Basic trolling set up question

[ffishman]

If you need to slow the boat down, and are looking for a cheap way out, get yourself a couple of 5 gal buckets. Cut a 3" hole in the bottom and drag 1 or 2 depending on speed. As for depth, the easiest way it with down riggers. As a matter fact I have a couple for sale, cheap. Let me know if you are interested, PM me.

[shell_guy]

Up here in the great white north, the preferred method of trolling with with a BB rig. I find it quite interesting that down south the walleye go for cranks, up here there is almost zero chance of catching an eye on a crank. It's BB (0.75-1.5mph) lindy rigs drifting, or jigs to catch walleye.


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[hnd]

i'm a trolling noob and i use the cabelas trolling combos. i troll the mississippi. mine are 7'6" MH. and they work good. we don't lose many fish. we troll mostly flickershads/flickerminnows and shad raps. i use a trolling weigh about 20 ' up if i need to get down lower than 12'.

my trolling is done on long straight stretches but i still like to keep the baits closer to the boat.

[MarkG]

Originally Posted by hnd

i'm a trolling noob and i use the cabelas trolling combos. i troll the mississippi. mine are 7'6" MH. and they work good. we don't lose many fish. we troll mostly flickershads/flickerminnows and shad raps. i use a trolling weigh about 20 ' up if i need to get down lower than 12'.

my trolling is done on long straight stretches but i still like to keep the baits closer to the boat.

Would you have a specific recommendation on what type/ brand of weights to get those shads deeper?

[2sac]

Originally Posted by ffishman

If you need to slow the boat down, and are looking for a cheap way out, get yourself a couple of 5 gal buckets. Cut a 3" hole in the bottom and drag 1 or 2 depending on speed. As for depth, the easiest way it with down riggers. As a matter fact I have a couple for sale, cheap. Let me know if you are interested, PM me.

How far behind the boat do I drag them? Big motor is 225hp and idle speed is 4mph. Will the buckets slow me down enough?

[Waxy]

Originally Posted by shell_guy

Up here in the great white north, the preferred method of trolling with with a BB rig. I find it quite interesting that down south the walleye go for cranks, up here there is almost zero chance of catching an eye on a crank. It's BB (0.75-1.5mph) lindy rigs drifting, or jigs to catch walleye.

That's definitely NOT the case in my area of the great white north. Pulling cranks is deadly on the prairie lakes and reservoirs.

Waxy

[GeorgeJr]

Note what lake or depth your planning on fishing and time of year as this will help ID what you need as well.

Winnebago for example is shallow but lots of walleyes to be had. Green Bay has the bigger ones and much deeper as well. Winnebago you don't need any weight to get most lures to depth or just a small 1/4-1/2 oz at most but if you have a 1 oz that works too. The bay having 1 oz in line keel weights is helpful and minimal cost. Add a leader to your lure and your in business.

You don't need line counters but they do make metered line or ripping out same amount of line is important to repeat what is working, could even put slip bobber stops on key lengths w/o the bead to give you a better indicator on line out and repeatable. Your C3 I'm assuming are 5500 reels. Plenty of line capacity. Revo you should be fine but if needed run Braid line if capacity is an issue. Add a mono leader to give you some stretch and back off drags some with braided line. Also DON'T set the hook when trolling. Reel in slow and always keep pressure on the fish to avoid it tossing the hook. Smooth and slow is best. Have a net handy to land fish.

14 lb XL line Mono will get you the same Dia as the 10 XT and all the dive curve data if you want to re-spool as it is the same dia as 10xt and at least when someone says Run 30 ft back on a flicker 5 you will be able to get close to the same approach. I've trolled with my Musky rods and PP 80 line and caught walleye but remember to keep the drag loose. First year I didn't have any trolling gear, 2nd and 3rd year I do but almost all my fishing is trolling now.

Depending on # of lines you can run alter as your allowed.

6 lines is plenty to start with (work from 4 first) and running a 4-5 line spread is fairly easy.
2 flat line rods straight out the side and tips close to water if you can. Longer rods are better and sensitive tip is fine you will be able to see if lure / bouncer is hitting bottom or fowled up watching the tips action. Even if these never catch fish you learn a lot by watching these rods tips.
2 in line planner boards 1 out each side (R and L version for example) Can work up to 4 or 6 fairly easy but boards add up quick for $. Start small isn't a bad idea. 6 board and snagging bottom you will wish you had 6 on board to help clean up the mess. ;-)
1 rod down the middle of the boat tip up and let out 100 ft or more line. If wanting more lines out w/o too much problems.
If you get 4 planner boards I wouldn't run one out the middle as you can often get 2,3,4 fish on at the same time and not having to clear a path to bring them into the net is handy.


