Trolling Crankbaits for Walleyes

[leechlake]

Every year I plan on trolling crankbaits for walleyes but after after 30 minutes I quit. I pick up too many weeds, too much of a hassle. I fish livebait exclusively, what am I missing and give me some tips. Do I need to head to a bit deeper water (say 18' plus) and stay further from the bottom or what? Thanks, great site.

[Guest]

I would have to agree forsure with the Precision Trolling "The Trollers Bible"
That will be a big help with not getting snagged up and full of weeds.

When you are trolling you are moveing so you have to know the bottom make sure you have a map so you know the structure you are fishing.

Line counter reels are a good way to put yourself right back in the zone especially fishing suspended fish, but there not a must have. You can use the line guide on your reel to measure how far out your line is by remembering how much line comes out when the guide goes once across the reel.

I am a river fisherman and 75% of my trolling is with lead core but on a lake I have had much better luck with mono or fireline. I dont know if its the water so much cleaner they can see the bigger line or what but there is a big differnce for me.

But just from your paragraph "the weed problem" Try a 3-way. At the end of you line put a swivel then off that a drop line with a weight(2ft - 4ft) however far off the weeds you want to be, then off the swivel again run your lead with a stick bait( 5ft - 7ft ) keep switching til ya figure it out.
That should help keep some of the weeds off your line.

Good Luck
http://www.geocities.com/wish_i_was_fishing2002

[Guest]

Casting like Scott said is effective for weedbeds. And like Brian said, try the three-way rig and find the edge of the weedbed with your locator and troll the edge. You don't always have to be right in the weeds especially on overcast days.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
651-271-5459
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Fathead]

Hello Leechlake,

All I can say is it takes practice and a better understanding of how your equipment performs.

If you are cranking in weeds, you want to know the height of the weeds and select a crank that runs just above them. Crank depth is also factored in by knowing how your line effects depth. Typically smaller diameters allow for deeper running levels. Speed is also a consideration to running depth.

I would recommend the "Precision Trolling" guide. It outlines specific lure depths using a standard 10lb test line. The book lays out dive curves for specific lures. It is a great piece of information to have. Especially when you are first starting out.

Trolling cranks for eyes is something you will want to learn. It opens up a new presentation that is very effective and provides you with an approach that allows you to scout new bodies of water quickly to locate active fish.

Not to mention, it is downright fun! The walleyes absolutely smack cranks. It is much different than Live bait rigging, and often more effective.

The big thing to remember about cranking is it will take some practice to get better. But you will get better.

[Scott Steil]

Many anglers make the mistake of trolling not knowing what they are trolling over. There are many different ways and methods to trolling for walleye some are very easy and some can be difficult.

Open water trolling is very popular on many larger lakes around the state. Targeting large schools of suspended walleye is what you are after. If you do some checking, Toad covers this subject pretty good in the Archives.

Structure trolling, can be difficult because it requires you understand your bait and the stucture you are trolling.

Trolling weeds or weedlines can be very frustrating. You want to troll near the weeds but not in them. Or, you want to troll over them. Again, you have to understand how and where you bait is running. The precision trolliing guide is a good place to start.

There are a few tools that can make trolling a little more successful. First, get some linecounter reels so you can duplicate a pattern once you have it figured out. Second, try leadcore line. Leadcore will allow you to troll deeper and gives you the added flexability of adjusting your trolling depth by changing speed. Third, get a GPS so you can verify your trolling speed. Fourth, don't get so caught up in trolling structure, sometimes the fish you are looking for are suspended over the deep water or just lurking close to cover, not actually in it.

The last piece of advice is to look into casting over weedbeds for walleye. This will allow you to cover more water and depths and usually proves to be more productive.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
www.millelacsguideservice.com