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Trolling is also a great way to work submerged rockpiles. As an example, Virginia anglers each year catch plenty of jumbo eight to 14 pound doormats while trolling big strip baits over the submerged boulders at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (the CBBT), at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. It’s a highly specialized, and very challenging way to flounder fish—yet it’s also very effective. And anglers in the know fish with a slightly tweaked three-way swivel rig is commonly used for flounder trolling at the CBBT, and it will catch fluke on rockpiles anywhere along the East Coast. Before looking at the rig itself, take note of the fact that rockpile trollers often spool their reels with braided or superlines, or even wire line, since they cut through the water better than mono and help keep the rig in close contact with the bottom. Match the line up with a sturdy, fast-action rod, and a conventional levelwind reel.
Using a palomar knot, tie a three-way swivel onto the end of the line from the reel. Your hook line should have plenty of length; many trollers like leaders as long as 20 feet tied to the second eye of the swivel. One to three feet of monofilament is tied to the third eye of the swivel, and on the other end of this piece of mono, tie a surgeon’s loop to create a loop that will be used to hold the sinker. Use light monofilament, say eight or ten pound test, to hold the sinker. (Sinkers of at least eight to 10 ounces are typically needed to maintain sustained contact with the bottom while trolling over the rocks in high-current areas like the CBBT rockpiles). When a rig hangs up, it’s often the sinker that’s snagged. If attempts to free the rig fail, then tighten down your drag to apply pressure. That light line will be the weak link, and will break away fairly easily. The sinker will be lost, but the hook and swivel above it will be saved.
When trolling, the boat needs to move slowly enough so the sinkers and rigs maintain steady contact with the bottom, yet the boat needs to move quickly enough so that the baits bounce and flutter enticingly over the bottom. Flounder are aggressive predators, and the baitfish they ambush are quick swimmers, so keep the boat and your baits moving. Long strip baits cut from fresh bluefish, croaker and squid are recommended for trolling. Use six, eight, and even 10 inch strips. Avoid live baits, or whole dead baits, as they may spin when trolled. The key is to troll over and around shoal channel edge rockpiles and other fluke structure. It’s important to keep in mind the impact current direction and speed, and wind direction and speed, will have on the boat and the presentation of the rigs and baits. Less boat speed is usually needed when trolling with the current and wind, as they will assist the motor in moving the boat. Trolling against or into the wind and current slows the boat, so more gas will be needed to keep the baits bouncing along the bottom. When trolling across the current, especially when trolling near a shoal, wreck or rockpile, the boat should pass slightly up-current of the structure so the current pushes the rigs and baits toward the structure. But remember that flounder may be positioned on the down-current side of the structure, so begin trolling on the up-current side and make several passes until the up-current side, the top, and the down-current side of the structure have all be worked over well. When possible troll from shallow water to deeper water, as this will cut down on the number of snags. Plus, it’s quicker and easier to let out a little line when going from shallow to deep, than it is to reel in line while trolling from deep to shallow.The boat is motored very slowly, parallel to the rockpile, on the up-current side of the boulders. Slightly angling the bow of the boat away from the rockpile and into the on-coming current will help slow the boat and slow the troll, and it will help push the long-leadered hook and bait toward and over the rockpile.Fluke trollers often keep the reel in free spool and control the spool and line by applying pressure to the spool with their thumb. When the sinker quits striking bottom, they lift the thumb for a moment to quickly play out just enough line to get the sinker back down on the bottom. To drop-back when there’s a bite, simply lower the rod tip, which will provide enough slack for the fluke to begin swallowing the bait. As the moving boat pulls the slack tight, the rod should be sharply raised and the angler should start reeling.
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