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Get extra keen discounts and beat expensive shipping costs by buying books through this site! The free delivery service applies to most established destinations worldwide. Hand Line Trolling – The Sailor's Basic Fishing Kit
It’s a fact. Proven beyond doubt. Cruising sailors CAN catch fish. All you need is a hand line.
And many do of course, without any encouragement from me, taking advantage of that abundant source or cost-free protein that will help sustain the crew.
But others …?
'Tried it once, towed a lure right across the Channel. Didn’t catch a thing. Waste o’ time!'
Well it doesn’t have to be. All you need is a little skill and knowledge and you’ll soon have something sizzling in the grill pan. In UK shores waters it’s most likely to be a mackerel, or maybe a bass. The other possible candidates are a pollack or a garfish (a mini-marlin impersonator) – unfortunately neither as delicious as the first two.
Venture further south – to Spain and Portugal maybe – and in the deep Atlantic waters off the Continental Shelf, to where larger predatory species lurk. The albacore (above right) was landed cruising off the coast of Sardinia.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s start with those mackerel and bass.
An Inshore Trolling Handline: All you need is around 30m of 80lb to 100lb breaking strain monofilament line, a trolling sinker, a swivel and a suitable lure on a leader of lighter line (around 20lb or so), assembled as shown here. But there are things you should know:
Sailing knots won’t work in mono though, they’ll just slide through. The Uni-Knot is the one to use, both at the swivel and the lure connections.
Learn How to Tie the Uni-Knot by following this link 
For convenience and ease of deployment, stow the whole shebang on a plastic YoYo and use it as shown right. Tie one end of the handline to a strongpoint on the boat – a stanchion base or a cleat for example – and trail the lure astern. That’s it, you’re trolling!
Trolling Lures for Mackerel: Use any small silver or gold coloured spinner or spoon that flashes brightly as it's drawn through the water. Mackerel are normally found in shoals so with a multi-lured rig you’re likely to pick up several at a time as you troll through the shoal.
If this prospect appeals to you, replace the single lure with a string of mackerel feathers –or better, small hokkai or similar lures – and tie on a small spinner at the end of the string.
If the fish aren't being particularly obliging, it may be that they’re hanging out further below the surface. If the trolling sinker isn’t getting your lure down deep enough to reach them there are a number of things you can do: slow the boat down, let out more line or use a heavier trolling sinker.
Or replace the sinker with a paravane. This is a plastic device that works like an inverted wing, diving deeper as boat speed increases and dragging your lure down to a greater depth than it would otherwise achieve. The leader should be increased to around 6m (20 feet) owing to the turbulence created by the paravane.
On some models there’s a choice of attachment positions, the furthest aft producing the steepest diving angle and vice versa. Similarly, there's a choice of attachment points on the trailing edge, which can be used to pull the lure off to port or starboard. Very useful to get some separation when trolling two lines.
Most designs are ballasted by a moulded lead weight attached to the forward end. They capsize when a fish strikes the lure, converting the ‘dive’ effect to ‘climb’, which brings the fish to the surface where you’ll see it splashing about astern.
Trolling Lures for Bass: A small spinner or spoon will be fine for mackerel, but you may have to try something a bit more serious for bass. My choice of lure would be ether a small plug, a soft-plastic leadhead or an artificial sandeel. If you don't know what those are, your local tackle shop certainly will!
Whichever lure you use, troll it slowly – 2 to 3 knots or so is about right and on a long trace of at least 4m (13 feet).
This gear will be perfectly adequate for the fish you’re likely to catch by trolling on the Continental Shelf. But when sailing offshore in the deep Atlantic you'll be sharing the hunting grounds of the large pelagic predators of the open ocean. Maybe crossing Biscay on passage for Northern Spain, Cape St. Vincent and onwards to the Mediterranean? Perhaps the to Azores, Madeira, the Canaries, the Cape Verdes and an Atlantic crossing. Now your inshore handline is woefully inadequate – you need to beef it up a bit.
An Offshore Trolling Handline: The main line itself will be about 35m (120 feet) of 300lb breaking strain monofilament nylon. It terminates at the boat end in a Flemish Eye – for attaching the snubber – and will have a heavy-duty link swivel at the other for attaching the leader.
The leader should be of 250lb mono and no less than 5m (16 foot) long. It too should be made up with a small Flemish Eye – for attaching to the link swivel, while your lure will be attached to the other. In lines of this diameter, all connections will have to be crimped – you'll find them too stiff to tie reliable knots. 
The Snubber: As you're now more likely to hook up with much larger fish which would have the power to rip themselves free of the hook, a shock absorber (the snubber) needs to be built into the system.
This is a loop of bungee cord between the end of the handline and the boat, which will absorb your fish’s initial adrenalin-fuelled bid for freedom, in which it could well rip the lure from its mouth. Additionally, the snubber’s constant stretching and relaxing adds life to the lure, causing it to dart around a little as would a live fish.
Rigging it with a length of rope – 8mm braid-on-braid will be fine – provides a safety loop if the snubber parts. To minimise the risk of this happening, make sure that the rope tightens just before the bungee is stretched to breaking point.
Trolling Lures: Ah yes, lures. This is a big subject but there are four main types: skirted lures, spoons, plugs and soft plastic lures. For use with a handline I would recommend sticking with skirted lures, which are cheaper than the others and consequently don't hurt the pocket so much when you lose one.
There’s one more thing you can, and should, do to really improve your chances of a hook-up – rig (or tow from a separate line) a teaser about 3m (10 feet) or so ahead of your lure. This device, known in anglers' parlance as a 'bird' and could be something as simple as a couple of corks, will splash around on the surface attracting predators from a wide area, and bringing them up from the depths. They’ll toodle on over to see what all the fuss is about, expecting to find a shoal of panicked baitfish – instead of which they’ll find your lure.
I’ll leave you to ponder on what happens next .
For even more valuable fishing tips from Dick McClary, go to his website by clicking on the Go Saltwater Fishing image right.
Also of interest?
Go to Handline Fishing at Anchor
This article is adapted from Dick McClary's RYA Fishing Afloat which can be bought by going to:
Saltwater Fishing Articles Handline Trolling - how to catch fish when under way
