Outriggers are
particularly important
for a gamefishing
trailerboat as their
height provides
a better towing
angle for the lures,
enabling them to
be positioned back
behind the wake
while still producing
a good action.With the recent progressive changes to International
Game Fishing Association (IGFA) and Game Fishing
Association of Australia (GFAA) regulations pertaining
to the use of backing line, the braid setup now
conforms to gear requirements for record claims and
tournaments, so there is no longer a need to fish
bigger reels just to a have sufficient line capacity.
On small boats it’s normal to fish with a small crew,
in which case wind-on leaders come into their own for
managing a fish as it nears the tagpole. With 37kg
gear I like to fish a 7m, 150kg wind-on, connecting to
a 2m leader of 220kg (500lb) Momoi Ultra Hard mono
to the lure.
With a high towing-angle provided by the outriggers,
it’s possible to keep the swivel and most of this heavy
leader out of the water so that it’s not too obvious to
any wary fish approaching.OUTRIGGER SETUP
It’s important to pay special attention to the ’rigger
setup on any small trailerboat. These boats sway more
than a larger vessel and wave action can cause poorly
configured outriggers to flap around and prevent the
lures from working their best. Outrigger halyards must
be braced down tight to tension the poles and prevent
them from bouncing.Trailerboat outriggers should be mounted as high
as possible, preferably on top of the cabin or console
structure. This helps by positioning them away
from the gunnels, so the angler and crew can easily
move around them. The additional height also helps
by providing the lures with a better towing angle.
Adjustable bases are handy for making small angle
and height adjustments in differing conditions, which
can totally change the way a lure will run.
How you set and troll your spread of lures also varies
when fishing from small trailerboats. In anything other
than flat-calm weather, small boats won’t throw up the
prominent wake waves that larger cruisers do, so more
care needs to be taken to ensure lure action is spot on.
Generally, the larger lures (25cm and above) used
for targeting blue marlin will swim best and raise more
fish at a fairly brisk trolling speed of 7 to 8 knots,
although from a trailerboat this is highly dependent
on sea conditions.
Let your lures show you how fast you can troll in the
prevailing conditions. For example, the lures must swim
and cycle strongly to raise fish, but the moment they
start to blow out or tumble you’ll need to ease back on
the throttle a little. Conversely, in flat-calm conditions
you may need to increase the speed a bit to get a
stronger swimming action out of your spread.“I run 37kg
off a Shimano
Tiagra 50WLRS
filled with
braid backing
and a short
topshot of
37kg mono.”
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Trailerboat blues