In the small boat I take out now and again, i just leave the motor trimmed up from the journey out and also with the stainless prop I remove the small rubber gromets to allow the prop to slip a little better so that it does not try to climb onto the plane when trying to achieve 7knts. Pretty much look for any particular bait sign and noticable temp breaks which I would slowly zig zag across otherwise pretty much carryout a large semi circle before heading back in. If a marlin comes in the gear but say drops the lure I will carryout a figure of eight around the area for a while as you might as well fish were the fish are once you know.

Other than that constantly learning, and just trying to get out is a good start. I am considering dropping troll speed down to 5.5knts this season as a means of conserving fuel to stay out longer but you just don't get the same wave action/lure action happening. Any one else troll at the slower speed and get good results?

i like to keep an eye on the Gannets and the all dark/brown birds they have a birds eye view from up there and there body language can tell you a lot once you understand it.......

when a Gannet gos past keep an eye on its head you can tell when its seen something the head is held for a few seconds off to one side or straight down instead of out in front to keep it streamlined, i can be anything from a shark sunfish tunas or marlin that is just cruising along deeper than we can see but the bird will look to see if food is present.....

similar with the dark/brown birds but this time it is more likely to circle the area or climb up and hold its position for a few seconds checking it out before carrying on..... ever noticed when you hook a marlin with no birds in the area within seconds of that fish jumping one of these little black suckers will be onto it?????  

try it you will learn a lot from these fellow fishermen they are out there to catch fish to.......

When you are out, compare your lure actions when trolling parallel with the prevailing swell/wave direction as opposed to trolling at right angles to the swell/waves. Often you will find that when trolling across (right angles etc) the swell your lures spend a lot of time not working very well as the boat slows down and speeds up. If trolling at slower speeds (say 5.5knts etc), this effect will probably be even worse, so you will need to select your lures accordingly so that they are still working well at these lower speeds. Maybe consider skirting some suitable 'slow speed' heads with some of the more productive colours (i.e Fruit Salad, Lumo etc) if you can't find what you want off the shelf.

Regarding Lethals' comments about Gannets etc, even 1 Gannet that is circling around a consistant spot for an extended period is worth investigating. I've had that proved to me a couple of times now.

 jesus birds. the little ones that hop along the surface.. they follow the schools of bait fish and plankton etc.. they are a very evident sign that fish are around.. i tend to keep a good eye out for them, but sure gannets hovering means fish..

Slackline.. i troll at 6-7 knots with my motor tilted up a bit to increase the presure waves and white water, making the lures work more effectivly and violent.. ( my boats a billfisher 720 ) trolling at 6-7 knots it doesnt want to plane.. 

i like the idea of the figure 8, i always just do a circle and try drive over the same spot... but will do the figure 8 now..  

I prefer an expanding box shaped trolling pattern after sighting a fish, having a hit or over a likely area as it allows you to repeat the same  trolling directions, and direction in relation to the current can have a bearing on the agression a fish shows to a lure.

Slower trolling speeds , definately with baits

Try a series of figure 8 over locking with your fish sighting in the middle and come back over that point everytime but slowly change your angle. About 120 degrees separation for each leg like a clover leaf, always coming back over that point, I like to use about 300 Mtrs before making the turn if you start with a right turn keep the right turns going. This pattern will cover the area and if you are going to get the fish up a again this is your best chance. Question who uses there Radar to help find the circling birds that are out side visual range????? It does require a high pwr radar but it is well worth while.                

Guys,

If I raise a fish or get a missed bite I like to troll on for about 5 minutes or so because a lot of fish come up again and have a second go, if they don't do this, then if you can repeat the exact same pass that brought up the fish, ie. going over the same piece of water in the same direction etc... I think that can give you a real good shot at bringing up the fish.  I've seen white marlin fall for this one many a time.

Another thing I like to do is note down where you or other boats have been seeing fish, then trying the same location later in the day, maybe at the tide change etc.  I've seen a lot of boats raise a fish, maybe get a bite, even fight and lose one after a short while etc, pound the area like damnit and not do anything then move of... then later the same day or maybe the next day, another boat works the area and bam, fish on.  White marlin especially don't normally travel alone, often there is another one or two fish in the same area, even if you have hooked and spooked one for good, there might be another one of his mates hanging around so it's always worth giving the area another go. 

cheers - dustin <SCRIPT language=javascript>postamble();

I like to get the local goss on the general area marlin have been feeding and then go get a few livies and troll them around, missed out last season because of an early strike on a bait but such is life.

find the rises and reefs etc good places to troll deep baits coming off the bottom in say 100m of water by around 30 to 50m,

love trolling big splashy skippies and have been fortunate to be able to hand line a skip bait back to a couple of marlin, truely a neat thing watching them engulf bait.

Tend to match the hatch as well with skippies out say at the trench and kahawai in closer.

As for trolling lures I like to put a sharp turn in every now and then so the inside lure gets a deeper bite in the water have had a couple of shots on the west doing this.

I also drag a heap of lures as many as 8 but generaly 6 if there is only 2 of us on the boat and on my own only 4, if i cant clear the gear with 1000m of line on the spool then i should maybe not be out game fishing.

Always, always, always have some fresh baits live is better with tuna tubes i can fit 4 kahawai easily in each tube no problem at all and they survive all day as do kings and kohies live macs work a treat as well when slow trolled.

Bird life is a handy helper in finding the baits but i reacon if you hook a skippy or two stay in the area and have them out as livies seems to work without going all over the ocean, just my thoughts