When fishing deeper water of 20 to 30 feet, I like to use a crankbait with a longer and deeper lip that dives deeper. For these situations, it’s hard to beat the Rapala DT series. These crankbaits dive to a specifc depth when trolled (between 6 and 16 feet) and take much of the guesswork out how deep you’re fishing.
How far behind the boat should I troll?
Every boat is different and you should make your boat your own study. Proper distance for most boats will be anywhere from 20 feet to 150 feet behind your boat. Whether you have inboard diesel or outboard gas engines, your power dictates the distance you troll your baits and lures.
How deep do you troll for walleye?
Depth. Crankbaits are an effective way to fish both in shallow areas and at depth. Deep running crankbaits for walleye go down to 12 feet or deeper. Smaller bills and shallow divers cover depths of zero to eight feet deep.
How slow should you troll for walleye?
The best trolling speed for spring walleye is from 0.5 to 1 mph. Early on in the season, when the water is still cold, it’s best to use a slow trolling speed under 1 mph, and speeds of 0.7 or 0.8 mph can work extremely well at this time of the year.
How much line do you let out when trolling for walleye?
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! Just remember, the flat-line diving depth of your crankbait still applies behind the ball!
What speed should you troll at?
So, what is the best trolling speed? The best trolling speed depends on several factors including the type of fish, water conditions and lure choice. In general, trolling speeds between 1.5 and 2.5 mph, as measured by GPS, are a good starting place for most species like walleye, trout and salmon.
What do you use to troll for walleye?
For the uninitiated, trolling is the act of running a baited rig or lure behind a moving boat and towing it at slow speed until a fish grabs. For walleye, that’s most often done with diving crankbaits or spinner rigs behind some weight.
Do you have to troll for walleye?
Trolling is by far one of the most effective ways to target walleyes throughout much of their range. By pulling baits behind the boat, anglers can more effectively cover the vast expanses of open water that walleyes utilize in the warm water months of the year.
How fast can a walleye swim in miles per hour?
How fast can a Walleye Fish swim? A walleye can be a pretty fast fish when it tries to be. Although it usually aims at about 2.5-3 mph, when a walleye tries, it can also reach about 3.5 mph.
Does trolling speed affect lure depth?
Speed (at normal trolling speeds) isn’t supposed to noticeably affect the depths of cranks when long lining and that’s why you see no depth compensation curves for different speeds.
How can I make my lures deeper?
If you need to go deeper, just let out some backing until your target depth is reached. On the lure end of the line, remove a short section of lead as before and tie on a size 18, or smaller, barrel swivel. Now use a 10 to 15 foot mono or fluorocarbon leader to tie on the lure.
Is mono or fluoro better for trolling?
For some trolling applications in clear water, using fluorocarbon as the main line makes a lot of sense. While fluorocarbon sinks it does so very slowly and doesn’t impact on the trolling depth of crankbaits and other gear.
How do you know how deep a lure will dive?
The diving depth of the lure can be roughly determined by the size of the bill; the bigger and longer, the deeper it will dive.
How do you know how deep to fish?
Attach a float to your line and a weight where you would normally put the hook. Let it sink and the bobber will give you an idea of how deep the water is. If it’s too deep, it will pull the bobber under and you will need to put more line between the float and the weight.
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.
What size swivel clips should I use for walleye trolling?
Light and strong and allows the bait to give its maximum wiggle. I use a size 12 or 14 Crane swivel at the end of my braid and attach a 2′ piece of fluro to the swivel.
Why are walleyes so hard to catch?
You’re cranking weed edges too slowly.
Walleyes relating to weedbeds often school tightly. To find them, quickly work a crankbait along the edges until you get a strike. You can pick that area apart slowly after you find the fish with a fast-moving lure.
What colors do walleye see best?
Walleyes also possess color vision, based on analysis of the structure of the light-sensitive cones. Scientists tell us walleyes should see red, orange, and yellow the best, followed by green. Theory also suggests walleyes see blue and violet less well, and these colors may even appear black.
What is the best bait for walleye?
Minnows
Minnows are the most popular bait option for walleye anglers, I have found consistent success with shiner and flathead minnows. When targeting bigger fish, shiners in the 4-6″ range are the mainstay, these will weed through some of the smaller fish and get you on 25″+ Walleye.
How fast should you troll for pike?
I generally consider trolling at 6 to 9km/h for pike to be speedtrolling. Some might find this hard to believe and it sure feels strange when you do this for the first time. It sure asks something of your gear and it is effective when the conditions are right, but I’ll get into that later.
How do you troll for walleye on Lake Erie?
During the first hour troll with the wind and make at least three long slow turns. Keep an eye on the poles and watch the bend of the tip. If a walleye hits, remember the amount of bend in the pole and the trolling speed. Then stay with that pattern until early afternoon.
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