For the 2nd straight year I bring a Mille Lacs virgin (Mike), let alone a trolling virgin out and he takes all our $.
We rigged / bobbered from 3:30 – 6pm Sloppy Joes, 5 Mile, Izaty’s & Spirit with nothing to show (never marked a thing either) for it but some needed miles and gas through the Triton.
We started trolling on the SW side around 6:45 to get the “virgin” used to things. About an hour into it I get the first, a 18″ box fish. 15 minutes later and within 30 feet of the first fish, last year’s virgin Chris gets a 18.5″ to get the lead for biggest. Another 30 minutes passes and Chris now has the biggest and most with another box fish, a 17″ this time. At this point Mike is starting to doze off when he hooks one, a good battle later I put the net to a fat 25 1/2″ walleye. It was fat as you can see from the pictures (2nd Picture) (Mike is 6’4″). These four fish all came on shad style baits in perch & some brown / green (monkey puke?) color. Between 1.4 – 1.6 mph, I was experimenting with the big motor and a drift sock at this time so noise was no concern to them.
Another hour passes with no fish and we move a little further South with the other boats and within 2 minutes I pull another keeper. This time on a Husky Jerk in Lazer Craw Red. Chris puts another one on the board at 22 1/4″. Mike then takes over the lead for most and puts a few ore fish in the boat in the matter of 5 minutes. All keepers between 17″ – 19″.
In the end we ended up with 11 walleyes. 25 1/2, 22 1/4, 22 & 20 1/8″ and 7 box fish. 4 fish came on the edge of 17″ of water as we trolled by in 12″ (steep drop) on shad style. 7 fish came on husky jerk (Lazer Craw & Firetiger) in 12″ of water. All fish came trolling between 1.4 – 1.6mph. We didn’t go slower or faster but from what I have read a little faster speeds (1.7 – 1.9) folks ended with bigger fish.
Not too many S-turns and in fact Mike was running his lures staright out the back and he wasnt’t really surging the bait at all as Chris & I were. Most of our fish came unbuttoned right as they hit the net (short strikes?). We did have one 14″ take two of the trebbles of a HJ14 in his mouth (open wide). We did stay away from other boats for the most part all night. I didn’t see too many flashes going off but I did see a few headlights pop on and off.
Wish I had more time to get up there but with a week in Spain for school I just can’t. I am saying my prayers for a night trip in November.
Good luck and stay safe. 
