Trolling, Mooching or Jigging: Picking a Method

Trolling, mooching and jigging are three ways to put a bait or lure in front of a fish from a moving or drifting boat, and the water in front of the boat decides which one works. Trolling covers ground and depth with the boat under power. Mooching drifts a cut-plug herring or anchovy on a weighted line with the engine off. Jigging works a metal lure or lead head straight up and down over structure. Match the method to the depth, the current and the tide stage, not to habit. Anglers who read a gravel bar and a current seam on foot, the way the field notes at Mountain State Anglers describe it, already know that the water in front of you sets the method.

The same question comes up on small water too. A boat is no different. The gear changes, the reading does not.

What does trolling do that the other two methods cannot?

Trolling is the search method. The boat moves at 1.5 to 3 knots, and the lines cover water the angler never sees. Downriggers hold a flasher and hoochie or a spoon at a set depth, often 30 to 90 feet (9 to 27 metres) on the north coast, and the cable counter tells the angler exactly where the gear runs. That number matters because chinook and coho sit at specific depths tied to light, bait and temperature.

Trolling suits open water, long tacks along a shoreline, and any day when the goal is to find fish rather than sit on them. It also handles chop. A 15 knot northwest wind on a falling tide makes a drift unpleasant and a jig nearly impossible to feel, but a boat under power still tracks a straight line.

The cost is control. A trolled line passes a fish once. Depth changes need a downrigger adjustment or a different weight. In water shallower than about 40 feet (12 metres), trolling gear fouls on kelp and rock, and the method loses its advantage.

When is mooching the better choice?

Mooching is the drift method. The engine goes into neutral, the boat slides with the current, and the angler lets a cut-plug herring or a whole anchovy spin on a 4 to 8 ounce (113 to 227 gram) weight. The line angle tells the depth. A 45 degree angle in 60 feet of water puts the bait near the bottom third of the column.

Mooching works when fish are concentrated and the drift line crosses them. A tide change that stacks bait against a point, a reef edge, or a kelp bed is classic mooching water. The bait spins slowly, and a chinook that follows without committing often takes on the second or third pass of the same drift.

It fails in fast current. A drift over 1.5 knots drags the weight and lifts the bait. It also fails in a big swell, where the boat rises and falls enough to kill the spin. Mooching rewards patience and a good drift line, and it punishes an angler who cannot stop moving.

How does jigging fit the water in front of the boat?

Jigging is the vertical method. A 4 to 12 ounce (113 to 340 gram) metal jig or lead head with a soft plastic goes down on braid, and the angler lifts and drops it 1 to 3 feet (30 to 90 centimetres) off the bottom or through a suspended school. The strike usually comes on the drop.

Jigging owns structure. A pinnacle, a rock pile, a wreck, or a sharp shelf edge holds fish that trolling passes over and mooching drifts past. The angler stays on the spot with the engine or an electric motor, watches the sounder, and works the jig through the marks.

It demands the most from the angler. Braid has no stretch, so a jig transmits every tap, and the difference between a rock and a halibut is learned by feel. In 200 feet (61 metres) of water, a 6 ounce jig takes time to reach bottom, and current pushes it off vertical. Jigging is a poor choice in a strong tide rip and a good choice on slack water over a known hump.

Which method matches the tide and the current?

Tide stage decides more than gear. On the north coast, a large ebb or flood can run 2 to 4 knots in a narrow pass, and no method fishes well in that. The hour before and after slack is when all three methods improve.

Trolling tolerates current best because the boat sets the speed. Mooching needs current under about 1.5 knots to keep the bait spinning. Jigging needs the least current of all, because the lure must stay vertical.

A working pattern on a big tide day: jig the slack over structure, mooch the first hour of the new current along a point, then troll the open water once the drift line breaks down. The tide book gives the times. The sounder gives the depth. The method follows both.

What gear decides the choice?

Trolling gear is heavy and specific: downriggers, 15 to 30 pound (7 to 14 kilogram) main line, flashers, and rod holders rated for the load. Mooching gear is lighter: a levelwind reel, 12 to 20 pound (5 to 9 kilogram) line, a slip weight, and a rod with a soft tip that shows the spin. Jigging gear is a stiff rod, 30 to 50 pound (14 to 23 kilogram) braid, and a reel with a fast retrieve.

An angler who owns one setup can still fish all three. A 9 foot (2.7 metre) medium heavy rod with 30 pound braid trolls with a weight, mooches with a slip sinker, and jigs in water under 150 feet (46 metres). It is a compromise, and it works.

Can one boat fish all three in a day?

Yes, and many do. A common north coast day starts with a jig over a known hump at slack, shifts to a mooch drift when the current builds, and ends with a troll along a shoreline on the way home. The switch takes minutes: change the terminal gear, reset the rod holders, adjust the speed.

The decision each time is the same. Read the depth on the sounder, read the current on the surface, read the tide book for the stage, and pick the method that keeps the bait or lure in the strike zone longest. The water in front of the boat answers the question before the angler does.

Sources

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, recreational fishing rules and tidal water information: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tide and current predictions: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov

Desk notes, North Coast Saltwater, Prince Rupert, British Columbia.