Night Trolling for EYES

[poutpro]

What is the best way to troll for walleyes after dark? I have read in a few spots that running floating rapalas works good. Do you put a 3 way swivel on and sink it down, or do you just leave it stay up on top so they can see its shadow? It doesn't seem like a walley would come up to hit something on top of the water, but I dont know.

[PerchJerker]

Troll shallow at night - 6 feet, 8 feet, 10 feet, etc. Troll weedlines, over the tops of weeds, shallow rocks, or on the edges and sides of steep shoreline breaks. Floating Raps, Smithwick Rogues, Husky Jerks, etc. all work good. Shad raps are OK too. The fish will typically come up off the bottom at night, and they will come up higher to hit a bait. Go slow - probably under 2 mph. Keep it simple at night - flatlines straight behind the boat, no planer boards, snap weights, 3 way rigs, etc. Good luck.

[poutpro]

Even when the water is cold like it will be around opener do you troll that shallow areas for eyes at night? Or is only for later when the water warms up?

[PerchJerker]

For cold temps in early spring and late fall you may even want to be shallower than 6 feet. Depends on the lake and the structure you're fishing - ie. weedline or break may be deeper than a sand or rock flat, etc. Don't be afraid to look shallow.

[LocalGuide]

At night I like to mix it up.

Whether it would be Opener/Summer/Fall I like to fish shallow at night.

My favorite time is around early July through mid August then Fall again.

Dont be afraid to mix it up either. Like try trolling fast, 3.5+mph, trolling slow, down to under 1mph, and even make a "S" curve when trolling.

As for lures, anything from cranks to bottom bouncers to throwing jigs.

I like to use a SSR8 to start, then go to a stick bait or maybe go real small.

At night the eyes wont hesitate to go to the surface to nail a bait. Heck, I have seen them do it during the day right in the middle of the afternoon when the sun is shinning.

So when I troll for eyes at night I really like to mix it up until I find a pattern that works great. From slow-fast, high-low, bright colors-dark colors, and shallow-deep.

[GullGuide]

The way to fish raps is endless, only bounded by one's imagination.

Early season, I do like the longer stick bait style raps in water 8 feet or less. Then as the water warms I'll go strictly shadrap in 7-9 feet on the outside or inside edge of weedlines. Mid summer it's basin time....

As for speed, seems that 1.5 to 2 has always been good.

My all around favorite time is 5 days on either side of the first full moon in June. If the moon rises around midnight, even better.

Good luck!

[steel24]

Early spring the shallower the better...Pitching cranks from the boat to shore works great..for Trolling try running the baits on the top of weeds, just outside the weedline, tops of points. Make sure to be using mono instead of fireline. I have found this works better in shallow water. I use Husky jerks sz 8 & 10, Rogues, Yo-zuri Crystal Minnows, Thundersticks, jointed floating rapalas(very overlooked bait) and floating rapalas. These baits will run between 3-8ft deep. If fishing during a front try the Husky Jerks and occasionlly stop the boat and let the bait suspend.

Good luck!!!

[deacon]

Shallow in the spring. I have caught on the surface, jerking and then pausing for a hit. It works keep your eyes open at dusk for fish feeding on the surface, yes these can and have been walleyes for me.

One jerk waiting for another jerk, can't get any simplier.

[Shad rap]

We always pull shadrap in 5-10 foot of water on opening weekend. the only thing we do different if we are on a clear lake is to put on 10# or 12# Trilene XT on so we can let more line out to get the plug furhter behind the boat. this helps if the fish are spooky. if we wan to fish deeper water(10'-12') we troll with 8# or 10# Trilene Sensation

[Tonka Boy]

[quote Make sure to be using mono instead of fireline. I have found this works better in shallow water.

---

Sorry, but I have to disagree with this statement. I feel the lure runs much more true with a thin braid. Not to mention those toothy critters like to hit these as well so it can add up in $$. Try 2/10# or maybe even 6/20# and you'll be happy.

Other than that it's pretty easy.

[Mike Walerak]

I have not done much night fishing the last few years but I am starting to get back into it.

You would be suprised how shallow you will actually catch walleyes. I have seen them with there backs sticking out of the water.

If you want some reassurance ask the DNR how many sumo walleyes they catch in nets that are in really shallow water. The number might suprise you.

Typically, I will cast these areas with floating Rapalas but I do know some people that have reflector tape on planer boards.

mw

[james_walleye]

Down here in southern MN i catch a lot of eyes from shore at night casting cranks in less than 3' of water around opener. The water temps down here are a lot warmer than what you will have up at Fergus that time of year though.

