Best Trolling Rig For Walleye?

[FishManDan]

Oh and I had fished it 20 months in a row on Erie catching fish each month.

Here is more from Tuesday

[katiesofia]

Originally Posted by Walleyenovice1

Hi - I'm planning to start trolling for walleye in the coming weeks, and would like to get a recommendation on the best rig(s) to use. I got some lindy weights, and was planning to set up a lindy rig, but are there better options I should consider?

Choosing a trolling rig for Walleye is not as easy as picking out a spinning or baitcasting reel and rod. There are many lure choices to choose from, such as stick baits, plugs, soft baits, and spinnerbaits. These different types of baits all have their best type of trolling speed. Stickbaits need a slower speed where they can dart off in random directions to excited the fish more often, while plugs want to go at least slowly at first then ramp it up when you get on some bites depending on the plug (bullets should be trolled faster than say a DD minnow), slow sinkers work better with faster speeds so they can reach deeper depths quickly.

[katiesofia]

Hi,
- 40 lb Copper Wire (or the weight of your choice)
- 4 AA Dumbbells at 10 lbs each (or the weight of your choice)
- 2 Split Rings, size 5 or 6 - Size does not matter as lengths are variable.
- Hook 1: Must be a heavy wire hook that will hold bait but does not puncture the skin outside a bait sac if possible.
- Hook 2: Must be strong enough to maintain adequate tension on a snag and can coil cable in slack areas without snapping blank or bending the rod.
Several types of materials work well for choosing an appropriate hook, including stainless steel, titanium coated hooks, composite hooks made from plastics such as ABS thermoplastic poly.

[Bob/MN]

Originally Posted by Walleyenovice1

Hi - I'm planning to start trolling for walleye in the coming weeks, and would like to get a recommendation on the best rig(s) to use. I got some lindy weights, and was planning to setup a lindy rig, but are there better options I should consider?

My go to rig on shield lakes is a bottom bouncer with a floater smile spinner with a slow roll hook.

I tie all my own spinner rigs.

On occasions is will use a Lindy Rig with floating jig head. For the most I use a crawler for bait.

[musicman]

If you're not tying your own, but buying, here is a September 2021 customer report I received:

Finally made it to Canada the past week. 4 of us tested Painted Back Rigs on walleyes on Cherrington Lake (Ontario). The fishermen were from Iowa, Washington DC, Utica NY and myself. The most walleyes were caught on these rigs. They beat out Jigs, Floating Jigs, Plastic and some other rigs. Last night I took out one fellow for about an hour and he caught 20 nice fish. He had never fished with a worm harness. He and his DC friends were so impressed. - K. Finney

[waldowillie]

Originally Posted by Walleyenovice1

Hi - I'm planning to start trolling for walleye in the coming weeks, and would like to get a recommendation on the best rig(s) to use. I got some lindy weights, and was planning to setup a lindy rig, but are there better options I should consider?

I wish there was a SINGLE best rig to always use so it could of saved me spending thousands of $ on the hundreds of rigs that are sometimes the best rig to be using.

[AllenW]

About a 7 foot medium action fast tip rod, 8 or 10# mono with a swivel and 6 or 8# test leader (2 # under main line) and 1/4 oz or lighter jigs.

Al