Trolling for butts- noob questions.

So i was out on T-bay the other day trolling for butts.  Like everyone else; i didn't catch anything but it was my first time trolling.   So I have a few questions.

1. When trolling - how much weight do you use? I was using 6, 8 and 16 oz balls.
2. When trolling at what angle should my line be ?  should it be 45 degrees approx?
3. How much line do i let out?  I would let my ball sink to the bottom and once i felt bottom i would start peddling.  Then, when i got going, i would pull on my rod to see if i could find bottom.   I have a line counter so i figured that if my depth meter showed 40 feet , then i would let out 60 feet of line is this the right ratio of line to let out per depth?
4. When i'm trolling should i feel the weight / ball hitting the ground occasionally?
5. How fast are you trolling for halibuts? 

Thanks all and happy future memorials day.

1. 16oz torpedo, less drag. trolling 0-25ft, past that blows back too far to bounce good. I spend most of my time trolling in that range so don't I don't bother spending on heavier weights, would only go up to 24oz though, past that is too much to deal with. you could probably get away with less but I run flashers/dodgers so more weight helps with blowback
2. don't care about angle, only matters if it bounces and I have good bottom contact. more vertical = better
3. pedal first get up to speed then let line out while keeping pedaling. let it out slow. touch bottom 1 time. keep pedaling. bounce weight on bottom with rod in ur hands. when its bouncing then put in rod holder.
4. yes. no dragging. bouncing.
5. slower in bad vis. faster in good vis. usually 1.7-2. troll against tide, gives the bait +dodger better action for slower travel speed

tomales is hard to troll, lots of grass on surface to foul line and big depth contours. it is much easier to troll if you have experience with the bay and the bottom contours of the areas you are trolling. also knowing where eelgrass beds are is important.

The "bounce ball" approach is to have the sinker hit bottom every once in a while, but not be constantly dragging on the bottom. Ideally, you'd like to have less line out, but that depends on speed, current, etc., and you don't always have complete control over those things. Weight-wise, I find that 10oz works from 30 to about 85 fow where I fish, but sometimes 12oz is necessary, and sometimes I can get away with 8oz.

I don't think speed is all that critical, as I've got some when just barely crawling along, and others when the wind was pushing me so fast that I had to have a mile of line to be anywhere near the bottom. As long as your lure (typically, dodger and hoochie for me) is getting good action, you're OK. But, of course, varying your speed and other presentation factors is a good idea...

1. 16oz torpedo, less drag. trolling 0-25ft, past that blows back too far to bounce good. I spend most of my time trolling in that range so don't I don't bother spending on heavier weights, would only go up to 24oz though, past that is too much to deal with. you could probably get away with less but I run flashers/dodgers so more weight helps with blowback
2. don't care about angle, only matters if it bounces and I have good bottom contact. more vertical = better
3. pedal first get up to speed then let line out while keeping pedaling. let it out slow. touch bottom 1 time. keep pedaling. bounce weight on bottom with rod in ur hands. when its bouncing then put in rod holder.
4. yes. no dragging. bouncing.
5. slower in bad vis. faster in good vis. usually 1.7-2. troll against tide, gives the bait +dodger better action for slower travel speed

tomales is hard to troll, lots of grass on surface to foul line and big depth contours. it is much easier to troll if you have experience with the bay and the bottom contours of the areas you are trolling. also knowing where eelgrass beds are is important.

Bingo! Only thing I'd add is that you will have to make constant adjustments depending on current, wind, etc. When I troll for halibut, I probably look insane with my hands practically on the reels constantly moving line sometimes in increments of half-turns of the reel handle.

1.  My setup ranges from 4oz up to 8oz.  Depth, wind, current, speed and your rod setup can affect these.  I notice guys that have rods with less backbone tend to use higher weight (10+oz).  My setup likes being around 6-8oz at Tomales from 20-50ft. 

2.  I do 45 def or less.  Again depends on current and speed.  You generally want the “bounce” to occur every few seconds. 

3.  Line depends on depth and speed.  You’re trying to get that weight to bounce off the bottom. 

4.  You should feel it or see it bounce if the rod is in a holder.

5.  You can caught them at all varying speeds.  Drifting, or up to 3-4mph depending on conditions. 

    You didn't ask about snags. And you will get them trolling near the bottom.   First, watch ahead so you don't run into floating tops of the kelp (don't know if that is an issue in T Bay), then watch your FF for weeds and bumps and either reel up or speed up to get over them. And when you inevitably snag anyway, try a easy pull sort of long tug on your rod, often that will free it without ever having to stop.  If it's still stuck, retrace your path with the reel out of gear and pull from that direction, or try it from 90 deg to each side of your path.  Even if it's really stuck, sometimes it frees up as you pull the line straight up with your hands or after wrapping it around your club, especially if you pull slowly and steadily.   Most of the time it come free eventually. Helps if your drag is set fairly light, so your clicker goes off and you stop before it gets stuck too badly.
    Tangles in your terminal gear?  Easy.  Don't lower rig when stopped, and don't stop until it's back up out of the water.

Thanks fellas.  So just our of curiosity, do you troll live baits as well and if so do you use a flasher?  Does anyone troll swimbaits? If so what size jig head do you use? 

Thanks fellas.  So just our of curiosity, do you troll live baits as well and if so do you use a flasher?  Does anyone troll swimbaits? If so what size jig head do you use?

Personally, I've had the most success in TBay with large, blue label herring. Trolling live bait is not usually a great idea, as they aren't durable. Frozen baits are cured before freezing, making them hardier and easier to put a bend in, creating the spinning action. I've been meaning to try trolling around various lures on a 3-way (lucky craft, broken back rebel) but I think a swimbait won't have as much action for some reason. Your best bet for artificial is probably a dodger and hoochie.

Thems my .02...

Thanks fellas.  So just our of curiosity, do you troll live baits as well and if so do you use a flasher?  Does anyone troll swimbaits? If so what size jig head do you use?

I have just as much luck trolling my go-to swimbait (5" white Gulp Grub) as i do popsicles. I'll either bounce it stand alone on a 2 - 4 oz jig head or unweighted on a bounceball rig.

Swimbaits are very effective.

Toss em, drift and bounce them, or troll them.

In the shallows I just put a 1oz head on and slowly troll bounce on a light rod.  Works very well.

Fisherman"s Life used a swim bait as the weight while trolling so I thought I would give it a try last time out using live bait. I used a 6oz jig head  swim bait on a slider, and a 36" leader to the live anchovy (thanks Eddie). I caught a 26" halibut on the anchovy, and having that big swim bait hook swinging around during the netting was somewhat disconcerting. Not sure if I'll try it again.

Fisherman"s Life used a swim bait as the weight while trolling so I thought I would give it a try last time out using live bait. I used a 6oz jig head  swim bait on a slider, and a 36" leader to the live anchovy (thanks Eddie). I caught a 26" halibut on the anchovy, and having that big swim bait hook swinging around during the netting was somewhat disconcerting. Not sure if I'll try it again.

That setup seems tasty...I've always toyed with how to have to livees on one line...