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Go Trolling For Friends
by Stan Fagerstrom for The Mack Attack, November 29, 2015
I happened to be down at the dock when an older guy eased his boat into one of the slots and tied up. “How they bitin’”? I asked. “I got a couple,” he said, “but they were so darn small I didn’t even know they were on until I reeled in to check on my bait. I’m gonna run up to the store and get sumthin’ to eat and then go back out again.” I watched as this senior citizen began putting his tackle in order. He had obviously been trolling for trout. As soon as I got a look at the spinners he had been using ahead of his nightcrawlers, I immediately knew why he’d been having difficulty telling when he had a hit. The heavy, multi-bladed metal spinning rig he had attached to his line was the problem. Those metal blades and all that weight would have fought harder than a 12-inch trout all by itself! I had my own boat in a slot nearby. I walked over and removed one of the lightweight trolling rigs I had attached to my rod. Then I walked back to where the old timer was still working on his gear.
“Here,” I said, “give this rig a try when you go back out. The blades on this troll are made of plastic. They don’t have anywhere near the drag that you’ve been contending with on the heavy spinners you’ve been pulling around. That thing you’re using must bend that light rod you’ve got almost double it pulls so darn hard.” The old timer took the lightweight trolling rig I handed him. He inspected it with interest. “Thanks,” he said, “thanks very much. I’ve never seen or used anything like this. You bet I’ll try it. I’ll use it when I go back out after lunch.”
I didn’t see the old timer again until just before dark. I was preparing to take my boat out of the water when I heard him holler. “Hey! Wait a minute,” he called, “I want to show you sumthin’. I also want to ask you a couple of questions.”
I walked over to where he was preparing to dock. As soon as he’d tied up he reached into the back of his boat and held up a stringer that held a half dozen trout. A couple of them were beauties. “That spinner set up you gave me is great,” he said. “What the heck is it called? Where can I get a couple more of them?”
If you’re an experienced trout troller yourself, you may have already guessed the answer to those questions. The trolling rig I’d given the fellow earlier in the day was a Mack’s Lure Flash Lite Gang Troll. If there’s a slicker set up for trolling than these lightweight rigs I don’t know what the heck it would be. The spinner blades on the Mack’s Lure Flash Lite Trolls are made of lightweight Mylar plastic. You’ll have none of the drag that’s so commonly associated with the use of the metal bladed variety.
I explained to my new friend that Flash Lite Trolls are available with either three or four blades. New for this year, they are also selling a two bladed Flash Lite as well. I also told him about the Mack’s Hot Wing Attractors which use a smaller version of the Flash Lite Blades. The blades on both of these trolling attractors counter rotate in the water, giving it extra flash and attraction. Then I asked him if he’d noticed less drag than he’d experienced while he was pulling the heavy metal spinners.
“Are you kidding?” he snorted. “You already know the answer to that. That’s why I caught more fish. The drag from the plastic blades is so light I was able to tell when a fish was after my bait. I knew when to set the hook.”
Before we parted company that day, I told this fellow he should pick up a copy of the Mack’s Lure catalog. I explained that the company’s catalog would give him all the answers he sought about the plastic bladed trolls. I pointed out that there were other Mack’s Lure plastic bladed spinner rigs and that more and more anglers around the country were using them successfully. The oldtimer wasn’t into computers so I wound up giving him the company’s address as well as its tollfree telephone number to get the catalog he needed. Flash Lite Gang Trolls are available with either three or four blades. You also have a choice of different spinner blade colors.
I went home that night feeling good about the day’s experience. I had helped a fellow angler find a new way to get more enjoyment out of his fishing trips. If you know someone who is still dragging those heavy, rod-bending metal spinners behind their boat you might want to consider pointing them in the same direction. It’s a great way to “hook” some new friends!
