Serious Trolling Tune-up
Consbruck & McAllister
Walleye are going gangbusters in every lake and river during late spring and early summer. It’s easy to find them because the food cycle is perking up in most locations and walleye are rapidly putting on weight by feeding ravenously. Walleyes can be caught during May and June using various patterns and almost everything seems to work. It's not uncommon be successful anywhere from 1-25’ deep.
Unfortunately, the odds start to tip in the favor of the walleye in late June or July. The available forage blooms and is more than adequate to meet the needs of walleye. The walleye pickings become a little slimmer for us fisherman because we are competing with more “real” forage and less hungry fish.
Successful fisherman change right along with the walleye and one proven summer tactic we love to use is trolling for walleyes. It makes sense to follow forage out into the basins of lakes and reservoirs and target walleye feeding on suspended forage and/or seeking cooler, more comfortable water.
It’s common to read that open water trolling was “discovered” as recently as the 1990’s. We believe open water trolling was probably invented long before the first Rapala, it just wasn’t popularized or written about in great detail by tournament fisherman. Lakes like Harlan County Reservoir in Nebraska have had anglers following nomadic schools of shad and the walleye they attract since it was first stocked. Forerunning anglers used (and even still use) seagulls to locate fish out in the open water. Sonar hadn’t even been invented yet. Finnish fisherman were probably rowing out in “da middle of nowhere” while guys were still wearing fur hats and paddling with their line in one hand on a fjord after zander (European cousin to walleye).
Let’s say you venture out into the middle of your favorite lake and find schools of baitfish with larger fish present anywhere from 20-24’ and another group of fish that seems to be 37-40’. What do you do?
We suggest you break out four trolling rods and line-counter reels
On the first planer board we would try to run the lure approximately 18-20’ deep or really just above the highest marked fish because fish orientate “up” and studies have proven walleye are reluctant to strike a bait trolled beneath them. To run 20’ deep or so on 10# mono, we let out 35’ of line, then attach a 2 oz. snap weight, and then run out another 80’ or so of line. At this point it says 115 on our Daiwa 27 line-counter reels. This amount of line and weight with most moderately diving lure roughly gets us down to AROUND 20’ deep. To recap, we have 35’ from the weight to the lure to reduce spooking, we have 80’ to the board, and we can run the board as far away as we would like from the boat to even further reduce spooking. Then all we have to do is remember the “numbers” so we can go right back to the same system if we catch a walleye. It’s not that you have to be exact, it’s more that if you catch fish you can instantly repeat your presentation with the line-counter reels.
We would rig our second board with a lure to target fish that might be even higher in the water column that we are missing on the electronics or even to draw fish to the surface. Our intention on the second board, ran on the shallower side of the boat, would be to have a crankbait or ReelBait spinner with a smaller weight (1/2 – 1 oz.) or even no weight to run shallower, well above the fish. On most presentation like this we may only put out 50-100’ of line then attach the line to board.
Next would come our lead core presentations. Leadcore can then be used to get our lures close to the 40' depth where we are also marking fish. In 40’ of water at 1.5-2 mph you might typically use 5 or 6 colors of 18# leadcore. Leadcore is very speed dependent, the slower you go the more it sinks.
John prefers to use Penn 310 or 320 reels loaded with 18# lead core and a 10-20’ Fireline leader, just using a rubber band to mark his distance out. Todd prefers to use Daiwa 47 line-counter reels so he can remember a “number”. Fireline increases the ability to “read” your rod tip, mono gives more cushion when the fish is closer, each imparts a slightly different action to the lure. Use whatever you like, but make sure your leader has a lower breaking point than the lead core to reduce the chance of breaking your lead core. Lead core can last for years without needing replacement if you don't break it off. Most any trolling rod will work that has a good backbone and limber tip but the Scheel’s rods, Bass Pro Shops trolling rods, and Ugly Sticks seem to be best. Don’t be afraid to use a 10.5’ rod when pulling lead!
