[like2spd]

I have a 16ft 1988 Sea Ray Bow Rider, in no way can I say this boat is set up to be fishman friendly. I did hear one guy say you can find the where the action is under the bridge by drifting and trolling back and forth. I have never trolled before and I can see myself saying, "Well I guess there is no fish under the bridge today..." or "What am I doing wrong?"

I have no rod holders, so i figure I could just hold the rod somehow while I steer the boat. I understand this is kind of a vague question, but I really know jack about fishing. All I know is that I love catching them and when I cant do that, I just love the idea of MAYBE catching some.

I dont really have a fish I want to target, but i prefer the kind I can put on a plate. I typically use 20-30lb line on spinning rods.

I dont know how what type of lure, how much line to let out, how fast to go, how close to the bridge I should be, and other questions I havent thought of asking. Better yet, If you arent scared of a pitbull and an old small boat Ill invite anyone to show me the ropes out on my boat, just PM me. Thanks guys -David

 

[fishn4real]

David, if food on the platter :hungry Just get som squid or shrimp and anchor down anywhere along the old washed out three mile bridge, using a bottom rig, #3 circle hook, and get ready for some white trout.

They are some good eats. And really fun to catch on lite takle. I us a seven ft. light rod and 6 lb test line. Fuunnnnnnnnnnnn!

 

[true-king]

never spent much time trolling 3 mile, but i have trolled garcon a lot in the paston my jet ski:toast. i didn't add a rod holder for a while, so isimply held the rod while steering.i used a small diving plug (use one that swims near the bottom) and have caught close to everyting on it: many redfish, some speckled trout, lots of spanish, way too manyladyfish :banghead, bluefish,a pompano, and even a baby cobia. try getting a diving plug that swims near the bottom and troll it just above idle speed.

 

[tyminer]

You could add two rod holders like this:
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?partNumber=52306
Cheap and effective

Besides without rod holders is damn near impossible to troll by yourself...hell its hard enough with rod holders to do by yourself. Not sure what your idle speed is but you probably wouldnt want to troll no faster than 2-3 mph and havethe line about 100' back. Give yourself plenty of room between you and the bridge pilings and steer wide of them

For most fish around the bridge 20-30 lb line seems a bit on the thick side unless you use braid

You may find that its easier to just drop anchor in the area of the old bridge as mentioned above if your fishing by yourself, or just drift. Either way rod holders will still come in handy

 

[Danno]

David, bike riders will tell you "It an't what you ride, its the fact that you ride". It an't what you fish out of, its that you fish. I moved here in 1985, and all I had was bass fishing gear, the first place I fished was trolling 3-Mile Bridge with a hell-bender on a 12-lb line. I caught fish.

You don't need all the accessories, 3 oz of lead, a 3/0 hook, squid or shrimp and your set for bottom fishing. For afish finder, watch the birds. We nestled in with pelicans on the Gulf Breeze side of 3-Mile and landed several white trout and a couple of nice reds. <U>What matters is you have fun doing it</U>.

Good fishing,

 

[like2spd]

Ok thanks for the reply guys. So I tried trolling and drifting at the bridge. now I have more questions.... Number one, How can you make your boat only go 2mph. When im idling i feel like im more likely going 5 mph sometimes 7 because of the current I suppose. Second question, if I try drifting, I just drift right smack into a piling or drift right between them. It doesnt seem Ideal. None the less though we caught two fish just anchoring near the hump at 3mile. fun experience. -David

 

[Danno]

Good questions.

First on trolling speed, in some cases 2 MPH is slow, but this depends on what your pulling. Most of the divers, bubblers, jets and whatever I use Itroll at 4-8 MPH sometimes even faster. Most anything you pull is going to move at 2+ MPH, years ago my rule of thumb was too fast was when it wouldn't stay down.

Drifting, its going to happen, tides, currents, winds, wakes from other boatsthey all play with your boat. Laying out and drifting through the pilings is not a bad thing, but it can be risky. If this bothers you, you may want to invest in an anchor.