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Posts: 770
| Hey everyone ive been reading up on open water trolling tactics and from what i have found finding baitfish is pretty much the game... is there anything im missing? Find the deepest water near structure and close to spawning grounds and look for bait is kind of my plan.
This week id like to try for the first time, any info greatly appreciated!
Edited by T3clay 5/30/2017 8:40 PM
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Posts: 770
| Also what speeds should i be trolling at when the water temp is 60*-70*? |
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Posts: 1275
Location: Walker, MN | If it's a system with whitefish or tullibees, soft bottom areas will host big bug hatches over the next month, that should get these greasy forage fish really bunched up. Just another potential piece to the puzzle.
I like to troll 3.5 - 4 mph in June.
Cheers and hook-sets! |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | I can answer all of those questions and more...but only if I'm riding in your boat. 
Seriously though, I plan to follow basically the same approach--look for "structure" in whatever form that might be, even if it's only baitfish. Or it might be open water just off the prime structure. Just depends.
You should try to hunt down Larry Ramsell's articles in the In-Fisherman magazine, from back in the 1980s. He followed some fairly large muskies that had been tagged in Eagle Lake as I recall. He noted some very interesting things actually--and not really what I expected, in terms of what those fish were doing at different points in time.
As for speed, I think you need to just experiment. Start on one extreme, say 2-2.25mph, and try it a while. Then increase in 0.5mph increments periodically, trying different colors/lure types, as needed until you dial it in. Make notes on everything you try--I used to keep a notebook on the boat and used it as a bit of a journal. When the fish are hitting it's not so important, but it was sure nice to review what I had already tried, during those times when the fish weren't hitting. Gave me confidence that I wasn't just repeating what didn't work before. And I think it helped me to put more fish in the boat.
TB
EDIT: I found the two-part article, but there doesn't seem to be a date for either publication. But the second part makes reference to the first part being in Book #102, which seems to have been published in November 1991 (according to Google). I would suggest you just PM Larry here in the forum to inquire as to the date of publication, or just contact In-Fisherman for a reprint. It's a worthwhile read.
Edited by tcbetka 5/30/2017 9:36 PM
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Location: Green Bay, WI | Here's an older forum thread for reference on this topic, specifically in regards to Larry's article on the Eagle Lake tracking study.
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=33...
TB |
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Posts: 386
| Finding bait is great but I've caught plenty of fish that were just cruising over 90' of water...it all depends. Without knowing which lake you're on, I would say your plan sounds good to me. For early season I usually stay around 3.0 MPH but sometimes will get up around 4. Over the years I've just had better luck slower in the first few weeks. |
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Posts: 1168
| Do some homework with your maps. Identify areas where you can triangulate structure. Humps, points, edges, etc.... Envision a dot on each one and simply play connect the dots going from point A to point B to point C, etc. You'll cover deeper water, you'll get close to different types of structure, you'll pass over areas where the bottom content changes, you'll encounter subtle currents (direct wind current or seiche effect), you'll be going over water where temp changes are present...and you'll be in the presence of food somewhere along the way. Pay attention to what your electronics are telling you and when/if you contact a fish make note of what is going on. From there you can narrow down your search and target similar areas. |
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Posts: 770
| Is there a certain place in tye water colum that is best to start? Or is there a depth that the fish are commoly suspended at? I will most likely be on white bear lake |
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Posts: 1168
| A big problem people have when fishing open water is that they run their baits too deep or they think that just because they are over 70 feet of water their bait has to be 65 feet below them. Unless I am jigging on deeper water I rarely have my baits more than 10ft below the surface when casting open water. |
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Posts: 386
| I usually start by running baits 12-15' down and adjust accordingly. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | ulbian - 5/31/2017 7:14 PM A big problem people have when fishing open water is that they run their baits too deep or they think that just because they are over 70 feet of water their bait has to be 65 feet below them. Unless I am jigging on deeper water I rarely have my baits more than 10ft below the surface when casting open water. Bingo! The most common mistake trolling open water is absolutely running baits too deep. Let the baitfish or thermocline tell you how deep and keep your baits running above them. I've caught tons of fish with baits running 7-8' down over 65'.
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Posts: 349
| The vast majority of open water trolling fish in my boat have been on baits running less than 10' under the surface. |
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Posts: 203
Location: Germantown, WI | I think you are on the right track and the info given above is all good info. I use typically baits that run from 6' to about 15' deep. Looking for bait is good. It gives you something to key on. Over time once you begin to have success in some areas you might find that those areas produce at times whether you see bait on the locator or not. I always like to see concentrations of baitfish high in the water column because I figure that perhaps the muskies are pushing them up or causing them to ball up as a safety mechanism. When I'm trolling in the Summer I'm usually going 3 to 4.5 mph. If its colder you might want to slow down a bit. If it's warmer you might want to speed it up a bit. |
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Posts: 770
| Thanks for all the info everyone |
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Posts: 983
| Great information guys I appreciate |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | MUSKYLUND1 - 6/1/2017 1:00 PM
I think you are on the right track and the info given above is all good info. I use typically baits that run from 6' to about 15' deep. Looking for bait is good. It gives you something to key on. Over time once you begin to have success in some areas you might find that those areas produce at times whether you see bait on the locator or not. I always like to see concentrations of baitfish high in the water column because I figure that perhaps the muskies are pushing them up or causing them to ball up as a safety mechanism. When I'm trolling in the Summer I'm usually going 3 to 4.5 mph. If its colder you might want to slow down a bit. If it's warmer you might want to speed it up a bit.
My thoughts exactly. It works for oceanic pelagics--why not for muskies, on a smaller scale? Chow is chow, right?
In the past, in the southern part of Green Bay where it's not all that deep (10-14 feet tops, mostly shallower), I've seen a number of diving birds working an area, so I've targeted it as well. I have caught fish there, but not frequently enough to establish a correlation between the diving birds and an increase in my catch. But I have caught muskies in the general area. I hope to try that approach this summer, but out in deeper water.
TB
Edited by tcbetka 6/1/2017 6:52 PM
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