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Posts: 57
Location: Racine WI | I’ve always been an old-fashioned guy, slow to change tactics. In Northern Wisconsin, that means casting. I tore up my shoulder awhile ago and have limited motion and endurance, so I may have to go trolling this year. I’m probably looking at Grindstone and LCO, but I’d appreciate suggestions on somewhere else nearby with a little more action. (Hard to learn a new technique on tough, trophy waters – no fish doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something wrong.)
Another concern is equipment-related. I have a pretty minimal boat: a 16-foot aluminum V-hull, with a 40hp Merc/Force, no oil injection – just a 50:1 mix. Can I troll for hours without the engine overheating or packing up? Should I run something other than standard spark plugs? Or must I use my electric troller and change batteries a couple of times a day? I really don’t want to rig a kicker motor, both because I’m *Miser*Mike, and because it’s a pretty small boat to mount one on.
So, any advice, folks?
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Posts: 1185
Location: Wishin I Was Fishin' | As far as lakes go I can't help you in that neck of the woods, but you can troll on Pike/Round Chain West of Minoqua, Pewaukee, Okauchee, Pettenwell, and the Fox River in Green Bay.
I would see how your motor trolls without changing anything, if you go to hotter plugs you stand the chance of melting down your engine. Pick yourself up some real good rod holders like Down Easterns, some Off Shore planner boards with red clips and a GPS to watch your speed and position. That should give you a good start. | |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | MM, I troll with a 40 Evenrude all day long during the summer, and I haven't had any problems. Go for it.
Pick up some down east rod holders, the off shore planers, and the OR-16 (red) releases as well like JoMusky said. Then learn what your baits are doing. Bring a notebook and a pen, and watch the locator and your rods. Start writing down how deep your baits are with certain lengths of line out, and go from there. You have a couple of good lakes right by you to troll. (not Silver).
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Posts: 5874
| That motor should be fine. Be precise with the mixture. I would suggest you install a new impellor, if it hasn't been done recently, to prevent any overheating. I had to have a new impellor installed on my Opti, and the water pressue at idle went from .6 to 1.8 lbs.
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Posts: 7077
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Just another quick heads-up....planer boards and superlines are NOT friends! I have 2 rods rigged up with 30lb mono for running boards, and they stay clipped on real nicely, not the case when I was using superlines. | |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | I do a lot of trolling. ditto on mono for planer board clips. I even add a rubberband to the clip to hold it tight against hard pulling baits. With the rubberband on the release and super sharp hooks you will have a lot better chance of a hookup when the board rod starts screaming, still give her one good hard hook-set. Down east rod holders are the only way to go for rod holders. I use my salmon downrigger rods for trolling. The shimano TDR rods are only $30 and the foam grips don't get tore up un the rod holders like cork ones can. I'll only use reels with a clicker (line out alarm) for trolling also. My first time out trolling, alone, I lost two fish that were on and I didn't know it. Was busy with gps, steering wheel, smoke, pop, etc. Most of my trolling baits are able to take 5mph or more, even in the propwash. Jointed Wilies, Treminators, Lokes, Believers, Musky Stalkers (from drifter tackle, and only about $12 each instead of 20-25 each. I run rods in the prop wash about 6 feet back on both sides of the motor. Down rods are on down easters mounted on the rails in front of the windshield. The tips of the down rods are about a foot or two in the water and the lure is only 6-10 feet back. I'll clip on weight up to 16 oz but usually 6-10 oz. OR clips make a release that has a pin in the middle on one side and a hole on the other pad. You clip your weight on past this pin and it cannot fall off (release) so you dont lose them. On the boards I run 20 back with zero, 2 or 4 oz of lead. If it is just me or me and one other person in the boat I'll run a slider for a third lure per person in the water (two rods per person). Remember you can't out troll a Muskie. If 4-5 mph isn't working bump it up to 6 or 7 mph. If you do some S-turns while trolling you will cover more water and your lures will speed up and slow down. If you get a hit on a rod on the outside of a s-turn then you know the speed probably helped trigger the hit, so speed up your trolling a bit. If the inside rod goes off, going slower, drop your trolling speed a bit.
pm me if any of this doesn't make sense. Try to find those drops from 6 down to 10 feet, or 10 down to 15, etc. and troll the edges. Good article about trolling the weedlines in the latest Muskie Hunter. Remember that a muskie probably won't drop a foot for a lure but can flash up 15 ft in a heartbeat. Even if you are running 16 oz of lead the lure won't be down very far because of the short line out and the speed. Try trolling a topwater on a long line. Don't forget there are a lot of spinnerbaits that will troll well too. There is a lot to do and know about trolling. Trolling may look like a guy going in circles drinking a beer but if he is, he is not catching fish either.
Most of all.. stick a slob and have a blast!
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First time troller -- help!