walleye general discussion South Wind VS North Wind

[Doug Lewis]

1) over the last 2 years I have fished for walleye from mid October until mid May
I have found it to be a waste of time to fish when wind is coming OUT OF THE SOUTH in 55 FOW or shallower
I have found it to be 50/50 when wind is coming OUT OF THE NORTH in 55 FOW or shallower
since I have a small boat I have not gone out deeper at that time of year
when wind coming OUT OF THE SOUTH from mid October until mid May
my 3 choices are 1) fish for trout along breaker walls or river 2) try local lakes 3) stay home
2) I have noticed there is a true strategy to turning my boat at a 45 degree angle for 3-4 minutes
that means once the boat is turned at 45 degrees I then go straight for 3-4 minutes
I have seen other boats making shorter quicker turns
I found that to tangle lines and not to be of true use
3) A QUESTION I use 1-3-5 oz. weights starting at 63 FOW using all Bandits
I troll North at 2.6 MPH I then turn 45 degrees right then go straight for 3-4 minutes
I turn 45 degrees left now I am going NORTH again I go straight for 3-4 minutes
I keep repeating these to turns working my way NORTH NORTH EAST
Facing Towards Back of Boat
I have 3 poles I use 5 oz. on far left I use 3 oz. on middle I use 1 oz. on far right
since I AM working my way NORTH NORTH EAST
the 5 oz. pole on the inside will fall through the water to deepest FOW and go slowest
the 3 oz. pole will fall to middle FOW because of 45 degree turn and go middle speed
the 1 oz. pole will be at shallowest FOW and go fastest
Yes the Bandits all move different because of the 45 degree turn
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE
TO WORKING NORTH NORTH EAST USING RIGHT THEN LEFT TURNS
OR GOING NORTH NORTH WEST USING LEFT THEN RIGHT TURNS
since both times I am simply making 1- 45 degree turn in both directions







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[FUBAR1]

I think you're over-complicating it. I use inline planer boards, 2 oz snap weights, and the Precision Trolling app's 50+2 data to set my lure depths with a line counter reel. Shallow on the outside, deeper to the inside. Use your electronics to determine what depth the fish are at and run the lures above them. Walleye feed upwards. I always try to fish with the wind no matter what direction its blowing, but a North or East wind is always tough fishing. If the wind is light, fish whatever direction you want. Mark Romanack of Fishing 411 and other pros advocate trolling with the wind. I've had success doing it. There are guys who will say different and that's fine, but I tend to take advice from people who make a living at it versus random keyboard warriors. Every once in a while I'll change speed and/or direction trying to find what they want but I don't run rigid schedule to make turns. When you make S-turns you're trying to see if they want a faster or slower presentation. Once you figure out the speed then you can play with lures and colors to dial in a program.

Check out YouTube videos from Mark Romanack (Fishing 411), and Ross Robertson (BigWater Fishing).

Wind from the North; do not go forth
Wind from the East; fish bite least
Wind from the West; fish bite best
Wind from the South; blows the bait in their mouth.

That's an old proverb and it seems to hold true.

[ltracey]

Good Post Fubar1

[Parris Island]

May I ask why you run your lines “ Shallow on the outside, deeper to the inside.”?
It seems it would contribute to tangles, especially using inline weights.

[Doug Lewis]

it has worked. there have been few tangles.
I have to stay with longer 3-5 minute turns
shorter turns cause tangles
it creates 3 different depths until I figure out how deep they are
once I catch 2 at the same depth I change 1 other pole to that weight

[Doug Lewis]

I consider using planer boards more complicated and I have a cell phone but not a smart phone so no internet.
I am out there by myself. there is plenty to do for 1 person.
I have bought planer boards but I only expect to use those on local lakes.
I would prefer to use no weights with Bandits every time I try they tangle
I only use Bandits with weight this keeps them from tangling.

[FUBAR1]

The outside planer board runs in echelon to the middle and inside boards. I set the boards up so I can trip the line loose and let it float back and swing behind the boat, then reel in the fish without bringing in the other lines. If I ran the outside line deeper than the middle and inside lines I couldn't do that. The image below is from Chip Gross' book Trolling Big-Water Walleye. It's a good read and I recommend it! Another good reference book is Walleye Trolling by Ross Robertson.

I also recommend watching Fishing 411 with Mark Romanack. He does a great job teaching walleye trolling. I posted a few below but he has more.

The Fall Eyes of Lake Erie - YouTube
Ready for a Fall Walleye Brawl - YouTube

[Doug Lewis]

thank you

[Parris Island]

Thanks for taking the time to reply and for the detailed information.

[FUBAR1]

No problem! Semper Fi