As fun as fishing can be, there’s a lot of knowledge, patience and skill needed if you want to return to shore feeling victorious. As the great saying goes, ‘knowledge is power’, and that is especially true for anglers; if you combine that with patience to wait it out and skill to reel the fish in, you’ll be on a successful path.
You see, not all fish are the same – each species has very different roaming habits, different predatory instincts and different preferred environments. You have sharks which thrive off their ability to smell blood, but then you have other types of fish that prefer to take refuge deeper down in the darkness.
It goes without saying that the technique and equipment you’d utilize to catch a shark, wouldn’t be the same as you’d use to catch a school of grouper. Moreover, if you want to attempt to capture fish that inhabit the bottom of the ocean, you have two strategies at your disposal. So, what is the best option – bottom fishing or trolling?
Well, we’re going to educate you on both methods, so you can make your own decision. That’s because they both have excellent advantages, but it largely depends on what you’re trying to catch and how you want to spend your day of fishing…
Bottom Fishing
If you’re seeking a beginner-friendly approach to capturing the fish that live down below, bottom fishing may not be the choice for you. The reason for that is, it can be difficult to sense a bite. Plus, when you do sense a bit, you’ve got to be careful that you don’t react aggressively because you’ll pull the lure straight out of its mouth.
The idea is that you’ll be on a stationary boat, and you’ll cast a few lines with a generous amount of force, so they reach the bottom. Rather than utilizing ordinary hooks, you’ll use circle hooks which jam inside the jaw to avoid cutting the fish’s mouth. All in all, if you have some experience and are confident in your ability, you can catch an array of stunning fish such as amberjack, beeliners and snapper.
Trolling
Trolling is a wonderful option when the sun is shining, and the temperatures are at beautiful levels, because it allows you to feel the cool breeze blowing against your face. But, it’s slightly the less complex technique out of the two. All you need to do is attach lure to a selection of lines, then cast them from the rear of the boat as it’s traveling. Once you’ve done that, the lines will follow closely behind the boat with the bait deep into the water.
As the lures will be moving, nearby fish will assume it’s a lively prey and subsequently an easy meal. Now, some of the fish you could potentially catch through trolling are rather impressive; picture the likes of king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, marlin, tuna, dorado and redfish. What you come across will revolve around your destination, though.