To join the lead core and mono we use a simple system but it’s hard to describe. Simply tie an overhand knot at the end of your lead core and trim off the tag. Next, make a loop with the lead core. Use this loop like you would use a hook eye to tie a Palomor knot with your leader material, then slide the Palomar down to the overhand knot and clip both tag ends. This is a great knot, holds super, and goes through the eyes on a rod well. Essentially you tie a palomar knot with your leader line onto the lead core and the knot at the end of the lead core holds the leader from slipping off the end. It’s easier than it sounds. If this doesn’t work for you, try using a #18 barrel swivel as an attachment point.
Whatever you do, make sure you start with varied selection of lures and/or spinners. It's also funny to us about how much we hear about color not being a factor; tell that to the fish is what we say because sometimes it sure is a factor! We also strongly believe that some individual lures just "work better", if one Wally Diver or Shad Rap is hot, sometimes we believe the action or other characteristics just make it a better lure than another of the exact same model, even of the same color.
If you want to be more precise, pick up a copy of “Precision Trolling” because trolling depths are highly dependent on speed, line diameter, weight, an the lure used. We focus more on repeatability more than precise depths, but it can be a key and helpful to start to know the lure dive depths and this book goes into more detail on trolling.
For some quick advice we'd offer this.
1. Troll downwind if you can, makes everything easier.
2. Be speed sensitive. This means remember leadcore dives less at high speeds and if you mix spinners and cranks you need to stay at the 1.8 mph or less range.
3. Always put out your planer board lines before the lead core. It reduces tangling. Just move your lead core rod to a mid-boat position to re-rig a board.
4. Don't overlook ReelBait Colorado or Tomahawk spinners off planer boards.
5. A quick and easy rule of thumb is 35' to your lure, a 2 oz snap weight, and then out to 115 on your Daiwa 27 to go ROUGHLY 20' deep. This is a very rough rule of thumb depending on line, boat speed, fullness of reel, etc. Use long, limber rods with a good backbone for trolling. It's tough to beat the Bass Pro P & K trolling rods.
6. For leadcore, about 6’ of 18# leadcore will usually dive 1’ in the water at 1.5 mph.
7. When removing snap weights, make sure to maintain tension on the fish and work as a team. One partner reels the weight into the other one who grabs the line on the fish side of the weight; he or she removes the weight, never giving slack to the walleye.
8. A long handled net with "snagless" netting like a Beckman's or Loki is a great investment for trollers. It’s no fun to dig cranks out of nets all day.
9. If you aren't using Berkley walleye scent or some other product, why? You are really making mistake. The stuff is worth its weight in gold some days.
10. Make sure you have rod holders mounted appropriately in your boat. In Todd's Tracker Tundra or John’s Fisher FX18DV, we like to have two bases off the stern, two on the gunnels near the stern, and two more about 7' from the stern. We use the back four for lead core and the amidships positions for board rods generally. Always have your planer board rods in a near vertical position to help keep upward pressure on your boards so they ride better.
11. Repeatability is the key with trolling. Catch a fish, go right back to the same exact presentation. Line counter reels make repeatability easy, but rubber bands knotted on the line and counting passes on level wind reels both work equally well, though less convenient. The main thing is to find the sweet spot where the active biters are and then keep returning to it time after time. This means more than a "geographic" location. The sweet spot can also be the distance from the boat to the planer board – don’t forget that.
12. Invest in a GPS. It's wonderful for safety, but absolutely puts you right back at the same speed and same spot. It will also give you a reference to relocate a moving school of fish.
13. A cheap downrigger is a 4-10 oz snap weight. It works great. If you want your lure to run near the bottom, run the weight about 20' above your lure and let it "hit" bottom on free spool one or two times while going your anticipated speed. You can always reel up when you lures digs bottom.
When the fishing gets tough this year in 15' of water with a Lindy rig, head out for the great wide open or at least wave at us. You never know what might be out there. For sure they'll be less boats, and maybe an untouched bonanza of walleyes that you didn't even know existed!
I LOVE GREENBACKS
You pack and check everything twice, three times, four times. You look for your ID's. Did I bring enough clothes? Will it rain or will it snow this year, it always does one or the other. Is everything alright with the suburban, is my oil ok on the boat and should I crimp a bunch of hook barbs and put those lures in one box so I don't forget to do that on the water.
