The champion’s advice for inshore trolling

Summer on a boat is the best time to enjoy fishing with some simple and effective techniques. With the precious advice of Garmin ambassador Antonello Salvi, we are going to take a closer look at two fishing techniques that are easy to put into practice and quite fun: small inshore trolling and light drifiting. Two techniques that can be tried from either a sailing boat or a motorboat. Trolling can also be done during a transfer, while light drifiting can be done either by searching a specific area of sea or anchored off a bay. In this first episode we are exploring trolling, but don’t miss the next one.

INSHORE TROLLING

As Antonello Salvi tells us, “All you need for this technique are two rods, not necessarily of any great value, just two 12-20 pound rods at the most, coupled with reels, even with a fixed reel”.

It will be more important to have a good range of baits, “There should be no lack of silicones, octopuses and rapalas in different colours, but it will be important for each type of artificial to study the appropriate speed because not all can be towed at the same knots. Let’s say that this type of trolling is done at 3 to 7 knots, depending on the type of bait used. Just put the lure in the water and, keeping it close to the boat, vary the speed from 3 to 7 knots to see what its critical point is, you have to tow in this range at the maximum speed allowed by the lure”. The line is easy to prepare, you can choose to put a 20 pound braided line in the reel and a 0.40 fluorocarbon terminal connected with a micro swivel, or alternatively use small sinkers. As Antonello tells us: “The prey are varied and fun: saddled bream, garfish, mackerel, bonito, sea bream and lamprey. But we must always remember to have the utmost respect for the sea, never more than 5 kg of catch per person”. And what if we want to increase our chances by using an electronic instrument to study the seabed and the presence of fish? “In this case, for this technique, I recommend the Garmin Striker 5, it is a good fish finder sounder with a built-in GPS but without cartography, it is absolutely fine for this type of trolling“.

ANTONELLO SALVI

Born in 1976 in Belvedere Marittimo (CS), he has a long track record as a competitor, world offshore trolling champion in 2011 with the Italian national team, has worked with Sky and is now a Garmin ambassador.

www.garmin.com