You can troll crankbaits through the shallows to hook big-water walleyes in the spring, but one of the most effective approaches is to cast a jig-and-bait combo. “To most anglers’ disbelief, walleyes holding in the shallows on the Great Lakes can be regularly caught casting a jig and bait,” LaCourse said.
Can you troll in a river?
The most important rule in river trolling is to motor upstream very slowly so the current will keep the plug working. When you turn and troll downstream, you’ll have to go considerably faster than the current to get any action out of a plug.
How deep do you troll for pike?
TARGET 1: PIKE
Motor close to the deep edge of weeds–leafy cabbage is their preferred territory–then cast or simply let your spinner and minnow out about 80 feet and troll at idle speed, about 2 mph, with your main outboard.
Can you catch walleye in shallow water?
“Sure, you can find walleyes in deep water, but you can also find plenty of them in the really shallow stuff, too.If this means fishing in less than a couple of feet of water for walleyes because they are there, then do it.”
How fast should you troll for walleye?
What Speed Should You Troll For Walleye? It depends on the time of year and water temperatures. Trolling speed, in the spring, is best at 1.3 – 1.5 mph. Summer trolling speeds increase 1.5- 2 mph as walleyes are more active in warmer water temperatures.
What fish live in shallow water?
Examples of such shallow water demersal fish, found in both tropical and temperate waters around the world, are triplefins, seahorses, wrasse and flounder. As demersal fish, all these fish spend most of their time on or near the sea floor. Flatfish are superbly adapted groundfish, found on muddy and sandy sea floors.
Do fish like shallow water?
As for margins, fish simply love them. Margins are the edges between deep water and shallow water, between fast water and slow water or between cover and open water. Wherever there is a current, fish will look for places where they can hold in slower water while allowing faster currents to deliver food to them.
What lures for shallow water?
David Walker’s 5 favorite shallow water baits
- Koppers Live Target Golden Shiner. I like to use a 1/2-ounce Live Target Golden Shiner as a search lure, especially around hydrilla.
- Koppers Hollow Body Frog.
- Jig with Z-Man Flappin’ Crawz.
- Koppers Live Target Popper Frog.
- Koppers Live Target Crawfish Crank.
Do you troll up a river or down?
As mentioned earlier, trolling up stream can help you slow your boat, and the baits get much more action being as they are working agsinst the flow. Going down stream you’ll, at times, have to go much faster to get the proper bait action and they can do some strange things in higher flow/current.
Should you troll with or against the current?
When in an area with current, troll crosscurrent as opposed to with and/or against the current. Going crosscurrent, you don’t have to worry about how the current is affecting your lure’s or bait’s speed through the water. Plus, fish generally swim into the current.
Can you troll for fish in a river?
One of the great things about trolling is its versatility. You can troll out in the ocean, on a lake, and even on a river. What matters is that the water is deep enough for a boat. Well, some fish would be good, too – but more on that in a bit.
How do you know how deep your lure is?
There are two ways you can determine the exact depth/lure/speed relationship of a specific rig. The first is to deploy it to a specific distance, then troll up a gradual shelf or edge until it starts dragging bottom. Note the depth, and try to crank it in before it snags.
How do you catch pikes while trolling?
Begin trolling over the area where you’ve marked fish. When you start catching them, simply adjust the weights on the other lines to match the one that’s catching fish. If I don’t catch anything in the first 30 minutes, I increase the weight range—hence depth—until the fish start hitting.
How much line should I let out for a troll?
Downriggers. Downriggers allow for extra long length between the downrigger ball and the lure. Let out 50 feet of line and clip into the release. If that’s not enough distance to prevent your lake’s wary walleyes from seeing the ball…then let out 150 feet of line!
How do you control crankbait depth?
Move your crankbait too slow or too fast and it’ll run too shallow. The bill has to bite into the water at the correct angle for the lure to run as deep as possible. The length of your cast is the next thing that affects running depth. A longer cast will let the bait get down deeper.
What depth do you need to catch walleye?
Walleye are generally caught between 10-40 Ft. A typical mid-sized lake in the Midwest would likely hold Walleye between the depths of 10-15 Ft. during the Spring, 15-25 Ft.
What color lures do walleye like?
The most basic and most productive colors for targeting walleye are purple and green. These colors come in a variety of shades and can be used in a large range of depths. For sunny days, select bright or flashy purple or green, and for cloudy days try a solid, darker green or purple.
How fast can you troll crawler harnesses?
The best trolling speed for fishing with a crawler harness is from 1 to 1.4 mph. This is significantly slower than most other baits used in the summer, and the reason for this is that you don’t want to rip off your nightcrawler from the harness by trolling at high speeds.
What depth is considered shallow water?
Shallow water means water equal to or less than five feet in depth.
Can fish live in shallow ponds?
Even though some fish may live in shallower ponds, they will not grow as fast nor as large as they would in better habitat. In addition, they are vulnerable to winter and summer kills. Fish ponds should be 1/2 acre or more in water surface area.
Can Bass survive small ponds?
Bass will grow in small ponds, but small ponds grow small quantities. A half acre pond, for example, probably won’t grow more than 25 pounds of largemouth bass, naturally. Since bass are top line predators, focus on forage fish production, if you want bass.
Contents