fishing or not fishing

[Dave Clark]

He guys,I have been berated on some other forums over my success while trolling.It's been compared to running over a rabbit with a truck and calling it hunting.I believe any method used to take fish with in the law is fishing.Even the guys on deadliest catch refer to what they do as fishing.What is fishing and what is not?

[eddie_m]

I've got your back. Although I think trolling is less exciting a method of fishing, it is fishing. In my personal definition of fishing, I would consider any method of catching fish using a lure or bait to be fishing, including trot lining, limb lining, trolling, etc. I would not consider using gill nets without bait to be fishing, but the guys who do that probably disagree with me. And more importantly, congrats on your good catches!

[Fisherjoe]

Troll on brother! More to it than simply dragging lures thru the water and hoping to snag a fish. Can be boring until you go thru a school of fish, then all hades breaks loose!

[Tim_T]

If you are fishing within the law, who cares how you catch them.

[DJD]

Sounds like envy from folks who can't or won't do it. I know some folks feel the same way about using live bait but it's all what floats your boat. I'm not into trolling for bass but I've trolled for other fish and loved it! Congrats on the good catches.

[floatman]

I don't troll myself, but one of the most respected bass fisherman ever Buck Perry developed a system call Spoon Plugin, pretty hard to argue with that!!!

and by the way, why do you care what they think?? fish on!! JMO

Gary

[kygorski]

Sour grapes, trolling is fishing, and its got to be done right to produce fish. I used to try to be a "spoon plugger" but it was too much work at times. Living just a few miles from lake michigan we trolled a lot.When I first got down here it was to fish for stripers,I had the penn reels dpwnriggers.and trolling boards and mast,Got rid of almost all of it. What ended the trolling was when my auto pilot quit, and 1200 bucks wqs too much money for me to spend with a good conscience. You just keep on keeping on,that world record SMB was caught trolling, and if that record is ever boken, it will be knowledible troller who does it.

[mhall]

Sounds alot like jealousy to me. Trolling is not my cup of tea, I'm to hyper and need to be doing something, lol. However trolling is most certainly a type of fishing and it's not as easy as everybody thinks, alot to consider and take account for.

The pics you post make people drool on their little shirt and they want to throw stones because they don't catch fish like that. It's been said that 20% of the fisherman catch most of the fish. Fish on Dave, you have that trolling down to fine science.

Hey I'm jealous of your big brown bass pics sometimes to but only because I'm not there hoisting them over the gunwale with ya, not because of anything else.

Tell'em if it's so easy, start trolling and show me some of your pics after you return and see if that doesn't shut them up, Envy pure and simple, seen it plenty of times.

[johnking82]

Sounds alot like jealousy to me. Trolling is not my cup of tea, I'm to hyper and need to be doing something, lol. However trolling is most certainly a type of fishing and it's not as easy as everybody thinks, alot to consider and take account for.

The pics you post make people drool on their little shirt and they want to throw stones because they don't catch fish like that. It's been said that 20% of the fisherman catch most of the fish. Fish on Dave, you have that trolling down to fine science.

Hey I'm jealous of your big brown bass pics sometimes to but only because I'm not there hoisting them over the gunwale with ya, not because of anything else.

Tell'em if it's so easy, start trolling and show me some of your pics after you return and see if that doesn't shut them up, Envy pure and simple, seen it plenty of times.

As Alabama once sang, troll on, troll on, troll on....maybe it was roll on, roll on, roll on...but whatever.

What you do is fishing. There are many different types of fishing and not everyone choose the same way of going about it. As previosuly stated, they are probably just jealous, but if they were asked to switch jobs with you for a week...I'm sure they would jump on it in a heartbeat.

Throughout life, I've learned that the only opinions I care about should be from family and friends. There is always going to be that one person who is going to rip on you or not like how you go about things. Let's call it the adult version of junior high bullying.

Keep doing what you do and posting pics...it makes my day go faster looking at nice smallies!

[roadrunner]

I do not troll however I know there are a lot of techniques to trolling (I used to back troll for walleyes). To be as successful as you are I would say you have paid your dues and I will guarantee that young man you took out thought it was fishing and that settles it.

Beep Beep

[BPenrod]

Troll on!!!!! Nothing wrong with it.

[TEE]

Is this a troll? LOL

Seriously...if you catch a 5 pound smallmouth trolling vs. casting...what's the diff?
It's still fishin'!