Propwash Muskies

[TR0PHYPHISHIN]

Does anyone have any info on trolling baits in the propwash for muskies. I heard it can be a great way to get neutral fish to bite but I have never tried it myself.

[chickeywing]

Tried it once for about 20 min. with a jig and sucker minnow about 6' behind and just off the side of the boat, right on the edge of the weeds. Had about an 8# northern come out of the water with the jig in his mouth. Might have to try it again.

TC

[cupper]

Trolling in the propwash is how I caught my first muskie. I was using a small bucktail and I had it about 20 ft behind the boat. I was trolling in 8-12 fow. I would pump the bucktail to give it some extra action and the fish nailed it. I have also had good luck doing this for pike. Great way to cover water on a new lake.

Good luck!

-cupper

[Random guy]

Funny thing about that is I have tried it and tried it on Red and it never works. I have seen it work on other lakes for both pike and muskie but Upper Red they just don't go for it, any ideas why?

[TurnUpTheFishing]

On average about how far back do you run your bait? I would imagine any bait would work? May give it a shot next time out.

[big musk411]

I have done well with this technique. I cast out a bucktail 30-40 feet and troll as fast as I can while the bait still spins. It works good for fishing heavy weeds that come almost to the surface. I think the reason it works is because the fish don't have much time to react to the bait. My best luck has been on the really hot mid summer days, kinda like right now

[slimngrizzly]

My uncle does that all the time! Last Oct. 27 on Miltona he caught a 50 1/2 and a 54 1/4 trolling big topwater in 9 feet of water. The bait was less than 15 feet behind the boat and he was going 6-7 mph! He said the boat slowed to almost 1/2 speed when the fish bit! Keep the drag set, it works, ive done it but never had luck like that day, just 35, 37 inch stuff.

[RK]

Hiya -

When conditions are right, prop wash trolling can really be effective. If I have a couple people in the boat open water trolling, I almost always run at least one line short. Have caught fish on a crankbait running off the transom with a 4 foot leader and about 7 inches of line off the rod tip... To be honest, that started out as an accident. We were setting out planer boards, and I just crammed a rod with an Ernie in a rod holder until I got the boards set up, and I was going to drop it back about 40 feet. I forgot, and was fairly surprised when a fish came flying out of the water 6 feet from my head. Kept doing it, and caught two more on very short lines that day. More often though, fish come on baits running 15-25 feet back.

A couple thoughts:

- Cloudy and overcast seems to work better for this than bright and sunny. Not universally true, but a general rule of thumb at least.

- About anything will work for baits. I really like Sledge jerkbaits though. Spinnerbaits, Ernies, Triple-Ds, Stalkers and Super Stalkers also work. anything in tune that won't blow out can work.

- It's not so much IN the prop wash but rather next to or under the prop wash that seems to work best. Sometimes you need to add a weight to the front of the leader to keep baits down below the wash. I have weights that range from 3 oz to a pound, mostly round 'monkey ball' trolling weights. Just clip 'em on to the front of a leader...

- Don't have your drag set very tight at all. When the drag's too tight, fish go airborne immediately, and you lose a lot of them. Your drag should slip a little if you gun the throttle. When a fish hits, it should scream. (sweet music... )

- Works very well over weeds, and over open water when fish are up high.

- When you're pulling boards and a short line over open water, all the fish seem to come on one or the other. They all come on boards, or all on a down rod.

- When you're bait is close enough to the boat to see it, it's almost impossible to take your eyes off it. Watching a fish come up and hit it is spectacular.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Great info. RK! One more question... is this more of a speed trolling technique or just your average trolling speed?

[not_nuf_time]

Off the subject, but speed trolling has been around for a long time. My grandpa told me that in earlier days one of their tactics was to speed troll with a cane pole, when a big one hit at high speed rather than busting rods they throw the cane pole over board then turn around and retrieve the floating pole. Hopefully with the fish still on.

[RK]

Hiya -

TUTF - I think I've caught fish on short lines (less than 20') at speeds from 1.8 to close to 6 mph... It doesn't seem to be speed dependant, although it may work a little better above 3.5 or so? Really, any time I have enough people in the boat to run one short over the middle, I do so. Doesn't matter what speed. Catch quite a few open water trolling with a Sledge 20 feet back, and that's usually at around 4 mph.

Not-nuf... Man, I remember the cane pole deal. My great uncles used to come up to the family cabin, and when they weren't fishing bullheads (guess where they were from - heh...) they'd troll a red and white spoon along the rushes for pike. Cane poles about 12 feet long, with 12' of line. When a fish hit, if it was too big to just wrestle in, they'd toss the pole overboard and the chase was on. Sometimes those cane poles would really take off... It was very cool. I'd totally forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding me...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[TMF89]

I'm assuming the jerkbaits just glide along then? Any ideas on how big they have to be specifically to get under the wash? I have some bigger bucktails, and probably add a half ounce sinker or two would do it?