Trolling (the basics)

[vergil]

i know nothing about trolling, have a few ?s
forgive me if they seem stupid
can you troll with out a trolling motor just idling an outboard along? (i see people on the lake that do this all the time but i dont think they catch anything)
how do you troll for walleye in smaller lakes?, whats the best baits for trolling?
can you troll with out a downrigger?
there has to be more to it then just dangling baits behind a slow moving boat?

 

[LongLine]

Re: Trolling (the basics)

The trick to trolling is to put your lure where the fish are, at a speed that produces an action that will tempt them to go after it. You have to realize that some days a fish will come from 100 ft down to hit a lure a surface and somedays the fish don't care if it's traveling at 1 mph or 6 mph. However on most days, they want it right in front of them at a speed that they don't have to expend much energy to get. Generally Walleyes are very light sensitive so go fairly deep during the day or fish at night.

All the various "trolling toys" allow you to change up your presentation to catch more fish on most days. Some guys do use their main power plant to troll with. The question is - can you go slow enough? (Most older large 2 strokes will load up with carbon ater an hour of so of idling.)

Downriggers allow you to easily control the depth where your lure will be, but there are many ways to get the lure down. I'd suggest you search for an on-line Walleye fishing forum and see what the fishermen there do. You don't have to copy their gear, but you have to learn what they are doing and then figure out how to achieve what they are doing.

Tom B.
(LongLine)

p.s. be forewarned, Walleye fishermen are probably the most secretive bunch of guys alive.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Trolling (the basics)

Trolling can be as easy as you want to make it or as complicated as you want to make it.

Trolling can be a very relaxing way to fish, or it can be a lot of work.

You can troll with just the bare necessities... a boat and motor, a rod and reel, and a lure.

... or you spend 10's of thousands of dollars on equipment. Both ways will catch fish!

To catch fish consistently, having a couple of tools will really help. One is a decent sonar unit (fish finder) and the other is a GPS unit that reads speeds from 0.5 mph and up. I have a cheap little hand held GPS unit that works just fine for this.

You can vary the depth of your lure presentation by using crankbaits that dive to different depths or different weight jigs.

There's a huge amount of trial and error that goes with trolling, and it's like anything else... the more you do it the better you will become at it.

A very easy way to troll and catch fish (even Walleye) is to tie on a rattling lipless crankbait like a Rattle trap or Rattlin' Rapala cast it out as far as you can behind the boat and drag it around the lake in 10-15' of water at idle speed during the late afternoon and early evening.

 

[marapoint]

Re: Trolling (the basics)

My maiden post - Hello everyone!

I fish the Detriot River for walleye - mainly use Bottom Bouncers with a worm harness. I also go to what jigngrub mentioned - "rattlin Rapala's" when fishing at low light, especially on a rocky or sandy shoal.
So many different ways to fish for them, but a lot depends on where your fishin. Best bet, find a good bait shop where you plan to fish and talk to them. Most are really into helpin out. Good Luck,

tight lines
bobby

 

[heyyou325]

Re: Trolling (the basics)

I troll with a 40horse and trolling plate all the time. Depending what you want to catch about 1 1/2 mph is good for trout kokanee, and other fish. Sometimes I catch them at 3 to 4 mph. Just depends on who knows what. I usually start at 1 1/2mph and vary tho. A fishfinder will help you know the depth, but not speed to travel, or if they are biting, nor on what. Downriggers will get you to certain depths faster and more reliably then just sinker and line. A handhelp GPS can tell you your speed and mark where you caught them. There's usually more than one in a spot. A kicker motor is an outboard, only it's a small hp one. You can go too fast with them too. It takes a lot of practice and patience to be a good fisherman. Lot of beer sometimes too. Local sporting good stores usually know what each fish is biting on, and a rough estimate of where. Some fish you want to sit still for like bass. I've never fished for walleyes but I'm told they're fun to catch. Baits, lure, jigs, etc vary with lakes. Sometimes they bite on the strangest things.

 

[coopcafemgr]

Re: Trolling (the basics)

I live in Northern Wisconsin and here we fish walleyes in the daytime in the deepest part of the lake that has a gravel or rocky bottom by using a jig and minnow bouncing off the bottom. The fish will pick the bait up on the way back down so be ready for a tap just before your bait reaches the bottom. At night we fish 8-10 feet with a minnow under a slip bobber. Last year I caught a 29&1/4 inch Walleye in 5 feet.

 

[j_Rilett]

Re: Trolling (the basics)

You can definitely troll without a downrigger. We troll for walleye all the time in Lake Erie. Given that it is a very large lake, its pretty deep as well. We usually set out about 5 lines. Two off the downrigger, and three "long lines". The long lines consist of the proper lure/spoon, that is attached to a "diver". The brands that we tend to like are the "Deep Six" and the "Pink Lady". They have several different sizes of each brand, depending on the desired depth.

Hope it helps, but I'm not sure if they will apply to a smaller lake...

 

[Silk]

Re: Trolling (the basics)

For many years I trolled without a trolling motor, just putzing around on the lowest speed I could get my 165 mercruiser to go, and quite frankly I did just as well with that as I do with my trolling motor, but I do like my trolling motor better, a)it doesn't suck the gas b) its quiet c)I'm not sure how good it is for a 165 hp engine to be putzing around so slow for such a long time??

Anyway, I would be driving my boat with one hand, holding the rod in the other and trolling behing me a variety of lures. I didn't troll with minnows on the big engine, I felt we were always going a bit too fast, but I had much success with the Raps and assorted crankbaits. I usually troll in a modified "S" pattern. When I would get hits, I might make a figure 8 and hit the area again, or even stop and fish it for awhile. We found some greats spots doing this, then marked it off on gps.

Depending the species, water clarity, time of year, would dictate my speeds and what I presented, but I have never been one to pigeon hole myself into a certain type of lure just because it is a particular time of year, I'll try anything and everything until I find something that is workikng regardless of the time of year, just that I usually start with my old reliables.

Trolling is fun, not complicated and certainly lets you enjoy the lake...nothing is better than trolling around on the lake, in the morning with steam coming off the water, a cup of coffee and the sound of loons....

CANT WAIT FOR OPENER!!!

 

[heyyou325]

Re: Trolling (the basics)

We fish for Lake trout the same way coop does for walleye. Daytime anyway. We use either cut bait, or guts for the bait on a jig. I've known a couple to be caught on worms, but I never have.

 

[mphy98]

Re: Trolling (the basics)

"p.s. be forewarned, Walleye fishermen are probably the most secretive bunch of guys alive."

What you talkin about willis? I agree that a big motor is not the way to troll. A small 4 stroke or large electric is the way to go. You do not have to spend a fortune on down riggers if you want to go to deep water. Search craigs list. Those guys that are serious upgrade constantly.