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Posts: 3240
Location: Racine, Wi | I know that people are catching fish speed trolling. I myself, have not experimented with this as of yet. (I still get the occasional "braid" between 2 lines because they were a little too close, and the turn was a little too tight) Anyway, I know that it is thought that it is a reaction strike, but what about this.
With the ever increasing boat traffic, the musky vs. prey relationship may have changed in some ways. Have you ever looked in the water where there is panfish, and you run the boat by them. They tend to scatter very quickly without thought. I believe in the shortline speed trolling game, the muskie has realized that the boat means freaked out food swimming away from the noise, and they come out and grab a snack. Thus the shortline speed trolling may imitate this prey behavior. Could this be the reason for the success? Any other thoughts on this?
Good lungen,
Joel |
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | Yes, this is a wide and popular theory. |
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Posts: 87
Location: michigan | Joel, over here on Lake St. Clair short line trolling is our bread and butter. There is no doubt that the muskies are attracted to the boat, there are plenty of times that you will see them swimming right along side of the boat as you are trolling (with a 454 inboard). I catch quite a few fish every season while tuning baits as we are trolling, these fish come from right under the boat. Muskies coming to the boat here is no accident, I believe this is a learned response on LSC. We have a tremendous amount of fishermen on LSC, most of them fish for perch, walleye or bass. The techniques used for these species tend to get them to come to the boat,(such as using a mudder for perch or bass) naturally the predators follow. When we are fishing for these other species we have to move around because the muskies will set up under the boat like a baracudda. And one theory for the success of wash rods is that when you troll through a school of baitfish some get caught up in the wash and are disorientated making for easy prey. Frank |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | Never had luck myself with any trolling better yet speed trolling..but did have a fish in a shallow channel right by the mouth swim along side the boat for a couple feet. Upon leaving the channel we cut the motor and started casting, the fish followed 4 different baits to the boat and even followed through one or two 8's despite being in 2' of water. Never got a hookup but thought it was a interesting experience since the fish was in a high traffic area. Definitely thinking about trolling something through that channel next time.. |
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Posts: 143
Location: Kentucky | I got the priviledge to go out with Greg Thomas this spring and when I seen how he was trolling, my first thought was that this guy is insane. 6-20 feet of line out and trolling 4-6mph up on a sand flat that was like 15 feet deep at it's deepest. This was all under bluebird sky's. I remember asking him about his theory of why the Musky were being caught this way. His explaination was kind of like your guy's, he just thought that they hear the boat and got excited and thought maybe it did scatter prey for the Musky to attack. All I know is that it work's and it work's when nothing else seem's to work. We ended up catching two trolling and one casting that day. It was something to see it in motion. I have definitely added it to my bag of trick's. cpr Chris |
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Posts: 20218
Location: oswego, il | I believe the musky are keying on bait the boats scatter too. They are easy prey, they are exibiting distress type behavior and are easy meals becuase it's not the musky chasing them. It's certainly a matter of conditioning as many boats that some of these lakes have on them, the fish have to adapt and this is one of their ways. I have caught musky trolling out from the boat ramp in front of the channel in 3ft of water on a bright sunny day, boats all around. it's probably easy feeding for them. |
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Posts: 3240
Location: Racine, Wi | It is amazing how shallow, and in high traffic areas these fish will hit. My biggest fish this year was in such an area, shortline trolling with speedboats all over the place. Maybe these boaters aren't all that bad after all.  Ok, they are. Good to hear some of your thoughts on this. I love shortline trolling, and will be working with more baits this coming season. I was trolling small Jakes, Shallow Raiders and Spinnerbaits with pretty good success. Time to try some others this year.
Good Lungen,
Joel
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | My favorite when it comes to high traffic stuff is the time a jet skier pulls up to me as I am leaving a spot telling me he was attacked by a musky that came 3 feet in the air after him.... I had measured this fish when I had first came out on the water that day...47" musky that floated up overnight possibly due to a bad release... Only marks on it I could find looked like hook marks around the mouth... Yet this fish still, in death, managed to scare the heck outta this jet skier... |
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Posts: 1430
Location: Eastern Ontario | Yes the pray scater theory holds true, so much so that I've heard of guys fishing with their lures under the boat. They actualy set up their rod holders in the front of the boat and troll cranks under the boat to imirtate shad and the muskies never get run over by the prop, LOL that was my first question.  |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | I'm here on Lake St Clair like Capt Frank. I do rather enjoy having a big momma hit a crankbait or somthing else while casting and holding the rod. However, sometimes we have to cover major amounts of water to put a lure in front of a musky willing to open her mouth so the speed trolling acomplishes this. It is not quite the same as a hit when you are casting but you have to see it and hear it to believe how fun even trolling can be. It usually happens (as we all know) when you are not ready for it. On the cell phone or with a big handfull of food and the drone of the outboard gets broken with a reel screeming like it is about to detonate.
I also have heard but not yet tried running a lure off the front of the boat, banging the bottom of the hull. I do have down-easters on the front rails and the lures run off those rods are often not even past the back of the boat.
My first time ever trolling for muskies I was alone in the boat and was running two propwash rods. I was eating, avoiding jetskiis, etc and not watching the rods. One of the reels did not have a line out alarm (clicker)and by the time I noticed I had a ski on it was about 300 feet behind the boat and still stripping line. Needless to say that one shook the hooks and swam off laughing. |
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Posts: 585
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland | Yep, I believe this theory is true. However, for some reason, nobody mentioned that the use of planers to spread your lures out (in addition to your wash rods) will pick up the Muskies themselves that scatter because of the disturbance that your boat creates. Tom |
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Theory on muskies and speed trolling