Late October trolling questions

[gkl]

This last August and September was the firt time I had consistent luck trolling for walleyes at night on Pokegama in GR. For the September full moon period, the winning combination seemed to be rock/sand structure in 6-12fow, 1.6-1.8mph, pulling HJ 14's. I've never tried it this late in the fall though. I'm hoping to be out later this week for the full moon period. I think the water temps will be somewhere in the upper 40's. Should I keep doing what I was doing a month ago? Thanks for your help!

[Kyle Sandberg]

Maybe downsize to a HJ 12 and keep your speed low. 1.2-1.5 or slower depending on water temp. Keep focused on rocks and still green weedbeds. You should get some fish.

[Borch]

For me the later and cooler the water temps get the bigger the baits I use. I start with 5" baits and work up to 7"+ baits especially if I'm looking for big fish. Right now the water temps of the lakes up there are hovering in the low 50's. Although that would change quickly if we get some cold weather soon. On Cass Lake this week we had our best luck moving a little faster than we usually do this time of year at 1.8-2.2 mph. When the water temps get in the mid to low 40's I'd be trying to troll around 1.2-1.5 with lots of "S" turns and pauses.

Good Luck!

[PerchJerker]

As the water gets cooler the general rules of thumb for me are bigger baits, slower speeds, and shallower depths (but same areas as earlier in the fall). I usually troll at 1.4 to 1.8, but I drop my baits back and hold them there, and/or kick the motor into neutral, and/or work in some s-turns unless I'm following a weedline or contour. Bigger baits means maybe HJ 14's instead of 12's, or maybe super rogues.

[Team Otter]

S-turns play a big part in cold water success. Look to speeds in that 0.5 - 1.2 mph range, use big bits and vary your route. More often than not, your inside rod will get most of the action.

[gkl]

Thanks for all the great info. like I've said before, this is a great forum with lots of helpful people! I definitely buy into the large bait idea this time of year. I fish smallies alot in the fall and find that very large chubs (7" plus) are magic. Besides HJ 14's and super rouges, any other recommendations for larger baits that work well in shallow water? Any 7-8"? Also, I have yet to figure out a way to get my boat slower than 1.6. Can I safely assume that s turns will take care of producing the slower speeds that might be needed?

[MuleShack]

I couldn't get my kicker motor to slow way down either...then i popped the hood and turned the idle screw out and now she is able to get down around .8

[hanson]

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Besides HJ 14's and super rouges, any other recommendations for larger baits that work well in shallow water?

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Original Floating Rapalas and Floating Rogues for the shallower water. I would say for trolling 5-6' or less, floating crank would be a good idea. They'll dive down 2-3' on 100' of line or so and put you right in the middle of the water column at that depth. If you have any weeds on the bottom yet, they'll stay above that. Floating Raps in size F-11 & F-13 would be what I'm looking at, in fact caught most of my eyes on Cass Lake pulling those 2 size Original Floaters up shallow.

HJ14s will get down quite aways on 100', probably around 10' of water. Super Rogues will get down there too. Its really tough to pull HJs and Super Rogues shallow (6' and less) unless you don't let out much line at all. They'll find the weeds and dig the bottom pretty easily.

Look at Storm Thundersticks as well for targeting that depth range you are looking at.

[PerchJerker]

As it gets later and later in the fall, I more and more find myself using only 2 baits - hjs and rogues. I guess another option for a bigger bait would be an F18 original rap, I have a few but they aren't one of my "go-to" baits. I like suspending baits (I guess you could doctor up floaters with suspen-dots if you can still find them).

S turns will slow down your bait on the inside of the turn and will speed up your bait on the outside of the turn.

For slowing yourself down, there's a few tricks and techniques out there. Depending on what you have for boat and motor(s) will kind of dictate which ones work best for you. One option is going with a lower pitch prop on your motor, that could/should slow you down. If you use a kicker leave your big motor in gear (not neutral) to create more drag in the water, and turn your big motor so you have to use some of the thrust from the kicker to keep the boat from turning. Slip your motor in and out of gear to slow your speed. If you have a bowmount or transom mount electric motor, drop it/them in the water and turn them sideways to create more water resistance, or turn them on and have them fight against your big motor. Driftsocks or 5 gallon buckets are an option too, although maybe not the best for shallow water eyes?? Good luck.

[MuleShack]

You can also try back trolling, or pull a drift sock...or on the calmer nights you can run with your electric motor to get the speed down.

[gkl]

Thanks again for all the tips. I just have my big motor. A magnum drift is what I use to get down to 1.7 or so. I'll try the trolling motor idea to get down a little more. I'll post how it goes on Sunday. Thanks again for all the help!

[Borch]

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Thanks again for all the tips. I just have my big motor. A magnum drift is what I use to get down to 1.7 or so. I'll try the trolling motor idea to get down a little more. I'll post how it goes on Sunday. Thanks again for all the help!

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Make sure to do the "S" turns and bump it into neutral every so often. You'd be surprise how often this will trigger strikes.

Good Luck!

[markkstanley]

Tilt the big engine up too. That will slow you down a lot more than you think. I was able to get down to 1mph with a drift sock, tilting the engine up and dropping the trolling motor in my old boat. Kickers make it a lot easier.

[gkl]

Well, despite all the great tips, Friday and Saturday were a complete bust. Tried every spot and more that produced a month ago and not a single fish either night, not even a tap. Could it have been the low pressure system that went through on Friday? Frustrating. 50-51 surface temp, tried numerous lures, 4-12 fow, 1-2mph, everything I could think of. I guess that's fishing but after a great July, August and September, it was sure frustrating and unexpected. There's always next time though!

[Borch]

I don't think the front threw them off too much. We had very good results this weekend on the lakes we were fishing.

Sometimes it's just like that for no apparent reason.

[Team Otter]

How many of those spots included cover?

Pokegama is my home-town lake. Something does not seem right.

[Boedigheimer]

gkl, I got some nice ones this morning (20-25"). Every fish came on minnowbaits and loooong pauses. Going slow was very important. Tried fishing deep once the sun came up, and came up empty. The amount of life in 40-60ft. is incredible, lots of smelt.

[gkl]

That's what I was thinking Friday and Saturday night, something's not right. I was around the islands, mostly on the Sherry side. From 5-12 fow over rock, sand, and weed structure that produced very good in September. HJ12s and 14s in lots of proven colors. I got my speed down to 1.5 and threw in lots of turns. Maybe that was still too fast. I did try some pauses by shifting into neutral, but thinking about it now they were pretty short. Maybe I was just fishing memories and should have moved to totally different structure.

[Team Otter]

I would definitely fish N and W of where you were. Yes, slower speeds would help too.

[gkl]

Well, at least I know some spots not to waste time on next October full moon. Jamison, maybe next summer we can find a time to go out.

[Team Otter]

You let me know. We can definitely hook up.