How to use a tuna trolling pattern for fishing

So, you've mastered the knot tying process for fishing, and you already know how to catch live bait, so now what? You need to know how to troll... this animated tutorial from Marinews will show you how to use a tuna trolling pattern for fishing. Just watch the simple animation to improve your tuna trolling patterns.

Tuna and big fish trolling relies on a pattern of lures to maximize strikes. Big fish seem to be drawn like a magnet to a particular lure and are rarely scared of the boat. How the lures are arranged is a matter of preference and a bit of experience. Some anglers like to work the lures in matched pairs down each side of the boat while others like to have a long side and short side. With a short corner rod matched with a short lure in the outrigger and a long corner rod matched by a long line on the rigger.

The fifth lure is usually set down the middle of the pattern and behind the other lures with the rod in the rocket launcher, this is known as the 'shotgun' lure. The advantage of this pattern is that it is almost tangle free and allows for manoeuvring around fish attractors, schools of bait, islands or whatever without fuss.

All lures are set on top of the wake rolls behind the boat. The wake roll optically enhances the appearance and the movement of the lure to any fish swimming below. The effect is like putting something in the centre of a glass lens. Lures can be set in the second, third and so on wake rolls.

Even though it looks close many fish are caught in the second or third wake roll close to the boat, so don't think all the lures need to be way back, they don't. Lure patterns are set very deliberately and attention should be paid to lure placement. Some lures simply work and catch better in particular spots in the pattern. Most of this is only discovered by experience and strike rates.