What's an acceptable distance to run your lures behind the boat when trolling for Muskie and what type of lure might work this time of year in a large river system?

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish with the lure. Most lures will dive deeper and deeper with more line out until you hit the critical depth and then the line will plane them back toward the surface. My 6500 reels let out 22 feet of line for one complete cycle of line back and forth and my 7000 reels let out 33 feet, so I start with a known amount of line out and if the lure isn't running at the depth I want I just let out more or reel in more until its correct. Then after you reel in to check the lure for weeds or catch a fish, you can easily return to the same depth.

You can use downriggers and divers and leadcore and snap weights and on and on but the most simple presentation is always the best in my opinion. All the tackle for getting the lures deeper quicker has their place and time where they will outfish a clean lure, but if you
don't need them don't use them.

My average line out for musky lures is about 60 feet but I have gone to 150 feet and have fished in as close as 20 feet. I know of a multitude of articles written over the years that mention lures in as close as 6 feet from the rod tip so I wouldn't worry if that is what you need to do to attain the depth you want.

I believe the most important thing is to worry about the lure depth, not the amount of line out.

The least amount of line for me has been 15' of line. I have also caught fish with 10' of line behind a planer board. It all depends on how deep you want to run your bait, what bait you are running, the structure you are trolling, how fast and how precise you need to do it.

If I fish the channel edges, one side usually tapers in 2 steps, from 2 or 3 ft of water along the reed edges to 7 to 8ft along the first step then 8 to 12 ft before dropping into the channel. The deep side of the river has steep banks and drops from shore to 25, 30ft deep just 20ft from shore. The flats and bays average 7 to 10ft deep. A few places drop right of to 30ft right along the reed edge on both sides of the river.

Aside from the action of the bait, you want to consider the baitfish. You want to match their depth. You have to consider water clarity carefully. The clearer the water, the greater the liklihood you'll have to put your baits back further. On the other hand, under stained water conditions, you get run your baits short. AND, I do mean SHORT!!!! You can catch muskies in stained water on lines so short, that your friends will consider having you put into one of those funny white coats with the long white sleeves that tie at the back. How short? I have repeatedly had muskies strike baits that are within 6 feet of the boat or less. I have had muskies hit baits with only 3-4 feet of line separating the lure and rod tip.

There really isn't a right or wrong answer to your question. Different conditions, water clarity, and baitfish activity will dictate. Don't be afraid to experiment.

Steve Wickens