Watch Your Speed

The Discovery Channel’s recent “Planet Earth” special was an amazing event. The wonders of wildlife from all over the planet were nothing short of breathtaking. The dances of the birds of paradise, the migrations of animals in Africa, and the strange lives of the mysterious creatures that live in deep underground caves were fascinating opportunities to learn about our world.

As a fisherman, however, my favorites had to be footage of fish behavior from all around the globe. Watching fish called “the tigers of the Amazon” attack other fish rising for figs falling off trees made great viewing. Those scraps left over were fodder for a feeding frenzy by a huge school of piranha!

In the ocean, massive bait balls of small fish and krill were gobbled down by everything from whales to sea birds. Billfish dashed through at top speed, grabbing a meal by slashing the ball with their sharp bills and eating the wounded prey at their leisure.

But to me the most impressive footage of all was that taken of the great white sharks. Hunting off some islands near South Africa, the thousand-pound-plus fish went airborne better that a body length to smack seals swimming at top speed. The sharks were incredible with both their speed and power. The seals dashed and darted, but the big fish took several just the same.

Learning a Lesson
Naturally, I was trying to relate this to my fishing experiences. Unfortunately, I don’t have the resources to chase after many of those big monsters, but the various fish shown in the footage had one thing in common, they could swim really fast, especially when a meal was involved, something that we often forget when we fish with our bait and lures.

While sailfish can swim in the 60-mile-an- hour range and tuna and sharks do about half that, our salmon and steelhead can move along quite quickly as well. My buddy Skip just moved to the Great Lakes region a few years ago, and has had pretty good luck with his fishing efforts for salmon and trout on Lake Michigan. But, always wanting to get better, he just completed a fishing class that was dedicated to better fishing for species that frequent the lake.

“Last week we had speakers talking about trolling,” he reported. “Most of us fish at about two to three miles per hour, but the teachers stressed that the fish can swim better than 20 miles per hour chasing bait, so it’s best to try some faster trolling as well.” This next summer he plans on fishing at a variety of trolling speeds and comparing his results.

Going Slow
Where I do most of my angling, folks usually feel that slow is better. Most boats have small trolling motors or use sea anchors or other devices to troll just fast enough to spin the lure or bait. Some even choose to fish in place, allowing their bait or lure to work slowly in the water. While this may be advisable, especially if river dwelling fish on spawning runs are just striking out of anger, when fishing in the ocean or for species that are actively feeding, you might want to try using a faster trolling speed.

Baitfish and other edibles have a very real interest in getting away from those hungry predators bent on dining. As a result they try to escape as quickly as possible. A lure or bait trolled or retrieved too slowly just doesn’t look right and might not simulate a natural bait as well as one retrieved more quickly. The key factor is probably how well the action of the lure imitates a wounded fish, but speed may also be a factor. Remember, even a foot-long trout can swim faster than an Olympic swimmer.

Those casting from shore can get the same effect by trying reels with different retrieval ratios. Some reels will take in line much faster than others. You can, of course, change speeds by just reeling faster, but that can get a little uncomfortable after awhile. Check at your sporting goods stores to find a variety of reels that will allow you to work your lure slowly or at a pretty quick speed. I think you’ll find that a lot of fish will take a lure that is moving quickly more readily than one that just drifts along. If the fish are picky, they have less time to make their striking decision, something that will work to your favor.

So the next time you are out after that chunky rainbow, remember the mighty great white. If he can take his prey at full speed, your fish can grab a spinner just as quickly!

Bob Ellsberg’s column, Fishin’, appears monthly in RV Life and rvlife.com.