Carribean Yacht Trolling w/ Travel Rod

[Ben26]

Hi folks!

I’m lucky enough to be sailing on a Catamaran from Martinique to Grenadines and back, past St Lucia etc, this April. The boat we are chartering does not have fishing gear on board, and i’m only experienced in fresh water fishing, so would really appreciate your help. Reading up a bit, seems Dolphin/Dorado could be a good target, as there also great on the plate. Am i on the right lines? I’ll be mostly trolling, and a bit Lure casting from moorings close to islands. I’m thinking about a DAM x-Salt travel rod, as need to get it in my case, and maybe a Shimano Baitrunner as I’m used to Spinning reels, but would shift to casting if you though it worth it. Any thoughts folks?

Kind regards and good fishing

Ben

 

[Dogbreath]

It's easy and fun to troll from a sailboat but not particularly productive-a white feather or natural cedar plug as shown are all you need-rig them on 80# mono and drag it 100' behind the boat.

 

[ryanb]

A handline with a snubber will be an effective troll rig that will be much easier to travel with. Cats are a bit faster than monohulls and might be going a bit fast to troll effectively most of the time...

Landing fish on a sailboat is quite challenging due to the difficulty in slowing down. A handline will give you a huge advantage over a rod and reel in this respect.

 

[TwoFace]

I was fishing from a Cat in the Mediterran October-September and we did a lot of trolling. Caught some Dorado too (Lost the a huge one thanks to lack of experience). The way they bite seems to be special because the J Hooks were never very secure and came of almost immediately after landing. I can just confirm what ryan said. A handline is perfect. Two hand lines left and right with a little offset worked perfect. We had a rod and a handline and every single Dorado was on the handline. I would suggest getting a telescopic gaff though. Almost all cats have a platform at the back which is great for landing fish but Dorado fight a lot and lost one because we didn't have a gaff. Ive never seen a fish that vibrated that quick and that strong. We used plastic squid with feathers and they were great. Just remember that you are sailing not fishing so its more of a side thing that you can do sometimes when the wind isn't very strong.

 

[mbowers]

Dogbreath's lures are good choices especially. Another cheap option is 5 blue / white hoochies with a big split shot to hold in place and spaced 1 to 2 ft apart. Put a 5/0 hook in the last one. Deadly on tuna and dorado and can pick off smaller fish too. Use braid for line capacity on reel. You can't really troll too fast with artificial lures. Most pelagics will still hit up to 15kt / 30kmh.

 

[Howzer]

I have fished from sailboats twice in the Caribbean (the Grenadines and the Virgin Is.) - handlines 80 to 100 lb test are all you need - lures as mentioned above... I have caught dorado, yellowfin tuna and houndfish while sailing at approx. 7 to 9 kts.
As mentioned above a cat might get over 10 kts which may make fishing difficult, but in calmer winds give it a try.