Riverdancing Tobys, Salmon And Lomond (Page 5).

As with most successful fishing lures, manufacturers seem to wait until they have a proven killer, then for no reason (other than production cost and profit) change either the shape, colour, action or quality of manufacture. This is exactly what happened with the Abu Toby. There is no doubt that the shape and action of an old type Toby (manufactured in Sweden) is completely different from the newer Garcia type ( manufactured in Taiwan). While the new lures still catch fish, they are not as mobile as the originals. If you can source a regular supply of old type lures you are extremely fortunate and will never want for best mates.

I normally only use 5/8oz ( now 18 gramme) Tobys, with a mixture of silver, silver/blue, silver/copper, copper/black and green/gold all successful at various times. In the silver combinations I particularly like old tarnished lures which have lost their shiny new look and acquired a duller, powdery whitish or aluminium like sheen. Unfortunately , and despite attempts at weathering or ageing, the newer version tobys tend to retain their harsh chromium finish and seem less attractive to salmon. For this reason I would never clean or shine any of my frontline attack tobys.

Lengths
The lures should be set to fish at a known measured distance behind the boat, and lengths should be varied to present a "spread" to any potential taking fish. I always pre-measure the lines to simplify accurately achieving this spread. Pokers should be set as the shortest lines, with the two wing rods the longest. Occasionally I will shorten up one or two lures, usually the pokers and usually during the grilse run when fish are fresh and more numerous.
Poker lengths are normally 15 and 17 yards with wing rods set at 20 and 23 yards. Even with 2 pokers set it is seldom that a hooked fish will succeed in fouling an adjacent line. It is normally possible, in good light conditions, to see all the lures working behind the boat as they are only a matter of 6-8 inches below the surface. If the lures are skating over the surface or skipping through the waves they are incorrectly set up for the boat speed. I measure out the exact length of nylon to be fished on each rod and attach this to a loop at the end of the main reel line which is 30lb b.s. braided salmon backing.This means only the short working length of nylon needs to be changed at the end of the season or whenever damaged.

Click the photo above for images of trolling set-ups, strikers etc.

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