You pull out of your driveway hoping for good weather, good fishing, and to catch up with friends. For me it's usually after work on a Wednesday and before you know it your in Fargo or somewhere crashing around Midnight, trying to get a few hours of sleep or if you have enough guys driving all night to be at the launch at sunrise.
Ahhh, the border. Things seem the same as they did when I was a kid going into Canada. You get asked a few questions, fess up to some beer and smokes and away you go. Only twice in my whole life have I had to pull over. You get the feeling the border guard wants to go along.
Pretty soon you realize you are actually in Canada. The roads are made different, things are in French, and you wonder how much faster you can go than the 100 km sign without getting pulled over. Winnipeg looms and you know the way around the city to the east. Geese are everywhere and you wonder why the city never seems to grow any further east or southeast. You pass the Maple Leaf pork sign and think to yourself, I'll be back to the neighborhood some night this week :)
Do we go to the Red or the Winnipeg? That's been decided but you always think you are going to the wrong one, the bite is better at the other.
Suddenly you are in the Red River drainage heading north, maybe a skim of snow or frost and you are looking for the road to Pine Falls. Get to Clarks Corner, get the licenses and herd everyone through the rest room one last time for the day. Suddenly it hits you that forgot food for the boat. Grab a few things and head to the ramp. The road is still bumpy and you still thank the paper company for having it. You wonder why the province or town doesn't put in a facility, oh well, you're just glad to have anywhere to launch.
You see all the license plates from everywhere, usually Manitoba, then Iowa, Minnesota, ND, SD, NE in order of numbers. What a mix of rigs! You get everthing into the boat, try not to forget anything and getted backed in. You think to yourself, why do the same guys park in the turning area every day, oh well, at least the road isn't icy today. You back in, pray she starts and idle around a bit. You just realize that your buddies are going to get mud and rocks all over your boat, oh well. It's a small price to pay.
Now you're heading north. If you are lucky you have a windshield. Locals are fishing the river in snowmobile suits and you try to be respectful but make a good pace too. You are trying to remember where the two big rocks are and remind yourself to "Stay Right" most of the way, especially at the mouth.
Out to the rocks we go, ooops. Too many boats, maybe we'll fish the snowmobile sign side. Ah heck, there's room and boats are on both sides. You idle down when you hit the drop off and come up to about 11'. You hand out linecounter rods with lures on them. Maybe a 8 pearl shad rap with some blue dots, a fire tiger 9 and a blue/red Jr Thunderstick. Put some juice on lures and send them out until they tick bottom.
Remind the guys to check their drags, leave them a little loose and put on the clickers. It feels good to have the kicker going, everything is working and you're on top of the world. You wonder how many guys out here fishing you know or have seen the past ten years.
A few hundred feet and you get your first 18" fish. It looks good for supper and you throw it in. A few more fish come in and you see the jiggers are doing ok too. It's a city on the drop-offs.
ZZzzzzzz FISH ON. There is a scramble as someone grabs a rod and you kick the motor down a notch because it might be a big girl - which you already know it is. You want to grab the net but you know it draws more attention than a helicopter at a state fair. The reeler says "I'm down to 20', she seems pretty good." You extend the net and make sure the boat is pointed away from everyone. The other rods are up and you put it in neutral. Suddenly you hear, "Ohhhhh man, back out to 27". Now you KNOW, this is a greenback and she just realized what happened.
She comes up to 5' and you still can't see her but you all know it's the one. You're standing on your back deck in your goose hunting clothes and you want so badly to put in a big fish for your friend, it's their first trophy and you don't want to miss with the net.
"Go easy, you're doing fine. Get her up one more time and I'll get her. I promise."
You sense more than see that she's coming. Focus on the head and net her quick.
In the bag...
My god. After a summer of normal fish you just don't know how to act. You are shaking like a leaf and you can't believe it. A 10, 12, or 14# walleye doesn't look real in your boat. It looks like another species. They are SO big. The head, the eyes, the fins, the belly. They are as thick as your leg.
"OK, can you hold her? Just like this and support her belly. You're going to release her right? Good man. Ok, let's get a few quick pics and video."
