New Member- trolling questions

[skipper9]

Fist off I have to say how impressed with all of the willingness to help others I see in this forum.
I will be fishing Erie for my first time from S. Bass Island from 4/11-4/19 and have some trolling questions. At first I assumed we would be trolling RR 800s and DHJ-12s pretty much exclusively but I am starting to wonder about pulling spinners with crawlers.

1. When trolling cranks do guys prefer mono or braid?
2. When does the spinner/crawler bite tend to pick up?
3. When pulling spinners, in-line weights or snap weights. Formula to figure out depth for either method... (New technique for me, lots of questions)

Each morning when I wake up I check my count down time to make sure it says I are 1 day closer. If anyone is willing to set up a phone call I'd love to hash it over to help scratch the itch. PM me if interested. Thanks in advance.

reef runners and husky jerks will be the ticket.. I dont run anything else till the water temp is above 50 degrees. Give me a call and i will give you all the info you will need to fill your cooler in april. I will share with you the program, location where i will be fishing those days. 614.327.7144

[ebijack]

I go by water temp, if it is 50 degrees or above I run both cranks on one side and harnesses on the other till the fish let me know which is a better selection for the day. But typically April is still going to be cranks due to water temp. And I start out at .8 MPH to a max of 1.4 MPH in the colder water. Slow "S" turns will help you dial in the correct speed. Around the Islands, 35, 55, 65 back with 1 oz inlines a 3 oz bottom bouncer off one corner ( no board) should cover the water column for you at that time of year as a starting point if your going to run inlines. 5 more foot of line out with a 1 oz inline is usually only a couple of feet deeper so while looking for biters keep it simple till you find at least a couple of biters, then you can adjust to dial the exact number in. When the sun get high the walleye typically rise up in the water column since the sun is warming that part of the column. So if you were getting bites at 55 back and the sun comes up high in the sky and bright, start shortening your line out numbers. I've taken plenty of walleye with only 8-10 ft of line out behind the board using 1 oz inlines in the spring. Even in 45 FOW. Typically the largest walleye of the day is on the high line. I run my deepest baits closer to the boat, shallowest the farthest away from the boat.

[Hoytman86]

Do you gentleman have a color preference on the Tru Trips? I wouldn't mind giving them a go this year, zebras mussels are a pain.

[high noon]

I run all black. I even paint mine flat black, both dipsey's & divers. Some say it doesn.t matter I think it does. Just my opinion.

[SPOONFEEDER]

I think I have orange, red, smoked, and clear tru-trips. They All catch fish.

[wakina]

I think I have orange, red, smoked, and clear tru-trips. They All catch fish.

Add purple and that assortment would be my assortment also. I agree they all catch fish. I like them unpainted so I can see if they are leaking. Have had jets leak before but so far not the TT divers.

[high noon]

I like black, on all my divers,& dypsey's. I go one step further paint them flat black. Just my opion

[Meat Wagon]

Thanks guys for all the input it will definitely come into play when we make our game plan.

Skipper9- I will definitely take you up on that. I may give you a ring here in a week or two just to make sure I have the basics covered- thank you.

One last question: MONO OR BRAID????

[SPOONFEEDER]

I run 30lb slick8 power pro braid.

[skipper9]

I run 30lb slick8 power pro braid.

I run the same line... great line