Saltwater fishing question

[RUGER]

I occasionally watch a couple youtubers that fish saltwater.
I have noticed they normally leave their outboard running, in neutral while moving or spot locking with their trolling motor.
I was just curious as to why?

 

[cbhunter]

yes

 

[Kirk]

Because they are afraid they won't start back up. When your 30 miles off shore that could be a bad situation.

In-shore probably more about not having to stop and restart constantly.

 

[Pilchard]

What were they fishing for? In shallow water, they will all turn off their outboard because the fish will spook.

In deep water, especially when drifting, the outboard stays on many times. You are drifting through a zone that may take 5-10 minutes and then you idle or run up tide of the spot and drift back through. When the fish are 30 feet down or more, a outboard running is unlikely to affect the bite.

I normally killed my motor when setting up on fish. The one exception is tarpon fishing in a deep pass where a 20 foot adjustment might mean you stay in the fish longer.

 

[RUGER]

In deep water, especially when drifting, the outboard stays on many times. You are drifting through a zone that may take 5-10 minutes and then you idle or run up tide of the spot and drift back through. When the fish are 30 feet down or more, a outboard running is unlikely to affect the bite.

This is what he was doing when I first noticed it. He was fishing for stripers.
Makes sense.

 

[Pilchard]

Something else to consider. When fishing vertically in heavy current it is important to keep your line straight up and down for a natural drift. If your bait and boat are moving at different speeds, you need to bump the boat in and out of gear to keep your boat directly above the bait. Most often the bait is moving faster than the boat due to drag on the line through the water column. If this happens for more than a few seconds, your line will scope up and take your bait out of the zone.

 

[Dbllunger]

Something else to consider. When fishing vertically in heavy current it is important to keep your line straight up and down for a natural drift. If your bait and boat are moving at different speeds, you need to bump the boat in and out of gear to keep your boat directly above the bait. Most often the bait is moving faster than the boat due to drag on the line through the water column. If this happens for more than a few seconds, your line will scope up and take your bait out of the zone.

You'd make a good Wheeler dam fisherman. Thats how we catch them drifting live bait almost straight down. Yes, motor always running in that current so you can do exactly what you described. Bump in and out of gear to control speed. Cool.