Silly question: when both bow and stern paddlers are trolling out of a canoe, and someone catches a fish, does the other paddler need to immediately reel their line out of the water to prevent a tangle, or does that line usually stay out of the way? I guess it would be more likely to tangle if both lines are running deeper?

Depends on the size and fight of the fish. Usually we reel in to help our partner land the lunker. A small fish no need to reel in.

T

The second line always gets reeled in. Usually, the canoe stops when one person is fighting a fish so you run the risk of getting snagged on bottom as well as tangled in the line with the fish.

Perfect, thank you both!

Reel in, i about lost it a few years ago my canoe partner never reeled in then we always had some sort of mess to deal with

Yep, reel in. I was hooked into a laker on Argo in Quetico years ago and my buddy didn't reel in. He ended up tail hooking my fish as I brought it in and to this day he still claims credit for the catch.

Legit question , it seems like people who didnt reel in had a cluster**** on their hands , and probably a lot of lost fishing time. & fish ?
Reel in ;)

Yes the other person reels in their line, stops the boat and gets in position to assist, and helps with landing your fish. The other person is also responsible for keeping you out of the weeds, rocks.

Reel in, provide help in landing the fish, including boat control.

What kind of animal doesn’t reel in and help their buddy when they hook up?!?!?!?

Hammertime: "What kind of animal doesn’t reel in and help their buddy when they hook up?!?!?!?"

Hahaha an ignorant animal!!! I’ve never trolled before and as I’m 1.5 months out of my only trip of the year I’m overthinking and obsessing over every tiny detail while I plan my trip haha!

This one seems to have a nice clear answer though.

Hammertime: "What kind of animal doesn’t reel in and help their buddy when they hook up?!?!?!?"

Of course. It's not likely you're going to catch another fish while fighting the first. It's a team sport in my boat.

Have fun planning jbones!