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Posts: 241
| Southern Wisconsin / Northern Illinois
How long will there remain a possibility to get one trolling?
What is a good speed?
Will jointed crankbaits still work or do I need to switch to one piece?
What about trolling bucktails and spinner baits in the fall?
Thanks for the tips in advance. I'm new to the fall trolling game.
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Posts: 569
| There will remain a possibility to get one as long as you are legally permitted to fish for them and the water doesn't turn hard.
A good speed will be 3.0 mph. A little faster for warmer water an a little slower for cooler water.
Jointed crankbaits will work but try wide wobbling crankbaits too.
I wouldn't 'mess with bucktails or spinnerbaits but see what others have to say about that. |
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Posts: 580
| Yes, trolling works in the fall right up through ice up. I tend to use bigger straight model cranks, but jointed baits will work also. Haven't tried trolling blades much after water temps drop below 60, but I'm guessing there are days where it'd work just fine.
I generally reduce speed as water temps get lower, but I don't think that's always necessary. Summertime, I'm usually trolling 4.0-4.5mph+. Once water temps have dropped below 60 degrees, I'll typically slow down a tad to 3.5-4.0 and once below roughly 45 degrees, I usually keep it below 3.5 and more in the 3.0 range. But like any tactic, there are no hard and fast rules and it can pay off to experiment with speed no matter what time of year it is. The one nice thing about trolling faster is that you can cover more water and, over the course of a day, increase your odds at finding one in an eating mood. If I've got a few spots that I know are holding fish, I'll usually make several passes at varying speeds. If I'm out over open water in search mode, I'll tend to troll a bit faster and try to find the heaviest baitfish concentrations. If I can find really heavy concentrations, I'm pretty sure that predators will be around and I'll again often make multiple passes in and around those schools at varying speeds and often with different bait styles at differing depths until (hopefully) something gets a rip.
I'm sure other guys have different thoughts and different approaches, but that's what seems to work best for me. Hope this helps. Good luck. |
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Posts: 1287
Location: WI | I stick with straight model cranks, Believers, Grandmas, etc. Have caught them at 3.5mph in mid Nov, don't see much of a reason to slow down less than 3. Depth probably depends on the system, but don't get stuck thinking you have to run them deep. I've caught lots of fish running cranks in the fall 2-10' down. I think in most cases it's better to run them shallower, and if they're boat shy use a planer board to control the depth. |
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