Simplify Your Trolling
#3 Spro with 40# Fluoro creating a wind on leader to the hook.
The use of wind on swivels for basic trolling technique.
Here’s the situation. You have been trolling for an hour or two, multiple lines multiple colors and BAM! You find out which color is going to make the crews day. Why not make it easy to switch baits over in a fast efficient manner. Not only that but make the leader easily changeable as well, especially when sharp teeth come into play.
My suggestion-Spro Heavy Swivels. As you can see from the chart below the smallest #3 swivel is 150 lb. test. This handles a wide variety of species. You can use the #4 if your roller guides are not extremely narrow. Bigfoot guides can allow this larger swivel use.
For our standard trolling setup, we use conventional lever-drag reels spooled up with 300 yards of 60-lb Jerry Brown hollow core braid backing and at least 300 yards of 60-lb monofilament. As shown in the attached photo, the attachment series is heavy test mono tied in a bimini twist to the swivel then to a fluorocarbon leader tied or crimped to the swivel. The fluorocarbon leader can be adjusted in length based on how sensitive the target species is. The standard here is 20 yards. The reason for 20 allows baits to be pulled closer to the boat while still gaining the use of the swivel. Most likely the size of the leader will dictate tying. In this case 40 lb. pink fluorocarbon was used. The beauty of this rig is that before attachment pick the lure you would like to use and slide it on. In this case it is a sea witch. It works fine if you prefer naked ballyhoo as well. One reminder that if you leave a swivel in place between outings make sure it turns freely prior to each use.
An exception to the fluorocarbon length would be for something like chumming for yellowfin. They are very sensitive to leader size and any objects that are tied to it. I would recommend 30 yards or more for this application.
What advantages does this type of rigging offer? Well, most of all it is ease of use. It also allows taking up line all the way to the fish. A more obvious advantage is line twist reduction.
Good luck and tight lines!
Scott