Trolling for Walleye

[rbrown286]

Looking for some advice. I keep my boat at Humbug where should I troll, what speed should I troll and what type of jig should I troll with? I'd be greatful for any advise. Thanks

[spoontang]

Trolling is an aggressive way to fish. generally speaking, the trolling fisherman will out catch the drift/casting fisherman 2 to 1. You simply cover more water and are over more fish. Many feel it is not as rewarding as the alternative. The colder the water, the slower and shollower you will need to go. Right now, 1 to 1.2 mph is perfect in 15-20 fow. When the water hits 60 degrees, you will need to go a little deeper and you can speed up to 2-2.2 mph targeting suspended fish over 30 fow. Use any of the crainkbaits mentioned in the previous post " What crankbaits are hot?". If you have downriggers, use them and fish the depth you are marking fish. If you don't have riggers, use jet divers with spoons. The jet divers are depth specific when you purchase them. ie 20ft,30ft,40ft. I like the 40 footers. To fish 20 fow, just let out less line. I like larger spoons as I lose less fish on them due to a larger hook size. There is such a variety of quality spoons out there. My favorites- Wonderbread, chicken wing, sunkiss, monkey puke, watermellon, mixed vegies, gold perch, to name a few and get you started. Every trolling fisheman should have the book " Precision guide to trolling" on board. It is worth its weight in gold and takes all of the guess work out of trolling. For example, if you have 85 ft of 20lb test(it gives the variable for braid vs mono) out with a down deep husky jerk traveling at 1.9 mph, you will be given the exact depth the lure is running. Every scenario is in there. Good luck and let me know how you do......SPOONTANG

[rbrown286]

Thanks Spoontang. I'll give this a shot. I thought I'd start trolling between Celeron island and the south end of Gross Isle and head for the detroit light. What do you think?

[spoontang]

I'm not familiar with that area. I'm in Port Clinton and fish the reef complex and Island area and often Canada. You will want to target spawning grounds for the next couple of weeks. With a little research and local infromation (bait shops) you should have enough info to start. Every once in a while, you will encounter a generous charter captain that will share. If they don't share, they are not hard to find. You might also get a fish and game report from the state dept. Good luck brother.

[rbrown286]

Thanks again Spoontang!

[spoontang]

I just hit the mother load. A complete 2006 archive of your area with dates, conditions, lure selection etc. http://www.dwfonline.com/Archived%20FR%202006.htm See if that helps

[spoontang]

Play around with that page and you will find current reports and several years of archived reports. Go to the home page and save it in your favorites. It is a great source.