Troll Baby!

Source: Anderson Independent Mail South Carolina edition
Author: L. Ross www.lwoodrowross.com

"Townville resident develops consistent striper fishing technique.

Kevin Warren couldn't live in a better spot for a striper/hybrid fisherman. He is a Kentucky native who has lived at Hartwell Lake since 1994. He lives only a short boat ride from the confluence of the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers. He is on the water frequently, testing new products and techniques and has developed great skill in finding and catching stripers and hybrids consistently.

As a result of his research, Warren has developed a product he calls Troll Baby. Troll Baby is a lightweight, but strong, umbrella rig.

It is used to troll four soft baits from the cross-arms of the rig and one heavier jig from the centerline. He has experimented to make the rig lightweight, but very strong to withstand the occasional double hook-ups. When two strong fish are hooked and dart in different directions, the strain on terminal tackle is significant.

Warren is in the process of establishing a website www.trollbaby.com that details his methods, including a video showing Troll Baby in action, and will illustrate product for sale.

He shares the methods and tactics that he has been developing for the last five years to enable the novice angler to hit the water and take fish consistently by following his recommendations.

One interesting feature of Warren’s methods is that they work during the heat of the day. It is a “controlled depth trolling” method that presents the baits slightly above the level where the fish are suspended. There will be periods when fish are not as aggressive, but by using the recommended methods, you can usually entice fish to strike.

On a recent trip with Warren, we fished from 9 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. and the air temperature varied from the mid to upper 90’s. We caught 10 fish from about 3 to 5 pounds.

It was surprising that fish would respond in mid-day, bright sunshine and high temperatures, but it was the result of using electronics to find fish and trolling the Troll Baby at the proper depth. Warren took a 22-pound striper using these techniques last Sunday. Recommendations suggest using heavy trolling equipment, 30 pound test lead core line with color-coded depth marking, and about 20 feet of 20 pound test monofilament leader between the lead core and the Troll Baby. Warren’s website will explain how much line to release at certain speeds to achieve specified depths.

Warren uses a 1984 model pontoon and a 1984, 55 hp Chrysler engine to fish and stresses that with this method, the fisherman on a budget can catch fish. An expensive rig is not necessary to insure success. Your engine must be properly tuned to maintain accurate, slow speeds for trolling. You can use a GPS to check your travel speed to assure that you are running your Troll Baby at the proper depth."