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| Have not trolled a lot but have managed to put a few fish in the boat and find it a good way to learn more about the lake structure. Was out yesterday on one of the lakes in the chain where I live and after about half an hour found a number of bait balls, with a few larger fish off to the side. The deepest part of the lake is only about 15-16 feet and all the bait fish were in 10 to 13 feet of water. I hit the area pretty thoroughly, varying speed, depth and a couple different lures. Spent a couple hours hitting the areas where I was marking bait balls, but no luck. For reference, the fish were not relating to any structure, just depth and hard bottom.
I ran out of time or might have tried casting a mag dawg, kind of jigging it back.
Any suggestions on what to do if I encounter that scenario again? |
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Posts: 1677
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Run baits toward the top half of the bait balls depth wise. Use boards if you can. Here we troll up to 6 mph in summer months with success. Messing around once, dad and I caught one at 10 mph. We troll cranks, haven’t tried blades or other baits yet. |
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| RyanJoz - 8/24/2021 3:31 PM
Run baits toward the top half of the bait balls depth wise. Use boards if you can. Here we troll up to 6 mph in summer months with success. Messing around once, dad and I caught one at 10 mph. We troll cranks, haven’t tried blades or other baits yet.
Here in northern WI, limited to one rod per angler while trolling. |
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Posts: 20181
Location: oswego, il | Just because you trolled hooks around bait doesn't necessarily mean they were feeding. No different than casting. Even with 1 rod you can still run a board to get the bait away from the boat. You can try different baits, colors. Depth control can be key, I recommend a line counter so you can duplicate what you are doing and accurately vary from it. |
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| ToddM - 8/24/2021 3:53 PM
Just because you trolled hooks around bait doesn't necessarily mean they were feeding. No different than casting. Even with 1 rod you can still run a board to get the bait away from the boat. You can try different baits, colors. Depth control can be key, I recommend a line counter so you can duplicate what you are doing and accurately vary from it.
Have one on order. Up to now it has been pretty much guess work, although I have caught a few keeping the bait right in the prop wash in shallow areas. Still amazes me they will hit six feet from a running motor. I got yelled at as a kid for makin noise in the boat 'cuz it scares the fish away. |
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Posts: 1189
| Pretty much what Todd and Ryan said. You were doing things that might get you two fish next time, just didn't this time. Just like casting, give each thing a good try, and then try something else. |
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Posts: 1023
| Might want to grab a bondy bait or two. Find where those hooks are on the graph, waypoint them, and if they don't eat trolling, get on top of them and vertical jig. |
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Posts: 166
| First bait through should be your deep bait, second bait through is your higher bait further back. A muskie will have no problems coming out of that water depth smashing a big spinnerbait 2ft under the surface. Switch things up until you get it figured out. |
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| Thanks for all the suggestions. Being allowed only one line for trolling, have to take it one method at a time. Taking my neighbor next week so we can have two different baits, depths, etc. He is just getting into musky fishing and would like to try trolling. |
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Posts: 1673
| All the $300 rod guys will hate me but...........go grab a 20' cane pole, add 18' of Dacron line, tie on a leader and hook on a DareDevil and get after them. |
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Posts: 1211
Location: E. Tenn | Brian Hoffies - 8/27/2021 10:12 AM
All the $300 rod guys will hate me but...........go grab a 20' cane pole, add 18' of Dacron line, tie on a leader and hook on a DareDevil and get after them.
You jest but..
An old time technique used at Reelfoot Lake, and sloughs and bayous along the Mississippi involved said long poles with a foot or two of heavy dacron attached to one of these. They were worked over lily pads, and other emergent vegetation.
Edited by miket55 8/27/2021 11:23 AM
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Posts: 1189
| Brian Hoffies - 8/27/2021 9:12 AM
All the $300 rod guys will hate me but...........go grab a 20' cane pole, add 18' of Dacron line, tie on a leader and hook on a DareDevil and get after them.
Saw this exact technique on one of those Saturday morning shows. Think it was one of Ron Schara's shows, Minnesota Bound, or Due North. Family patriarch in his 90s had been doing it his whole life, and had three generations of family, in the boat, catching northern one after another. Braced the pole against the side of the boat with one hand, and pumped the butt end back and forth, with the other. |
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Posts: 1673
| I grew up with Cane poles fishing with dad and grandpa in a leaking wood strip boat. Grandpa would drive while holding the Cane pole with his knee and bailing with a coffee can. Even as a kid the rhythmic vibration of that old 2 stroke would have me dozing off in no time.
In my adult life I have bought and used those long cane poles. Brings back some great memories as well as putting fish in the boat. |
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Posts: 307
| Seen people set the hook,throw pole in and follow. |
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Posts: 1673
| dickP - 8/28/2021 9:53 AM
Seen people set the hook,throw pole in and follow.
Yes that was always the legend and lore about Cane poles. Never saw it myself but grandpa use to mention it. I can imagine a big Pike or even Muskie dragging you around. |
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| Brian Hoffies - 8/28/2021 11:40 AM
dickP - 8/28/2021 9:53 AM
Seen people set the hook,throw pole in and follow.
Yes that was always the legend and lore about Cane poles. Never saw it myself but grandpa use to mention it. I can imagine a big Pike or even Muskie dragging you around.
Old-timer in the U.P. told me about a poacher who would go out at night and tie a big sucker to a carefully chosen dead branch. The pike would eat the sucker and eventually wear itself out dragging that branch around. Because it was a dead branch anyone seeing g it wouldn't think anything of it. Poacher would come back early in morning, check to see if anyone was around then look for the branch. He used piano wire for the rig. |
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Posts: 3785
| Don't discount the idea of trolling Suicks. Keep your boat at low speeds, sweep the rod forward to make the bait dive, hold the line tight as you drop the rod tip back, sweep forward again. Unweighted Suicks run around 6' deep, weighted Suicks around 10' deep.
Second suggestion is to consider trolling with glide baits. Drop the rod tip close to the water, twitch the rod to shoot the bait side to side, stall now and then by dropping the rod tip back then sweep the rod forward, and stall again. When you find the boat traveling over tall weeds raise the rod tip in high the air and continue to twitch, you see the lure acting like a small bass slurping minnows/bluegills on the surface.
Both of these techniques are helpful for lazy follow fish that need a strike trigger. The sweep forward makes the follow fish speed up then the stall leaves the bait right in the fish's face. At least that's my theory.
Good luck!
Edited by Ranger 8/29/2021 1:11 PM
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