Which lure patterns for trolling: staggered or parallel? The staggered lure pattern is best for trolling on a small boats (eight metres in length or less), but it can work for boats of any size. Out of all of the patterns it gives the best spread of lures, and if done correctly, there should be only one lure on each wave, which will minimise the chance of tangles. Beginning at wave two or wave three should be the closest lure to the boat and the lures should be evenly staggered, one on each wave for each of the five lures in the spread, for example - short corner, wave two; long corner, wave three; and so on. It's important to choose which wave you start the lure pattern on according to weather and sea conditions, as well as by the speed you are trolling.
This still works well when fishing lures in pairs because the lure spread is already very close together. It is also a great way to find out which waves your boat gets the bites on and then adjust your lure placement to suit this.
The parallel lure pattern suits boats above eight metres long that are wide or have the ability to easily spread the lures. The two short lures are run on the same wave usually either wave two or three. The two longer lures are run on the same wave as each other, skipping a wave between the short lures, either wave four or wave five. The shotgun lure is then put out one wave behind these long lures.
This pattern is very basic to achieve and extremely effective once you’ve found where your boat gets the most strikes in the spread. Once you work that out you can place both lures on that same pressure wave to maximise results. With experience you'll learn to choose which wave to start the lure pattern on, depending on the weather and sea conditions, the speed you are trolling at and by knowing your boat.