Lake trolls are known as cow bells, gang trolls and schoolies- depending on what part of the country you are from. No matter what they are called they are a form of attractor, using vibration, color and noise to attract predator fish. Vibration- vibration is caused from the blades used on the troll. Large blades like Indiana, Colorado and beer cans provide a lot of turbulence but they create a lot of drag also. Doc Shelton blades provide the most uneven and unique vibration. Willow leaf blades provide vibration and low drag which is ideal for trolling deep. Wire- Most trolls are made up of 7 strand wire. This allows for flexibility and vibration in the form of frequency. Much like a guitar string the wire puts off a vibration that fish feel on their lateral line. The smaller the wire the higher the frequency. The thicker the wire the lower the frequency. Beads- Plastic, glass and metal. All three come in two shapes- round and faceted. Faceted beads have multiple flat surface cut onto them. Plastic beads are economical and come in a wide variety of colors. Glass beads add weight and noise as well as color and flash, however they are expensive. Metal beads provide noise and weight but are expensive and come in few colors. Rudders- plastic vs. brass. Plastic rudders are economical but don’t provide much weight. Brass rudders are flashy and provide the weight needed when trolling above the recommended speeds which can happen on outside turns and when trolling into underwater currents. Rudders keep the troll from twisting up the line coming from the fishing pole, a twisted line is one that can break very easily. Clevises- Ez spin vs. folded. Folded clevises are economical but have a chance of hanging up. Ez spin clevises or stirrups are mere pennies more per hundred and have the best chance of working flawlessly. Lead lengths- 30” vs. 66”- all the length of the lake troll determines, is the number of blades that can be applied. It is a matter of preference. Are 66” trolls better than 30”, well if the fishing is slow an angler may want to get out the heavy artillery to make more flash and vibration, so use the longer troll with more blades. If the fishing is good, then shorter trolls are the way to go as they pull easier and make the netting of the fish easier. Baits- Spin-n-glows, spoons, trolling flies behind dodgers or flashers and cut bait are common baits behind lake trolls. Again this is a matter of preference and what ever works for the angler. Color- The most debatable part of the troll. Do fish see colors? Does color matter? Evidence shows that fish do see colors. But even if they don’t, having different colors in front of an animal that only sees black and white, would appear as different shades of grey and black. Some days it seems as if fish only want one color. Some days they are biting everything, light or dark. Color is a matter of preference and should be based on depth, weather conditions and confidence. For variety of lake trolls visit www.laketrolls.com or if Ebay is more your style check out Bakers Dozen store at http://stores.ebay.com/BAKERS-DOZEN.