Hardbody lures are effective on a range of species but perhaps none more so than marauding pelagics. Jarrod Day discusses optimal spreads and fine-tuning processes that can maximise your results when trolling for speedsters.

Big bull dollies favour skirted lures but often take smaller size hard body lures. In this case, treble hooks are recommended.

There is no doubting that trolling lures for large pelagic species is a popular affair for many anglers and while hardbody lures are successful in catching a fish’s attention, different species exhibit different attacking methods towards them. As affective as they are, hardbody lures require attention to ensure the work in the manner in which they are intended.
A little bit of understanding about their actions added to time spent tweaking them will have you quickly finding out just how productive these bibbed plastic artificials can be.
TROLLING SPREAD
Setting your trolling spread is as equally as important as choosing the lures themselves. Trolling spreads can vary greatly and will differ depending on the pelagic species you’re targeting. When it comes to selecting a lure for bluewater trolling, most will range in the 140 to 180 mm length. Such lures will also dive to different depths, which for some species can play a big role in determining whether or not you can elicit a strike. Diving hardbody lures can be trolled for a wide range of species including tuna, wahoo, mackerel and kingfish with the odd billfish having a crack, though these tend to be lost due to the hooks pulling or trebles bending.
If you’re specifically trolling for tuna, hardbody lures may be mixed in among a skirt spread. These tend to be placed only a few metres out just below the first wake. Though a lure may stipulate that it dives to seven metres, this can depend on how far back from the boat it is placed. The further back the lure is trolled, the shallower it will dive. The closer it is placed behind the boat the more water pressure is placed onto the bib – forcing it to its maximum depth.
Different species of tuna will also hit lures in different positions. For example, southern bluefin tuna tend to favour two main lure positions: a shotgun placed at the rear of the spread and hardbody lures trolled right behind the prop wash under the first wake. Yellowfin on the other hand tend to favour short and long corner lures and stay away from lures that are too close to the motor or prop wash.
On the contrary, other species such as wahoo aren’t too fussy with a particular lure spread but favour particular colours. Those that know the feeding patterns of wahoo will know that skirted lures just don’t stand a chance when these guys are about. Their sharp teeth can rip the skirts to pieces in no time and your $80 skirt can resemble a torn apart rag in seconds. Fortunately, hardbody lures can stand up to the savage teeth array they have and while they still might destroy the lure, it is a cheaper alternative to an expensive skirt.
Advice on the perfect trolling spread is going to differ no matter whom you speak with but personal preference will take over after a few sessions of success. Personally, my favourite tuna spread consists of two 7 to 9 m diving 180 mm Yo-Zuri Hydro Magnum lures trolled beneath the first wake. These are placed in tight so they dive deep and hold. Both are staggered 1 to 2 m past the other so not to tangle when turning. I then have two short corners both situated under the second wake each staggered with 160 mm diving lures which run around 5 m deep, followed by a skirt in the shotgun around 15 m back.
I have observed that tuna are attracted more to a tight lure spread rather than a wide spread and you’re more likely to get a multiple hook up session rather than just one here or there.

Once you have a hook-up, it pays to work the area to raise more fish. When you notice the bite from one direction, replicate it to continue to be successful.

TROLLING SPEED
Trolling speed can vary greatly depending on the species targeted but it will also be dictated by the lures being trolled and the current water conditions. Different lures will troll at different speeds and while most will dig in straight from the packet, some will pull out and tangle other lines which can become a logistical nightmare. On occasion, you may have that one lure that won’t swim no matter what you do so it pays to have a selection. It isn’t common but can occur so it’s better to be pro-active.
Most hardbody lures will have an ideal trolling speed of 7 to 9 knots and for most species this is the desired speed to initiate a strike. Weather and water conditions can also dictate whether a lure will hold in, which is why you will have to figure out what works on any given day on the water.
The water’s current can also affect trolling speed. In the ocean, currents will push along the edge of reef or be funnelled down the coast by the onset of the EAC. This current may be where fish are schooled and feeding on baitfish but can affect the boat’s speed. The boat’s speed may slow when heading into the current or speed up when trolling with it. Anglers need to be aware of this situation when trolling lures and keep a constant eye on their speed so to have the lures working and not pulling out or working incorrectly.
Watching the boat’s speed can help you understand a large array of factors that can aid in gaining more strikes. Even if you fail to get a hook up, knowing the direction that you were trolling and the speed you were travelling can be used to elicit more.
Tuna are one such species that will take a lure being trolled in one particular direction. Heading with the current may see the lure exhibiting all of the actions that excite the fish, while heading against it might see the lure slow down and lose its appeal.
After you experience that initial strike, it pays to keep heading in the same direction and work in a zig-zag motion before doubling back to re-work the same line. Doing this will allow you to work an area thoroughly enough to raise fish. If you find fish deep on the sounder, it is also recommended that this area be worked until the fish come up to the surface. Getting fish to come up from the deep might not necessarily depend on your lure spread but a tide change or other environmental factor. Providing you’re working the area and covering ground, working with the current and against it, should see you get a strike eventually.

