|
|
Posts: 91
| I'm interested in rigging up my boat this year to do some prop wash trolling. What type of setup do you have and what would be a suggested setup for me ( Rod, Reels, Line )? What location would I mount my rod holders, IN OTHER WORDS, how close to the motor and corner of boat would be the ideal setup? Also, how much line would you generally let out? Thanks |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2097
| Any muskie rod and reel is ok, a clicker would be nice. I would put no more than 15' out. I like to put a large profile bait in the prop wash. You can put the rod holder anywhere you like as long as the rod is angled into the prop wash and does not interfere with the motor operation. Since you won't have much line out be sure to loosen your drag up a little more than normal. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1247
Location: On the Niagara River in Buffalo, NY | If the water is gin clear use 9' rods putting the crankbaits out a little further from the boat or inline planner boards,still running everything short 15 to 30 ft back depending on the dive curve of your crankbaits. I put the bigger crankbaits directly in the propwash as well.I will also use leadcore line to put lures further behind the boat,shallow running at speeds of 4.5 to 6.0 mph,same depth as 15 ft of powerbraid,but 50 ft back,line diameter being big keeps the lures high at fast speeds.Some waters where short line trolling is the norm the leadcore putting the lures further from the boat at the same shallow depth is more productive for me. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 69
Location: Pittsburgh | Capt Larry that is a great tip never thought of, I think I'm gonna catch more fish this spring thx again. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 572
| Simple fisherman - 2/26/2013 12:19 PM
Capt Larry that is a great tip never thought of, I think I'm gonna catch more fish this spring thx again.
X2, Great post and thanks for the tip Larry! |
|
| |
|
| Any recommendations on which lures are the best for prop washing? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1247
Location: On the Niagara River in Buffalo, NY | Leadcore having big diameter also works in your favor on sharp trolling turns.As long as your crankbaits are tuned to run straight you can turn in a circle and the leadcore will come around in a circle pulling the cranbaits without the line cutting through the water chasing toward the boat. Then on that sharp turn the muskies see the opposite of what they see from powerbraid or mono,because of the lead in the line the inside crankbait flutters down and because of the bigger line diameter the outside lure takes off and rises.With the lead being in the length of the line instead of a weight above the leader,there is no sinker for the fish to thrash again'st to possibly come unhooked.Leadcore is also color coated every 10 yards,so once you learn your dive curves for each crankbait all you have to do is put out the colors of leadcore needed at that speed for the depth you are looking to target.In cold weather freezing conditions I use shad oil scent to keep the line from freezing together and get sent in the water the same time. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1247
Location: On the Niagara River in Buffalo, NY | For short line lures I like Wiley Muskie King Jr. 5 1/2" Jtd in natural colors or Tuff Shad 5" for the outside lines and Legend Perchbaits Straight 9" for the inside in the wash down rods. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 410
Location: Wakefield, MI | Has probably been discussed but the search feature doesn't like me, but why does trolling in the prop wash work? My dad talks about it every once in a while, I've tried it a few times with no success, would be willing to try it a bit more but I don't hear it talked about that often here. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1247
Location: On the Niagara River in Buffalo, NY | Muskies following in the propwash mostly I believe are looking for the free meal of bait fish your prop kicks up injured from going through schools of suspended bait fish.Some believe they are there for the extra oxygen from the turbilation of air and water caused by your props thrust.I use to think it only worked when muskies were suspended high in the water colum along with those suspended bait fish or in shallow waters,but it has worked for me in open deep water when the fish were marking on your fishfinder down 30 ft and your lures are down only 5 ft. |
|
| |
|
Location: 31 |
milje - 2/27/2013 6:57 PM Has probably been discussed but the search feature doesn't like me, but why does trolling in the prop wash work? My dad talks about it every once in a while, I've tried it a few times with no success, would be willing to try it a bit more but I don't hear it talked about that often here. Like Larry says; they are there for an easy meal, and the pattern is very repeatable on certain waters. If you peel back another layer though… just how did they acquire the habit? In my opinion muskies targeting the wash bite is pretty solid evidence of them having a learned or acquired experience. For sure there was no such thing as a wash bite 100 years ago, so I don't see how it could be considered instinctive… just a little nugget for those who think these fish don't have any capacity for something like that. Hard to beat a D10/D13 10-20' back in the wash for large shallow muskies. |
|
| |
|
Location: Minneapolis | I think it could also be a reaction to the turbulent water just like being in a river with really fast current. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 91
| Guys thanks a lot for all your great info, especially Capt. Larry. I've never used leadcore before, but i think is certainly worth looking into.
