Rowtrolling Outing

[Pete Stoltman]

Last Sunday I was able to hit the water in the newly christened Allison Jean. Here's a shot of my son Tom and I taking a break while Muskie Matt fished nearby. For a bit of background, the Allison Jean is a 1940 Thompson guide boat. While not a huge boat she can handle two anglers very comfortably and can handle a third without much effort. This boat is designed for rowing and glides like a dream. At times we had to force ourselves to slow down. Just on the water for a couple hours before heading over to Wild Eagle for the RFRG show. No muskies on this trip but an absolutely great day to be on the water. If anyone's interested in a rowtrolling trip just get in touch. There's still plenty of time this season and some of the best fishing is yet to come. I'll be adding more info to the Row Trolling page soon.

[Pete Stoltman]

Here's another shot courtesy of Matt of Tom and myself in action. Had a few questions come up from folks about the whole row trolling thing. First of all, it's not as strenous as it may appear if you have a boat that's set up right. This boat has a wineglass type stern with a semi-rounded bottom and fairly narrow beam. It's low to the water which means it doesn't catch the wind much. I'm using 7 1/2 foot oars which give a good sweep and plenty of efficiency per oar stroke. This all translates into a pretty slick ride that moves well under most conditions. The photos are a bit distant so you don't see the rod set-up too well. On this trip we just brought two rods. I'm using the St. Croix 8' glass trolling rods. On these rods I have mounted Abu Garcia 7000 IHSN reels which are the smallest of the 7000 series. I also have Daiwa line counter reels which we didn't bring out on this trip. The rods are mounted on Salty S-10 rod holders. Line is Cortland Masterbraid in the 80 lb. Bronzeback. Just took a small box of lures on this trip which included Slammer 7" Minnow Divers, Bucher Depthraiders, 10" Jakes, and 9" Grandmas. If anyone has questions about rowtrolling, boat setup, want to swap info etc. bring it on. I absolutely have a blast doing this type of fishing and would be happy to bounce ideas back and forth.

[Muskie Matt]

Yes, it should be noted, I just give Pete hell about rowing because I don't have a beautiful little boat like that. They glide quite effortlessly through the water, a good rowing boat like his offers very little resistance against wind or chop. I couldn't believe how fast those guys went around the WHOLE LAKE last Sunday! I should get back into the rowtrolling thing and it's definately an outing worth trying. Give Pete a call today!