The other boats know now and they redouble their efforts, some make a trolling pass coming way to close. Others talk about it on the radio. Some are thinking big deal, "been there done that".
Your buddy leans over the side of the boat with the fish in his hands. You can see on the video later how the big girl realized she was free and swam off, splashing everyone in the process. You ask your buddy how he feels and he can't even talk, just shakes his head and says, "Wow, that was awesome. She was so big. Everyone else is teasing about the rod position he used, how she ran a few times, how you were worried about the net job."
Everyone high fives and you try to decide whether to keep going or make the same pass again. Lines and hooks are checked and you know why this is your favorite week of the year.
Later you clean a few fish and wonder if the bears around this year, by morning you'll know for sure. Nothing like a fish fry with a few snowflakes in the air.
Should we go back to Winnipeg for a little entertainment or to meet up with RTMG? Maybe eat at the Manitou, man the scallops and foccacia are good. Maybe the Red is hot, that could be fun too. Decisions Decisions.
A few more times out. Hopefully lots of fish, maybe everyone gets a trophy, maybe they don't. You see the nets and get a little steamed but it's not your water or your country. Every moment the last day is savored. Time moves far too fast, even if the fish aren't going.
Now you're on your way home. The boat is a little tired, little messy but pretty happy because she has done what she was born for. A feeling of dread sets in though. You know how lucky you are to have fished here, good fishing or not, but now work looms. You miss your wife though, and the dogs and you wonder what's happened in the world. It's the only time you don't read newspapers all year long.
You wonder if any of these geese will be in your field over you decoys later this year. Will the nets ever get under control? Will the world record be broken? Should you get some pierogies to take home and you wonder why I can't get gravy on my fries in Nebraska and how will fish taste without vinegar.
Suddenly you're trying to decide what kind of perfume to buy with your lodging tax refund at the border store. Hmmm, seems dumb but your wife always is happy when you bring home something nice. Sure wish I could bring home more than one bottle of Gibson's Rye Whiskey, can't find that at home!
Now you are in the US border crossing. Pull over, look through everything, "Ya, I'll untarp it". And no they are just doing their jobs but you don't think you look much like a terrorist except for the long whiskers and faraway look in your eyes.
Look at the beets piled everywhere.
Things are in English only again.
You last thought is I wish I could go with the guys going north on I-29. Is that guy fishing or duck hunting, hmmm.
Todd
Some people think I am nuts, taking a perfectly fine crank bait and changing its appearance completely. But have you ever had a color pattern say in a wally diver that you just know would be a fish killer in a shad rap? I have spent hours trying to duplicate a color scheme from one lure maker to another, and just as long developing my own unique color creations.
One of my favorite tricks of the trade is to use common markers. You would be amazed what you can do with them. Add a red bill, give a solid chartreuse body black tiger stripes or my favorite change is to give a crank a color fade by using the marker and then rubbing the color with finger nail polish remover on a cotton ball. The remover fades the new color over or into the base color that was originally on the crank bait. You can create one of a kind looks that only you have. Now the neat thing with using the markers is that any color you put on, can easily be removed with fingernail polish remover, and then you are right back at the base color that you started with.
Another easy way to change or duplicate a crank baits appearance is with finger nail polish. Go to your local department store and check out the selection of polish. It is endless. Now you might get some funny looks in the check out line or the polish isle, but you will be the only one that knows what you are doing. Finger nail polish also comes with its own applicator in the bottle. These brushes work fine for applying the polish to the crank. Once again if you don’t like what you have created, polish remover enables you to start over from scratch. One of my favorite things to do with the polish is to add a G-fleck pattern with a sparkled enamel topcoat.
Last but not least is to use common model paint. This involves a little more work; it usually takes 2 to 3 coats to get a good coverage on a crank. I use common model brushes and once I get the color and look I want, I use a spray topcoat acrylic sealer that you get at the hobby section at the department store.
These are just 3 ways to duplicate and develop new paint schemes on you favorite cranks. Give them a try it is not much to it and who knows you could come up with a killer scheme that only you possess.
