Troll (angling)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see troll.
"Trolling for blue fish" lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1866.

Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water. This may be behind a moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, eg when fishing from a jetty. Trolling is used to catch pelagic fish such as mackerel and kingfish.

Trolling can be phonetically confused with trawling, a completely different method of fishing, where a net (trawl) is drawn through the water instead of lines. Trolling is used both for recreational and commercial fishing whereas trawling is used mainly for commercial fishing.

Trolling from a moving boat is a technique of big-game fishing and is used when fishing from boats to catch large open-water species such as tuna and marlin. Trolling is also a freshwater angling technique.

Trolling from a moving boat involves moving quite slowly through the water; this may be accomplished by use of a special trolling motor.

This meaning of the term 'troll' as 'to wave a bait' is probably a heavy influence on the adoption of the term for describing certain negative social interactions in Internet discussions.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Fishing vessel trolling for tuna in the Pacific.
  • Merriam-Webster definition 2a: "to fish by trailing a lure or baited hook from a moving boat"
Personal tools