turbulence attracts fish and, when navigating transverse and divergent waves are generated, “wake” forms. Many anglers use the wake to guide their lure position and while others positions their lines in clean areas. Experimentation and experience will dictate what is best.

The general fishing tackle for billfish trolling will be a 6 to 7-foot offshore fishing rod, a heavy and high line capacity baitcaster reel,  50 lbs. test monofilament, around 8 feet of monofilament leader for 80-130 pound test (depending on the fish species), and a 7/0 circle hook. Regarding the kind of trolling lure or bait to use, if you rent a charter to fish in Los Cabos, they will have the bait already or you can buy your bait from local fishermen leaving the marine. Wahoo and tuna lures called “swimming plugs” mimic the local baitfish give good results and “teasers” are best for those looking for marlin.

Finally, our charter captains and crew can help you with their knowledge! They have the experience, they know which fishing tackles to use, and what are the big game fishing biting – so don’t hesitate to ask them anything!

Have you ever trolling? What has been your experience? Share us your stories and tips, we will not only appreciate it but also all other new amateur who read what you wrote. Thank you very much for sharing, Good Fishing to You!