Fishing Goal For Summer 2004

[MINK TRAPPER]

I have set a goal for myself for this summer of catching my limit (6) saugeye , but here is the catch I want to do it TROLLING crankbaits . I want to do it in my big boat which has a 225 Merc on the back which will troll at 2.3 mph .The flats where everyone is catching them is 9 to 14 ft deep . I can pull up on this flat and cast jigs or spoons and catch my limit in a short time most days . So I know the fish are there plus other guys are catching these fish trolling . I have line counter reels on trolling rods with 20 pd fireline on them what lures should I try and how much line should I let out .

[ChadM]

Not sure about the 20# fireline but on 10/4 fireline I can get a #5 or #7 Shad Rap RS down with less than 70 yards out. Others to try are

Deep Diving Little Rippers
RipShad
Storm Deep Jr Thunderstick

[Smitty]

I like the jointed Shad Raps (Fire Crawdad is one of my personal go-to's) in that scenario. With a #5 you should need to start around 80-130' back (9-14' is a pretty wide range to be more specific), but at that point I just try to "feel the bottom" and then bring it back in a bit until it stops bouncing.

[MINK TRAPPER]

Should I get rid of the 20 pd fireline / I had 10 pd Mono but I have lost a few crankbaits to snags .

[Smitty]

I personally like the fireline, but once you find bottom you gotta bring it up in fairly short order. Only thing in trolling with Fireline is set the drag LOOSE (can easily pull it out with 2 fingers when trolling) and tighten as needed when bringing in the fish.

[SUPERTROLLER]

If others are catching fish and seem to be trolling slower, you can shift in and out of gear to stall and speed up your lures. Your other option would be to pull trolling bags to slow your speed. You can also troll in an "S" pattern to stall out your inside boards for a short period of time. When you straighten out and start moving straight again, the lures will accelerate away from the fish after hanging there in their face and trigger strikes. You might also add some Hot-N-tots to your lure category. Will like those alot and they track well at 2.3 mph or faster. ReefRunner lures might not like the added speeds you are limiting yourself with by trolling with the big motor exclusively. Long lines and spread boards will help at the depths you plan to target and as Smitty said, keep the drags loose and never ever set the hook with Fireline. They will "set" the hook themselves with a no-stretch line. Just reel them in and keep tension on them. I use 30# test all the time for everything. Power Pro and Fireline.

[MINK TRAPPER]

I am going to give it a try tomorrow . Double jointed shad rap and Bandit 200 and 300 series plus Bomber 6a is 2.3 to fast water temp is 78 to 80 degrees .

[Smitty]

2.3 certainly shouldn't be too fast, but as others have said vary your speed using S-turns, etc and let the fish tell you what they want. We consistently catch sauger running 2.5-2.7 on the Mississippi.

Good luck in adding yet another tool to your arsenal!!

[MINK TRAPPER]

Well I caught 9 Saugeye trolling no big ones but 6 that were over 15 inches and the largest 18 inches . All of them came on 300 series Bandit in Chart/pearlwhite adn Purple with a white belly . I had to pull my 225 Merc into neutral to make them hit but the fireline worked great they all were in 10 ft of water . So I was running my lures 95 ft back , they were really smacking it . First time on a lake other than Erie that I have caught my limit trolling . Now I want to go after the big pigs . Any suggestions on how to catch the big ones ?