Trolling

[David Swenson]

Zarkohl,

Trolling is a very productive way to catch muskies. It is also a good way to fish if you have young kids or beginners. Trolling the Bemidji area weed beds would be your prime structure. Bucktails and spinnerbaits are great for trolling weed beds.

Start by trolling the outside weed edge. After trolling the edge, troll right over the weed bed if it is deep enough. Key on weed bed points and inside turns. Trolling medium diving crank baits on the outside weed edge can also be effective. Another area to troll is sand bars. Crank baits or bucktails will both work.

As for equipment, you can go out and buy glass rods with line counting reels if you wish. It is not necessary though. Your bucktail rod and reel will work just as good in most cases. I also feel planer baords are not necessary unless you are going to have more than 3 people trolling. I catch muskies right in the prop wash or very close to it.

I hope this helps some and if you have more questions just feel free to ask. Someone around here may be able to answer.

David Swenson
httP://muskieguide.homestead.com/

[Guest]

Another thing to keep in mind while trolling is that it does not hurt to wander out over deep water. Muskies are both predictable and unpredictable -- oftentimes cruising over the deepest parts of the lake. S turns and changes in speed often trigger strikes, just as the old figure eight will do at boatside.

Trolling foes call it a no-brainer method. It is really quite sophisticated. And, contrary to some Wisconsin old-timers who think "pure" muskie fishing requires 10,000 casts, trolling does not automatically put muskies into the boat.

[Zarkohl]

I am looking for information and/or advice on trolling for muskys. My 7-year old son has the fishing bug. While this is great, he is not real adapt at using a bait caster yet. I have been trying to track down information and articles on diffrent trolling techniques, speed, baits,. . . so that I can take him with me. I picked up a couple of rod holders and am thinking about trying some inline planer boards. Any suggestions or advise would be appreciated. I do most of my fishing in the Bemidji, area. Thanks.

[Guest]

My rods are MH action, and I do use a super braid (Whiplash). My muskie reels are all Abu Garcia and I set the drag so I can pull line off the spool with what I'd call medium effort.

Perhaps most important is to remember to always hone and sharpen those hooks. At trolling speed, good sharp hooks will just about set themselves even in bony old mouths.

[smallies24]

I like to set my drag slightly lighter for trolling than when I cast for muskies if I'm using low strecth line. But, I think the ideal line for trolling for muskies is mono. Muskies rarely get their mouth around the line when trolling. Mono absorbs the strike form the fish better. I've had far more lines/steel leaders snap with low strecth line line than when using mono (no leader).

As for speed, I like using my GPS and staying close to three mph most of the time. Although you really can't go too fast. A muskie will hit a crank bait at any speed you can run it, because many crank baits won't run true at very high speeds.

[Zarkohl]

Thanks for your posts. I do have another question. What type of line and line size works best for trolling? (i.e., Mono, Super-braid, dacron . . . ). Does it make a diffrence on the type of lure being used? The reels that I use are either 5500C's & 6500C's on 6.6 & 7 foot med/heavy action rods. Thanks. Jim

[Guest]

I have a trolling basics question. How do you set the drag when trolling? Do you have to loosen it up to account for the no stretch lines and stiffer rods? I have tried using the clicker on my 6500 C3 reel, but a Jake will pull it.

Zarkohl, check out offshoretackle.com, Some good info on planerboards, and you can even get their newsletter mailed to you. Good tips and information.

Thanks,
Rob

[This message has been edited by Robert (edited 03-01-2002).]

[smallies24]

I like to use a 25-30 lb mono when I troll. The type really hasn't seemed do make a difference in that line size, except for diameter, which affects the depth you're lure runs. When I use low stretch, I like TUFF line. It has an extremely small diameter compared to other brands. The lb test makes little difference once you get into the 50-80 lb range. At that point you're setting you're drag according to your rod and real.

I hope this helps and good luck. I suppose you can't go too wrong with whatever you choose if the setup is heavy enough. If you use the right lure in the right location the muskies don't seem to be too picky.