Flicker Shads are fairly cheap and they flat out catch walleye. Size 5 for most lakes or 7's if going to bigger water like Green Bay for starters. Check local shops on colors but some natural color and some fire tiger, clown/wonder bread always put some fish in the boat. I hardly pull crawler harnesses because well.... Those darn flicker shads and minnows keep producing but crawler harnesses are cheap to make yourself or buy and only needs some worms and bottom bouncers. Super easy to catch mixed bag of fish on flickers and don't need worms so I would start with that route.

Planner Boards. Get a couple inline planner boards. Get the large ones as better to big then too small. For starters 1 left and 1 right would get you a nice small spread. I picked up on line Opti's for 18 bucks with tattle flags and they work great but Church, Offshore or Opti are all good units. Put your name and # on them in case you loose one. I never have yet but will happen at some point if you don't put your name on them.

Rod holders... Get 1 more then you have lines out so you can move a flat line rod around to keep it fishing while bring in one fish. Think your boat was a Lund they make a bracket so no drilling your boat and easy to leave in or remove. Scotty Powerlock rod holders are very strong (used for Musky trolling) and easy on the pocket book and easy to store when not in use. Non trolling we use for kids rods if they get tired or dead sticking for perch.

Trolling motor is more then enough for your boat. Good batteries and you should have 5-8 hours of trolling on semi big water. Might look into Trollbridge36 which allows your main motor to charge up your trolling batteries on the water and extends trolling time and reduces deep discharges. For a few times not needed but could extend life of those batteries.

Running Flicker shad and other similar baits depending on water temps 1.5 - 2.1 MPH is plenty. You can go faster and look for fish but 1.8 is a good starting speed if water temps are warmer. Don't go in a straight line but curve back and forth and change speed some as well. If the fish hit the inside board they are telling you to slow down a bit on speed. Outside hit on a turn speed up some. Changing speed helps as well. Here are some of my favorites. flicker shad and minnows, SR07, Salmo hornets, Hot n Tot/Rat n tot... BTW this can get expensive if you allow it to. Fleet Farm often has 3 pack of Flicker shads on Sale for 7.99 which is a good price. Normally 10.99 for a 3 pack.

Crawler harnesses you use bottom bouncers. I'm no expert on as I have made a ton of them with my boys but too much fun catching and covering water with crank baits. Takes a bit to get the feel of how much line to let out and avoid dragging bottom as you only want to tick it every now and then. For starters might avoid this at first as you get a feel for trolling with crank baits. Adding it later is minimal cost and you will want to slow down say .8-1.2 mph.

Note on Crank baits I've caught White Bass on a line with it dancing on top of the water by the outboard and on a rod I was letting line out and got too busy to set the drag. Bass, walleye, northern, crappie... all can be caught using crank baits. That is way I suggest starting with this method. You also cover more water so you can find fish quicker. Don't be afraid to have one line ticking bottom if not too snaggy.... Good way to trigger walleye as you come over a reef. Every 30 mins check your lines for weeds and also check to be sure crank bait is running straight. Tweak eye of bait to adjust till they run true. Most flickers out of the box are very good but you can't say that about all baits. Fish hits can cause it to bend also.

20 ft down just add a 1 oz keel inline weight will be plenty. Flicker Minnows dive deeper and both flicker minnows and shad have dive charts on the package to help you start out as well. Don't put a trolling plate on that big motor I hate holes on outboards. You will absolutely love trolling with the 36v trolling motors and having a remote is very helpful or a long ext cable if electric steering which you have. Lots of control when pulling from the front of your boat.

Ask questions and PM. before long you will be sharing your knowledge with others. Tight lines.

BTW I'm in the same boat as you but for Salmon now. 1 hr away from Lake MI and friend smoked salmon has me hooked. Darn lead core / wire reels start adding up in cost as well. I'll prob only fish a handful of times as well but any time on the water is better then time doing honey do lists items. Family, Farming, Fishing the 3 F for fun! Hunting too of course to round out the spring and fall. ;-)