Editing Trolling (fishing) (section)

==Baits and lures==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
[[Image:Fishing lure.jpg|thumb|right|Fishing lures are made in various creative designs like this top-water lure.]]
[[Image:Fishing lure spoon.png|thumb|70px|right|[[Spoon lure]]]]

To be effective, trolling [[Fishing bait|baits]] and [[Fishing lure|lures]] must have the visual ability to attract fish and intrigue them with the way they move through the water.<ref>LeBoeuf KP [http://www.google.co.nz/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPAT4215506&id=xNQrAAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=troll|trolling+fish|fishing&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q=troll|trolling%20fish|fishing&f=false Trolling lure and method of making same] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926210151/http://www.google.co.nz/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPAT4215506&id=xNQrAAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=troll%7Ctrolling+fish%7Cfishing&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q=troll%7Ctrolling%20fish%7Cfishing&f=false |date=26 September 2011 }} Patent number: 4215506, issued 5 August 1980.</ref> Most trolling lures are designed to look and behave like dying, injured, or fast moving fish. They include:
* [[Surface lure]]s, also known as topwater lures or stickbaits. They float and resemble prey that is on top of the water. They can make a popping sound from a concave-cut head, a burbling sound from "side fins" or scoops or a buzzing commotion from one or several propellers.
* [[Plugs (fishing)|Plugs]] are also known as crankbaits. These lures have a fishlike body shape and as they troll through the water they make various movements caused by instability due to a scoop under their heads.
* [[Swimbait]], a minnow-like soft plastic bait that is reeled like a plug. Some have swimming tails.
* [[Spoon lures]] resemble the bowl of a table spoon. They flash in the light while randomly wobbling or darting due to their shape.<ref>{{cite book| last= Sternberg| first= Dick | year= 2003| page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=4Bwc3bjwj7UC&dq=jigging&pg=PA264 264]| title= The Ultimate Guide to Freshwater Fishing| publisher= Publishing Solutions| isbn= 0-9725580-0-4}}</ref>
* [[Spinnerbait]], pieces of wire bent at about a 60-degree angle with a hook on the lower end and a flashy spinner mechanism on the upper end.

Trolling baits and lures are either tied with a knot, such as the [[improved clinch knot]], or connected with a tiny safety pin-like device called a "snap" onto the fishing line which is in turn connected to the reel. The reel is attached to a rod. The motion is of the lure is made by winding line back on to the [[reel]], by sweeping the fishing rod, jigging movements with the [[fishing rod]], or by trolling behind a moving boat. Lures can be contrasted with [[Artificial fly|artificial flies]], commonly called ''flies'' by [[Fly fishing|fly fishers]], which either float on the water surface, slowly sink or float underwater, in imitation some form of insect fish food. However some flies, such as the [[trolling tandem streamer fly]], are designed for trolling behind a moving boat.

As an example, [[marlin]] lures are typically {{cvt|7|–|14|in|cm}} or more long with a shaped plastic or metal head and a plastic skirt. The design of the lure head, particularly its face, gives the lure its individual action when trolled through the water. Lure actions range from an active side-to-side swimming pattern to pushing water aggressively on the surface to, most commonly, tracking along in a straight line with a regular surface pop and bubble trail. Besides the shape, weight and size of the lure head, the length and thickness of skirting, the number and size of hooks and the length and size of the leader used in lure rigging all influence the action of the lure: how actively it will run and how it will respond to different sea conditions. Experienced anglers fine tune their lures to get the action they want. Specialized lures made specifically for trolling [[swordfish]] use plastic [[glow sticks]].

A pattern of four or more lures can be trolled at varying distances behind the boat. Lures may be fished either straight from the rod tip ("flat lines"), or from outriggers.

In addition to attaching a lure to the fishing line, an oval piece of metal (often hammered or curved for reflective purposes) called a dodger is often used to attract fish from greater distances. Lures designed for trolling with downriggers include metal "spoons" that are often decorated with colour tape, and plastic or rubber "squids" with various colours.

A [[Daisy chain (fishing)|daisy chain]] is a chain of plastic lures which have no hooks. Their purpose is to function as teasers which attract a school of fish closer to the lures that do have hooks.<ref name="alltackle">{{cite web|url=http://www.alltackle.com/MCSquidDaisyChain.jpg|title=Image: MCSquidDaisyChain.jpg, (191 × 223 px)|publisher= | website= alltackle.com| access-date= 2015-08-31|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223844/http://www.alltackle.com/MCSquidDaisyChain.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref>