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Posts: 311
Location: Ontario | Your speed is constantly, constantly changing if you're trolling right. Inside turn, outside turn. Power onto structure, power off it. Come around a point and hit the wind in the face, come around a point and wind grabs you like a sail. Crawl thru deep rocks, drive baits down when rock gives way to deep water etc etc etc etc. If the speed display on your gps is holding within 0.1 or 0.2 all the time, you're probably trolling in a straight line, not follwing many sharp structures, not doing a lot of bottom banging (and hanging) and missing a lot of fish. |
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| Pheonix, I don't think muskies most of the time want an easy meal. I'm serious, I believe that muskies most of the time turn away from easy meals because it's just not natural.
It's like that saying in Jurassic park. T-rex doesn't want to be fed. He wants to hunt! I think muskies are the same way. They don't want to be fed. They want something that gives them a challenge. I seem to get most of my muskies at 4.2 or higher. I have nailed them down to as slow as 2.5 but most of the time my fish have been caught at well over 4mph.
Interesting thread. I'd really like to nail a big fish after reading all these posts. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | FWIW. My observation has been that open water fish prefer a slower approach but if you are crashing the break or rocks the speed needs to be a little higher. This seems completely opposite of what I would have assumed more than 25 years ago. It seems to be that the reaction strike is important in shallow water while the suspended fish seem more willing to stalk a slower bait. This seems to hold true for big fish too, and while my trolling fish sample is small compared to some, of two over 55" fish caught trolling in my boat one was at 6.2mph (shallow weed fish) and one was at 3.5 mph (suspended). |
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Posts: 295
Location: Southern Ontario, Detroit River and Lake StClair | Will Schultz - 8/26/2009 12:44 PM
of two over 55" fish caught trolling in my boat one was at 6.2mph
Daaaaam!!!!!! That must of sent the reel a zingin'
Tim
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Location: Carver | 50 couple of weeks ago 5.5 mph through schools. It depends on whether you need to trigger them or not in my opinion. |
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Location: Carver | 50 couple of weeks ago 5.5 mph through schools. It depends on whether you need to trigger them or not in my opinion. |
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| How many feet do you troll back? How far down do you troll on average?
All I get are snags or weeds. |
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Posts: 20
| If trolling structure, mostly try to keep the bait near the structure and bang it off the bottom now and then. Depth of bait is determined by the type of bait you're using, type of line, amount of line you have out and trolling speed. Muskie Mike's Trolling Secrets has the running depths of most of the popular muskie baits. Need a line counter reel if you want to know how much line you have out and thus know the depth of your bait. There's also trolling in prop wash and trolling over open water, but this is the basics. |
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Posts: 90
Location: Ohio | This is a great topic/thread |
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Posts: 84
| This is an interesting thread. I have caught big fish trolling at all kinds of speeds. I have caught them suspended over 80 feet of water at 4.5 mph and at 2.5 mph. I have caught them on canadian shield lakes and vermillion in water less than 40 degrees scrubbing edges trolling at 2.5 and at 5 mph. I have caught them on Green Bay at 2 mph and 4.5 mph in all different water temps on and off structure. I have caught them on LSC at 3 mph and 5 mph in all different water temps. I think it depends on the fishes attitude. Generally I start to troll at about 3.5 mph on any body of water at any time of the year and cover as much water as possible. Once I locate bait fish and predators I try to stay on them and start to experiment and see what triggers them. Sometimes the only way I get bit is slow. But then sometimes the only way to get bit is speed (even in cold water I have found). One thing that has worked for me related to speed is, if fishing conditions feel favorable (overcast, windy, falling barometer, pre frontal) increasing the speed seems to be more productive than decreasing. I am also more likely to increase my speed in clear water and warm water than in cold, stained or dirty water, but I am finding it isn't always the right thing to do. I have heard of a particular Georgian Bay guide trolling at night in late November with a plow at over 5 mph and catching some incredibly large fish. So go figure. |
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| It is all time of year and what speed the lures you are running works best at. I have got a 56 three 55's and lots between 50 and 54 all on lake nipeeing where I guide. we have got three over 50 this year on jakes and depth raiders between 52 and 54 all trolling right around the five mile an hour range. The fall definetly requires you to slow down your presentation but if you do that in the summer I believe you are eliminating all of the inactive fish that you could get reaction strikes from. In the fall when you do slow down run lures with a lot of action at slow speeds and let some extra line out to get alittle deeper. This is just my take every lake is different you have to keep playing with it until you find something. The day you think you know everything about muskies is always the day you hit a slump keep changing it up if it turns slow there is always a hungry fish somewhere. |
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Posts: 833
| A question for hte more experienced on here: I troll in MN and am limited to only one line. What are the thoughts on speed as it relates to ultra clear water (15'+ secci disk) in a lake? Do you think clear water necessiates more speed to fool the fish or is slower still better?
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| I fish LSC for a week every summer (June/July). I've released approx 25, 50"+ fish at LSC, up to 54", that have all been caught trolling around 5mph. I'm not saying that's a ton of 50s for LSC but it's pretty good for the amount of time I spend there. My personal best fish was caught on the Larry though at about 3mph in November. I think speed depends on where you are fishing and what time of year/water temp it is. |
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| A large muskie hitting a propwash bait at 5 plus mph is as exciting as a figure 8 strike, the reel just sings. BR |
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| Speed is important, but many times people overlook slow. Typically 1.8-2.0 mph row trolling, even in midsummer. Easy to keep that pace all day long. Never did to well around 2.2+. In late fall, i will go down to 1.2 or as slow as i can get with the bait still having action.
Sc |
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| Have to disagree...I don't cover water....I spot troll....2.4-3.0 mph...and yes there is a science to repeat ability....have doubled up and tripled...big fish within 20 minutes of the first on the exact pass.... have watched boats stumble on a big fish... only to pack up and only cover more water... missing out on opportunity...just my opinion... |
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Posts: 109
| Not trying to hijack the thread but anyone know where to get the book, Muskie mikes trolling secrets? |
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| Rick Wolff - 10/9/2013 7:08 PM
Have to disagree...I don't cover water....I spot troll....2.4-3.0 mph...and yes there is a science to repeat ability....have doubled up and tripled...big fish within 20 minutes of the first on the exact pass.... have watched boats stumble on a big fish... only to pack up and only cover more water... missing out on opportunity...just my opinion...
Some folks can spot troll at a higher rate of speed, it works. Just because you are moving the bait faster doesn't mean you are not working a spot, you are just working more times over the same spot during time period. BR |
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| When I mean spot.... it has an area half the size of your boat....have caught fish faster....seems Canadian fish like a little more...53 in Minaki aat 4.5 mph....15 inch the same day at 4.5...same lure... |
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| Rick Wolff - 10/10/2013 8:02 PM
When I mean spot.... it has an area half the size of your boat....have caught fish faster....seems Canadian fish like a little more...53 in Minaki aat 4.5 mph....15 inch the same day at 4.5...same lure...
Yes a "spot" we are on the same page. |
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