Help???

[life of riley]

Question came up about walleye that were on the bottom versus the middle of the lake. Which fish are easier to catch? Are the fish on the bottom that are just off the bottom or suspended fish higher in the column easier to catch?
2 of my sons were fishing with bottom bouncers around 40 to 50 back and my older brother was fishing just below the boat letting the bouncer hitting the bottom and lifting it up a couple of cranks. My older brother said I was going to fast for him and I should slow down the boat, but the 2 sons were catching fish further behind the boat. What should I do, slow the boat down, or keep going 1.5 to 2.0 and catch fish????
Thanks for your suggestions.

Life of Riley
P.S.Would Erie Rebel call me some time.

[salmonslayer19]

Well generally the fish further up in the column are on the HUNT for food and tend to be more aggressive. That being said the fish further down are usually more lethargic and laying low. Now that is not to say that they are not feeding or wont smash a bait.

I dont really use BB that much anymore in my presentation but when I do I troll between .9-1.7 with 2-3oz BB and I generally shorten up my Harnesses. I have never ran my BB under a board so the rule of thumb I was always told to keep your line at a 40-50 degree angle and just watch the action of the pole as you troll.

As for your question about slower or faster well on this particular day its obvious that they were more active up in the column so the longer leads away from the boat and higher in the column were better then dredging the bottom. Day to Day things will change, its up to the crew to find were the fish are active in the fishery thats why when your trolling you set all your lines to different depths to find the activity.

[skipper9]

Most of the time the fish higher in the water column are the active fish and are feeding. So I would say it is easier to catch them. But if you want to catch the fish on the bottom you would have to go slower. Just because they are not activedoes not mean something put right in front of there mouth is not ynna get eaten.

[jm gremore]

I was talking to the "pros" at last years port clinton tournament weigh in and they said that the fish marked on the bottom are NOT the biters. In 32 ft, the biters are generally up to 15 ft. Sometimes you don't mark them because they move away from the boat on the pass. I troll at 2.0 to 2.5 mph with reef runners because at this speed they vibrate more.

[j4gash]

Everyone is correct that the fish in the middle of the water collum are normally the active fish, BUT in the spring on Lake Erie we drift sometimes and go 2 cranks up from the bottom and hammer the fish. I always try all depths and see what's working and then adjust to that. If the fish are biting why change anything, adjust to the bite.