Perch and no Walleye 5/28/2013

[Drifter]

Waited for the big storm to pass that really was just a little rain. Trolled west of north bass starting about 9:30 AM. I am very new to trolling, but there was no wind. Pulled weapons on jets and stinger spoons on dipseys. Nothing but large white bass. Moved to south of gull shoal and marks were not there. (Marks weren't Great west of north bass). Switched to perch in 48 feet of water. Got 60 nice ones with three guys before wind broke the anchor loose.

[slimshady]

Did you try pulling the weapons and the spoons at the same time? If so, that might be part of your problem. Typically, those are done at different speeds. I normally troll my spinners at 1 - 1.5 mph with 1 - 2 oz. in-line weights. I run some out behind off-shore boards and some straight back. The ones that are straight back, I normally run deeper than the ones out to the sides. I pull spinners with a Terrova iPilot, which allows you to get very precise with the speeds, etc. If you can't do that, you might want to run a couple drift socks to help dial-in the speeds. If I am pulling spoons and jets or mini-disks, I will use my kicker to push along with the terrova for steering and precise speed changes. With spoons, I will typically troll anywhere from 1.8 - 2.5 mph.

In that particular area (West Reef), we have done best by running the outside board pretty shallow (10-15 feet back with a 1 oz, which is maybe 5-7 feet down and running it up onto the edge of the reef while trolling along the side (try to go mostly downwind).

Some days, 90% of the fish will come from the boards. Other days the boat rods will do well. It really depends if they are high in the water column or not. When they are up high, it is very tough to catch them straight behind the boat, as the boat seems to spook high fish out to the sides.

If you are pulling boards with spinners and meat, it is critical to have the spring loaded "tattle flags" on your boards. If you are pulling spoons, I normally just leave my reels on clicker and have the drag just tight enough so the board won't pull it out. That way, when a fish hits, you will hear the reel click. It usually clicks even for smaller fish.

[slimshady]

I forgot to add that when there is no wind, they are usually very high in the water column (top 10 feet). In this case, boards are critical, and you need to run your baits very high and farther to the sides.