Replacing the trebles with a single lure hooks will ensure a better hook set.

MINIMISING YOUR LOSSES
From the box, all lures should swim when placed at speed behind a boat. While you’re paying good money for a product, on the odd occasion it might not cooperate and require some fine-tuning to get it working as it should. Tuning may also be required after catching a fish due to the ferocity of the strike. Some lures can split, be bent out of shape or obtain a twisted tow point that may throw the lure out and see it skipping on the surface when re-trolled.
Each lure grabbed from a tackle shop’s wall should be seriously looked at and upgraded where possible. My checklist generally begins at the hooks. Almost all bluewater lures come fitted with VMC treble hooks that work well to a degree but I always like to take any possibility of losing a fish out of the equation. Lures are removed from their packaging and immediately upgraded with either Shinto 3x strong, Owner ST66 or ST76 TN trebles depending on the lure being upgraded. In saying that, most pelagic species have a rather soft mouth region where a treble hook can tear flesh, leaving big
holes that may cause the hooks to pull.

Diving lures reaching 7-9 m often become the meal of species such as wahoo and tuna.

Treble hooks are also quite heavy and strong headshakes from the fish during the battle can also be used as leverage to flick the lure out of their mouth. For this reason, in most cases on larger pelagics, I swap trebles for a single lure hook. Specific inline trolling singles enable a secure hook set but when two are placed on the lure, they can work against one another should the fish have a hook embedded in each hinge of the jaw. In this situation one of the hooks may bend if a fish flexes its jaw which I have had happen and subsequently lost an estimated 80 kg southern bluefin some years ago. This caused a re-think and the setup has now changed for the better. A single Owner 9/0 Jobu is attached to the rear of the lure only. There is no need for a second hook as the rear hook sets well and stays in all of the time.

Hard body lures should always have a length of wire in front of them when in the tropics. Critters like mackerel are quick to site you off otherwise.

Split rings are also worth upgrading and should be swapped over to Owner’s 10, 11 or 11H rings depending on which size is required for that particular lure.
I mentioned lures pulling out of the water straight from the box and this can be the case due to a tow point being out of line. With a pair of pliers, the tow point can be slightly bent or corrected to fix this problem. Some anglers tune their lures by doing this so the short corner lures pull ever so slightly to the left or right to keep them out of other lure’s paths. This is a delicate procedure that requires very little pressure to get the desired action. Too much to the left or right and the lure may pull out and getting it back correctly can be very frustrating if this is the case.
Another factor which can impede the action and not have the lure track correctly is the leader and connection joined to the lure. In many cases, anglers clip their snap swivels directly to the lures tow point. If a wind on leader is used, the water’s pressure on the thick line and swivel can also cause the lure to swim incorrectly and skip on the surface.
In this case, a one metre length of 175 lb single strand wire can be twisted to the tow point with a haywire twist and a second haywire twist tied to the other end to form a loop. It is on this loop that the snap swivel can be clipped and the use of such fine wire will eliminate any added pressure bestowed onto the front of the lure and prevent it from pulling. This also aids in preventing any bite offs from toothy critters such as mackerel, wahoo or dogtooth tuna.

Hardbody lures are a good addition to any angler’s trolling arsenal and to put it plain and simply, they catch fish… sometimes it’s just a matter of some fine tuning and you’re set to go.
Jarrod Day works at Tackleworld Cranbourne, is an accomplished fishing journalist and has been for the past 10 years. Jarrod is married with two children and resides in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. He has extensively fished throughout Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory as well as many international destinations. Having built his writing career over many years, Jarrod is endorsed by Yo-Zuri, L.Wilson, Black Magic, Spotters and Richter Lures.