[EYEHUNTER10]

Starting mid to late july clear till late november I stick to 4-6 feet and notice with every cold front or super cool night the action just gets better bugs seem to flock to shore and these real small sunfish seem to flock to these bugs, and even a few bats oh the joys of night fishing, if you have bats all around you and a full moon and 100 yards of line out and a shallow running shad(sunfish pattern or perch) the 4-6 foot models you are probably having one of the best nights of the season mid-late august this seems to become a solid pattern for me. Once it gets so cold that the water starts to steam at night its anybodys guess. The first couple times that happens you'll do pretty good then from there it seems to slow. Casting husky jerks on nights like this can be great once you've found them trolling. The good old rapala #11 - #13 is hard to beat after that water gets colder in october through ice up. Use 10 pound mono to keep them shallow shads from constantly digging bottom you want to be above these fish I would rather be an inch below the water than digging bottom, but usually i'm running about 4 feet down in 6-7 feet of water, a shallow running shad just wont run much shallower if you long line which you should with the electric of course about 1 mph is a good place to start and then let the fish tell you the rest, usually 2.2mph is a sweet night on the water.

[ewirz]

One thing that works well for me is using in-line planer boards. The problem with trolling shallow, especially in clear water lakes, is the boat can easily spook fish. What I do is position the boat at 12-15ft of water and run a board in so the lure is in 4-10ft. If I have someone else in the boat, we'll run one out the back as well. I'll experiment with sizes and colors as well as depth. If I find fish concentrated on a spot I'll stop and jig.

This works well for me. My 2 cents.

[EYEHUNTER10]

Have ya tried this in the dark? I've been wanting to but haven't even bought my boards yet I'm hoping to be able to get buy with running the outbord instead of the electric dome, I just hope my board isnt in the pencil reeds alot lol gonna try it this year for sure. Can you mount a light on the board somehow i wonder??

[abens1078]

There are a couple methods. you can use the 'crack'em' style light sticks sold in most camping departments and just use duct or electrical tape to secure the light stick to the board. Some guys also use reflective tape as well that will pick up even a dim flash light.

another way is to actually mount a lighted bobber to the top of your boards. To do this you use the "light brite" bobbers(they have a circular base about the size of quarter) and a couple clips used for holding the mic. of a CB/Marine radio. Mount the clips to the boards and the base of the bobber will slide right into clip. The bobber can be easily removed for storage.

Right now I usually tape a light stick on but I have been toying with the idea of the CB clip and lighted bobber since I saw it in a bait shop.

[Willy]

I know that off-shore makes a lite that mounts onto the tattle flags for their boards. All it is though is a little round flashing light, like one you would get at a hockey game or something.

[LocalGuide]

Last year I put reflective tape on my planar boards. It works good but you always have to shine the flashlight over and that becomes a pain after a while.

This year I might try and attach a glow stick to it. That way I dont need to use a flash light. Then if it looks a little different I can always still shine a light over to see it and the reflective tape.

[abens1078]

I'd really like to hear how that turns out. I would think that reflective tape ought to give that glowstick a little extra bounce. Do you plan on taping one big glowstick to the top or two smaller ones to the sides?

[LocalGuide]

Im just going to tape one glow stick to the inside of the flag.

I use tattle flags too, so then when I dont see it any more I know I have a bite.

Im not totally sure on how Im going to tape it on there. But I think I might try and use one of those rubber holders and then tape that to it w/duck tape.

Who knows, I might try it on opener and if I do I'll report back then.

[Schnauzer]

I troll crank baits at night a lot... quite a bit. I usually start out at speeds around 1.8-2.0 and adjust up or down as the night wears on. When possible, I like to use SSR shad raps. The walleyes really seem to like their movement. If I am in deeper water, I use the regular shad raps. If things are slow, I will begin to experiment with stick baits, huskie jerks (trolled with pauses)or other crank baits. Outside of the fall, I seem to always start with shad raps though and go from there.

I do use boards a lot. I personally would get sick of checking them all the time with a flashlight so I use the little lights intended for thill slip bobber fishing. They last a LONG time and are very easy to see clipped to the flag on the board. If you want to get fancy, you can even put a green light on the starboard side board and a red light on the port side. They are expensive at $3 per light but they do last for at least 2 if not 3 nights of fishing. If it is just me in the boat I run a line out the back and only use a board as an option if things aren't working out the back, or if the water is glass calm.

I can almost guarantee I will be night trolling at 12:01 on Saturday.

[Corey Bechtold]

What about the slip bobbers?

Corey

[schr0563]

Corey, you can stick to your slip bobbers. The fewer people trolling at night, the better the fishing will be for all of us who are.

It happens all the time. I'll be pulling cranks in and around anchored boats that have slip bobbers. The cranks typically will outfish the bobber boats 3 to 1. I can't tell you how many times I see the anchored boats leave in disgust because they have caught nothing while sitting there watching me boat 5-6 walleyes.

Don't get me wrong, there is a time and place for slip bobbers, and I have caught many walleyes using this method. But I also think had I been pulling cranks on the same nights where I used slip bobbers then I would have increased my catch rate. I guess the key is, if you can pinpoint a spot where the fish are, then bobbers will work, but otherwise it's a good idea to cover as much water as possible. And there's no question that walleyes can't resist a crankbait.

[Schnauzer]

YES, Corey, you should really think about breaking away from your slip bobbers.

[Corey Bechtold]

Slip bobbers win tournaments, period. Maybe someone can teach me how to troll those plugs someday.

Corey Bechtold