Fishing Tips

Trolling:

Trolling refers to fishing from a slowly moving boat, trailing line and bait or lures behind. The type of fish sought and the season dictate fishing depth and choice of tackle. Several forms of trolling are described below. As you troll, occasionally zigzag the boat to vary the direction and depth of your tackle in a more natural manner.

Shallow to medium Depth Trolling:

Rapidly (twice normal trolling speed) trolling near shore areas at shallow or medium depths will help you land a musky. In the spring, troll repeatedly over weed beds and other obstructions, in very shallow water- only 3-8 feet deep. By mid-summer the fish will have gone deeper and you will have to concentrate you efforts over drop-offs in water up to 50 feet deep. Be persistent. Muskeys wait for a meal to come to them, so you may have to troll past one several times before coming close enough to provoke a strike.

Troll for smallmouth or largemouth bass in 10 to 30 foot depths during the summer. Use normal speed above submerged weed beds for largemouth, and over rock or gravel bottom for smallmouth bass, as they segregate themselves into these contrasting habitats.

Drifting Or Slow Trolling:

Drift fishing or slow trolling is well suited to fishing for walleye, steelhead, and brown trout. Use the same basic slow trolling setup for trout as for walleye, and troll in shallow m near-shore waters.

Walleyes hug the bottom, around submerged bars and rocky areas. To fish them, aim the back of the boat into the wind or at a 90 angle to it. Your line should be strung out 30 to 50 yards behind the boat. Bait should be on the bottom for walleye, in 6 to 30 feet of water (possibly somewhat deeper in midsummer, shallower in spring and fall.) try a zigzag course occasionally; this will alter the baits speed and depth. When going after steelhead or browns keep the bait 4 to 5 feet off the bottom and fish in water 8 to 30 feet deep, concentrating your efforts near peninsulas and stream mouths when fishing for steelhead.

Downrigger Setup:

The beauty of the downrigger is its ability to easily put monofilament line at the great depths you may want for fishing salmon and lake trout. In addition, the quick release clip insures that when a fish takes the lute, your line will break away from the weight, allowing you a weightless line for playing the fish. The downrigger has a counter showing the depth of the weight at all times. The weight and the lure lower simultaneously.

Planers:

In lieu of the downrigger method for taking the lure deep for salmon or trout, you can substitute trolling planes, or planers such as a Pink Lady or a Deep Six. These devices are designed to pull a lure downward as you troll, and to trip when a fish is hooked so that, again, you line is unencumbered as you play the fish.

High Trolling:

In spring and summer, Coho salmon occupy waters with a temperature similar to that preferred by Chinook (53-54f) but Chinook. Coho anglers sometimes use the high trolling setup together with a downrigger or a conventional trolling chug up to 7 mph. Coho are usually taken within 10 miles of shore, and from 20 to 40 feet below the surface. With Coho remain trick is to find themonce you do, theyll bite.

Deep Trolling On Bottom:

Trolling deeper waters, with for lake trout, and running 10 to 15 feet abouve bottom for Chinook salmon often take lake trout and Chinook salmon. Most angles prefer the downrigger method for deep trolling. The next best approach is the wire line method. When downrigger trolling deeper than 30 feet, the lure should be at least 50 feet behind your boat. If you are downrigger fishing at less than 30 feet of depth. Keep the 100 or more feet behind the boat. In this method, you let out enough line so you can feel the bottom, than wind the reel one or two times.

Bobbing Or Chugging:

Bobbing is effective in cold and or deep waters when fish are not actively foraging. Bobbing works best when done form an anchored boat or through a hole in the ice. This method uses simple inexpensive tackle, and leys you know where you are fishing relative to the bottom. You can use a hand held, short pole or simply hold the line on a spool (many hold one in each hand!). Raise and lower the line methodically, from a few inches to a foot or more. Whether to keep the bait mobbing in a fist, frequent fashion or use a slower, joggling method is a matter of great debate; try them both to see which works for you.

In these days of expensive boat fuel, bobbing from a stationary boat has the added attraction of helping you sane energy and money.

In order to tempt bottom fish such as walleyes, bass, menominees, and lake white fish, try: crawling your bait along the bottom as you move along slowly. This can be done using a slip-sinker rig followed by a small bobber which will keep the bait near, but off , the bottom and moving in a natural fashion. Alternately, you can anchor and still-fish, casting out your bait and letting it settle to the bottom. Once a fish takes it youll feel the tension on the line. Give a little line and than tighten up.