Trolling for Muskies

[Renegade]

I've been fishing Muskies for 12 years and cast about 95% of the time. I've tried trolling occasionally however I've had very little success and since I would rather cast I do not troll very often. I am now going to troll, and do it effectively so I was wondering if I could get some pointers from people who do troll. I know the basics such as trolling slower during cold water periods and increasing speeds as the water warms. I've heard of people speed trolling and that it can be very effective however exactly how fast is speed trolling (5-6 mph???) or is it more? I've also heard of people prop wash trolling. How effective is it and when should you prop wash troll? How far behind the boat would you run your baits when propwash trolling and how far to the side would you run your baits from the prop wash? Are planning boards any good? When would you use them? If anyone can get me up to speed on some of these questions I would really appreciate it.

[Lund AnglerMJ]

Hey Renegade,how successfull have you been casting so much? Is it the reason to change? I've done alot of trolling in my past,and it's been very good to me. Most time's,it's contour trolling,and mid-lake trolling.Zig-zag the depths,and follow the old channel in a resevior.I've done well,hitting sometimes nowhere spots,that connect to shoreline structure,in some way. Humps,or points have some funnel-type effect to bring bait to spots we seem to go right by. Look for a spot with weeds to the drop off,where they go right to the edge,and troll by it. Cast it too. Also you ask about speed,YES. Use it,as any tool. Don't rely on it as the only trick,but one that a sunny day may give you a decent fish,when no other's come to the boat.Troll into the dark. It's been memorable to me. My boat has seen some dandys at dusk,or at 9:00/10:00 at night. Get out a Suick and try trolling it. Every once in a while,say 3-4 seconds,pull it. Yank may be more what I mean.Then turn the boat,to the left,and yank,and turn to the right.Throw it in neutral,and let the bait's rise to the top.Crank as fast as you can. This works.Something irradic.Crazy. Make something happen.Sometimes when the jet-skis are zippen' by,use that irratic troll to put one in the net.See you at the lake!

[MuskieKid]

Here's an article on planer use for you; http://www.toothycritters.com/planerboards.html

During these hot water times you might try looking for suspended fish below bait schools. You can find the schools with your depthfinder or look for dimples on top of the water. Then troll below them. In my (very clear) lake I've also had success by trolling along the first (18') and secondary (30') drop-offs. Due to the very clear water, the weeds come out to the edge of the first drop-off. In addition, this lake is loaded with underwater trees that come fairly close to the surface. Trolling thru the tops of those trees gets me a fish now and then. You need a fairly weedless type lure for this. Again, I like the straight Believers for this. Recently, I've been experiementing with "8" Party Crashers (Hellbender type lures) and had some luck. They go deep quickly and are very weedless. The last time I bought some, I got them from Smokey's Muskellunge Shop Online Catalong. Good lures at reasonable prices.

I've had most of my success trolling with 8" straight Believers. Any color is good as long as it's Perch.




visit my non-commercial website: http://www.toothycritters.com

[Skyman]

>I've been fishing Muskies for 12 years and cast about 95% of
>the time. I've tried trolling occasionally however I've had
>very little success and since I would rather cast I do not
>troll very often. I am now going to troll, and do it
>effectively so I was wondering if I could get some pointers
>from people who do troll. I know the basics such as
>trolling slower during cold water periods and increasing
>speeds as the water warms. I've heard of people speed
>trolling and that it can be very effective however exactly
>how fast is speed trolling (5-6 mph???) or is it more?

My most effective speeds are between 3 & 6 mph. Speed trolling in my book is from 6 mph to 10 mph. I caught my largest doing almost 10 mph.

I've
>also heard of people prop wash trolling. How effective is
>it and when should you prop wash troll?

I only find propwash trolling to be effective when in shallow or near weed lines or shoals. Totally ineffective for open water trolling

How far behind the
>boat would you run your baits when propwash trolling and how
>far to the side would you run your baits from the prop wash?

Anywhere from 3' to 20' back. I find right in the wash but slightly below it or slightly to the side the most effective.


> Are planning boards any good? When would you use them?

I like planner boards for heavily pressured lakes where the musky are easily spooked or shoals come up quick and to shallow for my boat to safely clear.

[Marc Thorpe]

Renegade,some little tips on rod placement.

One thing I pay attention to is my graph.
Lets me know when to run tight to the boat or spread em apart or drop em back.

If you are marking a fair amount of forage and individual fish,my tendency is to run baits tight to the boat.Tuck your lines in to run along side the jet wash.
If you are not marking alot,drop em back or spread your rods straight out from the sides.

One thing I like to do when running tight lines is run one lure over the transducer.Learn to place that particular bait in the fish faces,shallow or deep.Sometimes you trigger a pike some times you trigger a muskie.

The spread,running your outside lures along the jet wash seems to produce very well when fish are active.Basically,when fish are high in the water column,I run my outside lines tight to the boat along the jet wash.The prop wash rod (center rod),is droped back further behind the wash over the transducer path.

When fish seem to be down in the water column or on the bottom.
I spread my outside rods and drop them back the furthest,let say 20 feet with shallow running baits.My prop wash rod is then tucked in close to the boat lets say 5 to 7 feet in the transducers path.This rod is used to aggrivate fish sitting in structure.Normlay I use a giant crank bait for this rod and beam it at the heads of individual fish laying in cover.The outside rods are further back with smaller baits.
I do beleive fish come up and peek at the wash rod but drop back and see and easy meal with the smaller presentation.
Normaly they are the hot rods when fish are off.

As far as lures go,spinner baits,bucktails,crank baits such as Jakes,beleivers,willeys,Big Ms,Trophy divers and my favorite
CD divers run very well for this water column presentations.There are other baits that are good.These are my troops.

Speeds,best speeds for big fish and you can catch many 50s and 40s is 4.8 to 5.2.Dont ask me why but it seems to be adequate for the big girls to hit.You can catch muskies faster but your are dealing with piss cutters and shakers.The ones that drive the hooks in your hands.
Dont be afraid to drop your speed at 3.5 mph during cold fronts or exessive heat waves.Rule of thumb is there are no rules to speed trolling muskies.

One last tid bit,suicide run your lures into weeds,rock,mud or any scrumptious structure fish may be using.Yes your gonna spend all day cleaning your baits but its worth it.
Hope this info helps a little
Any further question dont be shy to email me ipg99@yahoo.com or post them.

marc