Offshore Trolling

How to Rig Offshore Trolling Lures

Rigging is what decides whether the fish that finds your spread ever makes it to the boat. This is the complete offshore trolling setup — line, leader, terminal tackle, and how to rig every kind of lure you'll pull.

Offshore trolling spread behind the boat

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Rigging is more than attaching a lure to a line. It's the set of decisions — line, leader, connections, hooks — that determine how your baits swim, whether your knots hold, and whether the fish that hits stays hooked.

This guide covers the whole offshore trolling setup: the components that go into every rig, and then how to rig each type of lure you're likely to pull behind the boat. The recommendations here will serve you well in about 90% of fishing situations.

Part one

Essential rigging components

Whatever you're pulling, the same handful of components come together to form the rig. Getting them right is most of the job.

Main line

Monofilament is cheaper and larger in diameter, and its stretch gives you a cushion against sudden strikes. Braid is thinner with zero stretch, which buys you sensitivity.

The optimum setup uses both: a base of braid with a monofilament top-shot of 100 yards or so. Join them with an FG knot or a double uni.

Leaders

The leader is a section of durable line between your main line and the lure. Three materials are worth knowing.

Monofilament	The default in most situations. Don't be tempted to use your mono top-shot as the leader — a separate leader lets you build in a swivel, which is what stops line twist.
Fluorocarbon	Expensive, but nearly invisible in water. Worth it for leader-shy species, tuna especially.
Wire	For toothy species — king mackerel and wahoo. 7-strand is a good choice: less prone to kinking and it ties easily.

If you only might run into a king or a wahoo, stay with monofilament. Those species are often lip-hooked and can still be landed on mono.

Sizing your line to your drag

Leader and main line strength follow the size and species you're after — but start from your drag setting. A good rule of thumb is main line strength around 4× the drag setting.

Swivels

Trolling lures can spin, and that rotation travels up the line as twist. A swivel absorbs it, letting the lure move freely without turning your line into a coil. Quality ball bearing swivels rotate smoothly, which keeps tangles down and preserves the lure's action.

Crimps

Crimps are metal sleeves that secure the connection between leader and terminal tackle. They become necessary above roughly 100 lb test — below that you can tie. Aluminium crimps sized to match your leader diameter are a good choice.

Hooks

The hook is the one point of contact between your rigging and the fish. Style follows target species, lure type and conditions. Corrosion-resistant hooks hold their point and their strength, so stainless is worth the money. Stick to quality manufacturers — Mustad and VMC among them.

The components behind every offshore trolling rig.

Part two

Types of trolling lures and how to rig them

Each type of lure imitates different prey, targets different species, and swims differently. Each also rigs differently.

Diving plugs

Solid-bodied lures with a pronounced diving lip. They reach real depth, they're durable, and they produce the erratic action of a wounded baitfish.

Attach the plug to your leader with a loop knot or a snap swivel. Don't tie it directly to the leader — a tight connection kills the action you bought the lure for. Adjust leader length to control diving depth, and check the plug swims straight before you let it back.

Skirted and soft plastic lures

These come in a range of configurations, usually distinguished by face style — plungers, chuggers, scoop-face and slant heads, bullet heads, jet heads and bubblers. Each face gives a different action.

All of them rig the same way: thread the leader through the lure and secure the hook to the leader, usually with a crimp.

A variety of offshore trolling lures

Natural bait rigs

Ballyhoo are the staple of offshore trolling, though squid, cigar minnows and bonito all have their place. A ballyhoo rig secures the baitfish so it swims naturally behind the boat, with or without a trolling skirt.

Natural baits take more preparation than anything else in this guide, which is what the next two sections are about.

Part three

Preparing ballyhoo

Bait prep is where most trolling spreads are won or lost. A badly prepared ballyhoo will spin, and a spinning bait catches nothing while twisting your leader.

Start with quality baits. Offshore fishing is too expensive to jeopardise a trip on poor bait. Look for fresh baits with clear eyes, minimal blood, and no sign of having been refrozen.
Thaw them thoroughly. The single most important step. A partially thawed bait holds a bow and will not swim properly. Thaw in saltwater to keep the bait firm.
Empty the digestive tract. Run a finger along the underbelly from the pectoral fins back toward the anus. This pushes out the contents and helps produce a limber, flexible bait.
Limber the bait. Grasp it firmly just behind the pectoral fins and flex the tail back and forth in a swimming motion, increasing into an S-shaped pattern as it loosens. The goal is a bait flexible enough to swim naturally under tow.

Three steps that are optional

Removing the eyes, clipping the pectoral fins, and brining are conventional pin-rigging practice — the first two to stop the bait distorting unevenly and spinning, the third for durability and colour. They're worth doing if you're pin rigging. They aren't necessary with every method; see the alternative below.

Hands limbering a thawed ballyhoo by flexing the tail into an S-shaped swimming motion

A limber bait is the difference between one that swims and one that drags.

Part four

Pin rigging, step by step

Pin rigging is the most common method for rigging ballyhoo. It takes patience and practice, but it's very effective once you have it.

Lay the ballyhoo on a table and position your rig alongside it. Line the pin up so the chin pin will emerge through the middle of the top lip.
Mark the ballyhoo where you want the hook to come out.
Thread the hook between the gills, bringing it out precisely at the marked point.
Position the hook eye in the middle, just below the gills.
Insert the chin pin through the bottom lip and out through the top.
Take a small rubber band and attach one end to the chin pin. Wrap it twice around the ballyhoo's nose and secure the open end back over the pin.

The finished pin rig — chin pin through both lips, rubber band doubled over the nose.

Part five

A faster alternative to pin rigging

Pin rigging works, but it asks for rigging wire, a chin pin, a rubber band and a fair amount of practice — per bait, on a moving boat, often before sunrise.

TrollTrue lures are a faster route to the same result. They troll ballyhoo in the most natural way possible and can be rigged expertly by anyone, first time. Handmade in the USA, they use four patented design elements — including a moulded keel weight that holds the bait upright and tracking straight, which is what turns a limbered ballyhoo into one that actually swims.

They also remove three of the prep steps above. With no pin and no rubber band bearing on the bait's head, there's no need to remove the eyes, clip the fins or brine.

The full method

Rigging ballyhoo with TrollTrue

Four steps, a couple of minutes, no wire and no springs. The complete walkthrough with video for each step.

How to Rig Ballyhoo

If you'd rather build your own two-hook rigging from scratch, that's covered too — see how to make offshore fishing rigs. And once the bait is rigged, getting it into the spread correctly is the next thing that matters.

Handmade in the USA

TrollTrue Saltwater Trolling Lures

Four patented design elements that let you troll ballyhoo with confidence — rigged in a couple of minutes, by anyone, without wire or springs.

Shop ballyhoo Lures

Customer service available — call or text 1-910-995-2485.

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