Saw an episode of MH, where Saric, trolled a D10 in the prop, while using an added weight to the line to get the Buck down a little deeper.
I do have a follow up question, While trolling a D10, how fast should you make your run, without them blowing up? Generally I'm in the 3.0 - 4.0 range for speed.
Can it be worthwhile to troll after ice out, and what should the minimum water temp be |
|
| |
|
Location: 31 | asingua - 2/28/2013 7:25 AM Guys thanks a lot for all your great info, especially Capt. Larry. I've never used leadcore before, but i think is certainly worth looking into. Saw an episode of MH, where Saric, trolled a D10 in the prop, while using an added weight to the line to get the Buck down a little deeper. I do have a follow up question, While trolling a D10, how fast should you make your run, without them blowing up? Generally I'm in the 3.0 - 4.0 range for speed. Can it be worthwhile to troll after ice out, and what should the minimum water temp be I personally do not add any weight to a D-10 in the wash. Why? Because there’s just no need for it, even with the lightest D-10 you own.
If you're trolling a typical 3-4 miles an hour with 10-20’ of line out and an 8’ rod submerged 4’ under the water… there's no way that lure will surface (or conversely gain any appreciable depth adding weight). It will stay almost exactly 4’ deep except on sharp turns where the inside D-10 may drop down some depending on boat speed and weight of the D-10. Adding weight to a wash D-10 is unnecessary with a properly mounted down east rail mounted rod holder.
Board rods with D-10’s is another story though...
|
|
| |
|
Location: 31 | TC MUSKIE - 2/27/2013 11:59 PM I think it could also be a reaction to the turbulent water just like being in a river with really fast current.
Point taken, and there's no question they are attracted to fast current, so I think it would be difficult to make the same argument with a dam being a learned experience because they simply follow the current to the dam to find feeding edges that are created by fairly "consistent" fast water.
I'm not saying I'm 100% right on this… just something to consider. But in the simplest of terms, boats are not "consistent" and a muskie “could” hear the boat coming and then be attracted to the motor or turbid water that it generates. I don't think it makes any difference if it's the motor noise or the turbid water because either way it's apparent that it's something that they acquired through experience. Interestingly, we usually catch most of the largest muskies of the season in the prop wash compared to the % on boards. If you read between the lines here, these are obviously the older, more experienced fish in the system. The way I envision a possible scenario is a muskie hanging off to the side eyeballing some bait fish, and through past experience knows that firing in right behind the motor (or following along for short distances) works well for an easy meal. It's just something interesting to contemplate… I honestly don't care as much about the "why" because I know the "where" works like magic sometimes.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 944
| 10" believers and MX9's have been my top 2 propwash baits.
Nothing beats seeing a four footer launch right behind the motor with a big crankbait in his mouth, alot of times the fish will be in the air before you hear the clicker go off.
Jeff Hanson
madisonmuskyguide.com |
|
| |
|
Posts: 56
Location: NJ | How do you setup the rod holder for the wash? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 410
Location: Wakefield, MI | LarryJones - 2/27/2013 7:11 PM
but it has worked for me in open deep water when the fish were marking on your fishfinder down 30 ft and your lures are down only 5 ft.
I think that's one of the main reasons why I never believed it would work, didn't think they would move up in the water column that much. I'll give it another go this year and see what happens. |
|
| |
|
Location: 31 | RubberUpRacer39 - 2/28/2013 4:50 PM How do you setup the rod holder for the wash? I just rotate the back rail mounted Downeast rod holder straight down so all you see is the rod butt sticking up… approximately half of the rod will be in the water. When it's windy/noisy you're going to need a loud clicker for that reel because it's hard to hear it go off in that position. |
|
| |
|
| best one was the bk chubbies.go for it if you can get one |
|
| |
