Trolling for walleye is the best method for finding them much of their range. Although trolling is more useful during summer, it gives an efficient approach for fishing. It is essential to know how to explore for walleyes before go for fishing. To be a better walleye troller, you may have to spend countless hours on practice and research.
The learning fishing technique has no limits. Keep your mind open and learn new things about trolling every second. To know the basic trolling setups, you can also consult with an experienced angler.
I went for walleye trolling after when I am confident about myself. I failed and failed but did not get hopeless. Here I am going to share with you my experience that surely helps you with trolling.
Walleye Trolling for Beginners: Tips and Guides
Checkout the tips and guidance to have a perfect walleye fishing experience using the best setup.
Fishing Gears and Setup for Catching Up with Speed
Without the proper gear, you cannot go deep into trollies. The reel and rods should be accurate for walleyes. The rod should hit perfect length and depth. Also, the lining measurement should be proper. Perfect gear gives you a better result, and you won’t have to be tensed about trolling.
Fishing Rod to Use
Tolling setup should be advance wherever you go for fish. Take a couple of rods with you to understand which rods will be perfect for the place and condition. On a excellent troll rod, go for the length. If you want to take four rods, take two big and two small sizes.
The big rod’s size should be around 10 feet, and small ones are 5 to 6 feet. However, 8 feet rods work better too. Make 3-way rigs at the short rods. Use the snap weight on short rods.
Keep a long line in long rods. For setup, spread the two big rods around the boat and angle with the short rods. That means keep the long rods in outside and short rods are inside. Make sure the rods are not tangling when you run the boats or floats.
You can also use more rods for trolling. Keep the lines away from the boats. The rods should be medium-light so you can see the light ticks happening at the bottom.
Trolling Reels for Better Strength
For trolling reels, you have to prefer the line counters. It is filling the bottom and getting the crankbait to have a link on the revolution. If the bait is running 100 feet on the line counter and running a foot off, repeat the process to get into trolling. Do get yourself a line counter period.
The mainline should be12 to 15 pounds (maximum 20) braided line. Another essential factor of the reel is a perfect drag in the water.
The trolling reels should be of acceptable quality and be maintained like oiled regularly. Otherwise, dragging would be a problem.
Choose a reel that you can drag smoothly. The excellent quality reels are not that expensive. Before buying the reels, check the line counter and drag system.
Fishing Line to Use
Depending on what type of setup you are using for walleye fishing, choose the best line for it. For the trolling method, the best test line is 8 to 10 lbs for braided line, 6 to 8 lbs for monofilament, 10 to 12 lbs for fluorocarbon, and 12 to 18 lbs for lead core line.
Although it is better to use the thinnest line so the crankbaits can dive in deeper depth, in this case, the braided line is best. But if you want to fish in shallow, non-snaggy areas, the monofilament line works better for pitching jigs. However, it drops lower in the fresh water.
You can increase the line pound depending on the chance of snags. If you use a monofilament line, use it as colorful as possible so the bites will be visible. Change the monoline occasionally. If you use the thinnest string, the chances of losing cranks will be less. Please avoid using the slippery line as it frays quickly.
How to Troll for Walleye in Shallow Water
Crankbaits are the most versatile lures for walleye trolling. They can easily match the hatch. Using this style of lures depends on where you go for angling these species. For example, in spring, small Salmo Hornets are the best crankbaits for angling trolling. In some places, long stick lures are more effective.
Also, the color of the bait should be natural for a clean environment. For shallow water, use bright color baits. So taking different color lures will be a good idea.
Collect various sizes, colors, and different style lures so you will not run out soon and find out which lures work in a different situation. Also, they should be perfectly tuned for various speeds. Some of the most effective crankbaits are,
- Rapala Shad Rap
- Cotton Cordell Wally Diver
- Crystal Minnow Deep Diver
- Strike King Red Eye Shad Bait
- Rapala Original Floating
- Reef Runner Deep Diver
- Berkley Flicker Shad etc.
Walleye Trolling Speed
Trolling speed varies throughout the year. In cold weather, the rate should be slower, and it increases when the water warms up. The pace depends on the situation too. These species are finished their spawning at the starting of the summer.
They will be tired and won’t chase the hard to catch bait. So keep the pace as low (at least one mph) as possible.
Walleyes are aggressive in the summer. They chase the baitfish or crank item in fast-paced mood, so you have to use a high-paced trigger. To play with the mood, use three mph. If they chase jig for a long distance, the speed could be low or high.
A crawler harness is best for measuring the momentum. Use blades when the speed is between .5 and 1.5 mph. Most of the crankbaits are designed for 2 mph pace. But you can use them at a lower and higher pace too. Sometimes 4 mph shows promising results.
Sometimes the current requires a higher trolling pace. 3 to 4 mph is best for trolling in the current. So there is no fixed trolling tempo for anglers. They have to change it when it’s not working.
Trolling Rod Holders
A good rod holder creates a vital role for chasing. Choose a rod holder that you can pull in the direction. Side or flush-mounted rod holders are also suitable for chasing different freshwater fishes in different seasons. Rods that can easily pull up and make the fish landing easy.
Trolling for Walleyes with Planner Board
Trolling with a planer board is a terrific and exciting method. Knowing how to use a planner board is not that difficult. Before running the planer board, keep the rod up straightly, so the rod won’t be dragging. Attach a flag to get a better view. The banner increases the visibility so you can see the dragging.
Change the planner board space sometimes so the fish can hit the board. Keep the panel behind the rod so you can bring it straight to the boat when needed. If you do not want to use multiple planer boards, start with one piece. For calm weather, use a small planer board. But if you use a more giant jig, a big planer board would match.
There are some red clips on the planner board that helps to use more angling line. Buy a board that has a tension release clip. The tension release clip prevents the line from slipping.
Rigging the Fishes
Using snap weight for fish chasing is very useful. You can use it directly to the water column. Just take the weight to your line. For shallow water, snaps weight works better. The leader length should be accurate.
Select at least 21 to 25 feet of leader and 25 feet line for the snap weight for fishing from the shore. Remember, you have to keep the snap weight away from baits; otherwise, the walleyes won’t be trapped easily.
Snap weight makes the fish landing easy. Taking off the clip is simple here. 3-way swivels are also useful for trolling. Here 10 lb. of Fluorocarbon line are works better. To make the lure downing first, keep the snap weight 4 to 5 oz. the line could go at least 45 degrees down.
Although this technique won’t work much in clear water, the fish can easily spook. But this is a great way to catch lots of fish.
To put the cranks deeper, reel more and more so the crankbait will be bouncing better. Keep the rds inside on the boat so they cannot be a tangle.
Lead core Trolling (troll deep for walleye)
Every mid-summer or early fall, the walleyes goes at least 25-40 feet deep in the water. In this case, you have to maintain some things such as using big-lipped baitfish from shore action. It is the biggest bait that can dive well at the deep water.
Using snap weights are also works well for deep water fishes. Using lead core is another useful technique for deep walleye trolling.
You can troll at the deepest basin with a lead core. You have to change the angling setup here. Using a long leader and biggest reel is mandatory for deep fishes.
The lead core has 8 colored lines, and every color is 5 feet long. In this way, you can count the depth easily. Downing, the small lures with the lead core are simple. So, summer and fall fishing, lead core technique is perfectly matched.
Using Trollmaster
Troll master is a remote system that attaches with a kicker motor. This device can control the pace and RPMs while searching fishes. You don’t have to try the throttle all day if you have one.
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