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| I've caught about half my fish in the propwash using braided line with my rod tip pushed straight down in the water. However, the lures are maybe 25 ft. in back of the boat. I've heard (and seen articles) about catching fish much closer to the boat (near the motor) and am wondering what the best way to get the lures down deeper faster. I've tried wire line and don't like it. That leaves adding weight or leadcore line. Which is better? |
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| Muskie Kid,although you dont like wire.It is the best way to go.40 lbs Monel is what I use.
Try deep diving crank baits,Jakes,Trophy Divers,Wiley,Big M,Beleivers.
Trim up your motor a little to bring the prop wash closer to the surface.Weights are cool and good but the set back is the fish can use the weight to leverage itself off the hooks and if you pump the rod,your weight drops and yanks the bait out of the fishes mouth.I trolled weights extensivly for a few years.I rarely use weights anymore,most baits today troll fast and you can stick em in the corners at high speeds.
take care
marc
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| 4oz keel wieghts can work wonders...ONLY problem. I have lost plenty of fish on head shakes with all that lead in front. |
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| You CAN run very close to the motor with braided line, but you have to know how deep your baits are running. If you're looking to run a bait very deep, then you're losing the significance of the wash itself. If you want to get slightly under the turbulence, try an Ernie, Cisco Kid or Depth Raider. I've had some good success with 10" Jakes (not as deep), Muskie Stalkers, and Magnum Shad Raps as short as 6 feet back. Spinnerbaits also work, but I find that running them and spoons a little further back (say 25 feet plus) produces better.
I find that when the fish are aggressively feeding, they will respond very positively to prop wash baits. Otherwise, run them off the sides and corners if the fish are not as aggressive. You'll get the same wild short-line hits as running baits in the wash, but you'll get far more hits.
Steve Wickens |
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| Thanks: I was considering weights, but was wondering the downside. Thought about it messing up the action of the lures, but didn't consider the fish using them as leverage. Trimming the motor sounds like a good idea. Perhaps I will give the wire another try. It certainly shows off the vibration of the lures for sure!! Tom |
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| Just how deep do you want to get under your propwash?
I use deep diving baits but never run baits down 10 feet in the wash, I believe 5 to 7 feet is well under. You can acomplish 10' with braided line just by moving your rod holders to the front of the boat. This will get your rod some 8 to 10 feet ahead of the regular rod holder position.
I learned this from guys fishing Chatauqua (sp)lake in NY and these guys actualy keep their baits under the boat and in front of wash.
Catch a few good ones
Keep releasing them all
Richard Collin
http://www.trophymuskiecharters.com
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| Some great advice here. Thanks. |
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| Muskiekid,
Is your water gin clear or stained?My water here on the Niagara is gin clear and at times you can see the bottom as if you were standing on it and that is 30 feet deep.I can only connect on Muskies in the wash close to the boat(10 to 15 feet)when the visability is down to 5 feet or less.Most of the time I have to be out 25 to 35 feet,rods angled down and toward the wash edges,leadcore line and deepdiving crankbaits.Trophy Diver Jtd with a Big Two Pull Lip or Legend Perchbait or Plow work the best for me in this application,both will dive quickly with their lip configuration.Other times in Bluebird sky conditions + gin clear water I have to drop back to 40 to 60 feet and go much faster,the Depthraider Jtd works best for me then.On Chautauqua Lake I usually run two rods forward in the boat and two short angled into the water,both for depth close to the boat and to keep the crankbaits weed free longer.Visability at Chautauqua can be only a couple of feet with algee growth this time of the year.Listen to Marc Thorpe about the angle upward of your propwash,especialy when running them short to the boat,it definately does work!As does Trophymuskie's placement of the rods foreward in the boat to get more depth closer to the boat.
Capt. Larry D. Jones
http://www.mostlymuskies.com |
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| Thanks, Capt. Larry and others. Never thought about the water visibility in this application. The water in my lake is gin clear all the time. I've been running my propwash lines back 15-25 ft. or so. Perhaps running it on a short line really close to the boat is the wrong technique. In addition, lately I've notice any hookups I'm getting are on lines a ways back rather than close. Your suggestions make sense to me. Seems like keeping things simple (without the wire, wgts., etc.) may be the ticket - after all, it has worked for me in the past. Knowledge is the key to success and we all need to keep learning. However, sometimes if something works - why change it? Thanks - Tom |
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