Guys, I’m going to get into musky fishing some this year. I’m getting myself set up to do some speed trolling. Any suggestions? From my understanding you do not need boards at all for Musky as they are not spooked by the wash. Is that correct? Thanks in advance. — Wade
Yes and no…………..
How’s that for an answer?!?!
At times, you drop your bait in the prop wash (say 15 feet back or maybe 20) and it looks like jaws in coming after ya!
The next day, if you don’t have a board out 40 feet to the side………..nothing………..
So, yes, at times……..the propwash / boat will scare fish.
If I were to give percentages of bites in prop wash in comparison to fish long lined behind the boat or on boards/mast………….
I would say 30% shortlined…………70% longlined or boards.
Ideally, I would always have 4 guys in the boat.
1 rod in the wash.
1 rod long lined.
1 rod inside a breakline, on top of weeds with a board.
1 rod over open water, off the break line with a board.
If only 2 guys.
Then 1 rod about 30 feet back (just outside the wash)
Then another rod long lined out back (100 feet)
Good luck! (And don’t let them get to ya!!!!!!!!!!)
Thanks Gary! Any other suggestions for a new Musky angler? Anyone? I know it’s going to cost me a pretty penny to get all set up, so it’ll be a little at a time. Any help is appreciated.
One other thing, when you sit down with a lake map to plan your trolling passes, what are you looking for, as far as structure, etc. I mean? I think I know what to look for if I’m going casting for these big girls, but I’m not so sure what to look for when speed trolling. Any tips? Thanks! 
Twice my friend has taken me speed trolling for muskies in the fall. Both times we hooked into fish. We landed 2 within a 1/2 hour once. Pulled spoon plugs so fast you wouldn’t believe it. I can’t remember the speed but the nose was angled up and it was nothing but white water behind the boat. It took a broomstick stiff pole to handle the pressure. Holding onto the rod was exhausting. That is the extent of my muskie knowledge. Otherwise I don’t fish for them.
wade
if you are going to troll most of the time while you are starting out, a 7’6″ gander mountain rod and a garcia 6500 with 80lb power pro line. use a good backing and 100 or so yards of power pro. i would pick up 2 jake’s, 2 beleavers, 2 depth raiders, and don’t forget a couple of rapalas, a mag 18 and a super shad rap. as far as colors go your guess is as good as mine. some natural and some flashie. as far as speed goes, 1.5 to 6 mph, sometimes faster, mix it up. as far as depth goes, ive caught them trolling in 4′ of water on top of a reef and 30′ down in 110′ of water. all i can say for sure is find bait fish and start looking there. if i could only troll one way for the rest of my life it would br close to the boat. i use boards when the conditions warrent, but most of the time i would say that i am no morethan 30 yds from the boat. good luck!………….tom f
Thank you guys! I appreciate the help. 
Wade;
Honestly, most of my trolling is in the fall.
Otherwise, it is all casting throughout summer.
And to second the lure selection………..in the fall it is cranks. Deep cranks, shallow cranks, jointed cranks. Beleivers don’t troll so well at high speeds, but the Jakes and Grandma’s troll like a dream. Very straight and true.
Good luck.
By the way, what waters are you targeting?
Gary, I’ll be on West Battle Lake near Ottertail/Fergus Falls much of this year. I’ve got a camper trailer on the lake there. It is supposed to be a decent Musky lake for that area. I may try to sneak over to Mille Lacs. I’m going there once or twice for some Walleye this year. Gotta check out that full moon night bite.
Thanks for the help!
When it gets closer to the season, shoot me some PMs (actually anytime) and I’m willing to offer more info.
By the way, if you can fish muskies on the Big Pond…….DO IT!!!!!!!!
There are some really big tunas out there!!!
And the other part is that they are fairly easy to locate!
I have never caught a Muskie. That is going to change this year. I have a boat and determination. Even if the muskie is two feet long I will be happy. For three years I have tried hard. But things are going to change.
Good luck to you all
Wade, My best friend and former Mille lacs Guide Service staffer is a speed trolling guru. Heres what I can tell you.
Get a 7 foot heavy(catfish rod) glass rod and spool it up with 50 pound mono(very important to use mono). Add a 3 oz egg sinker in front of your leader to keep the bait in the water. Bucktails with a willow leaf blade works best. Like mentioned above, get one like in the prop wash and another about 100 feet back. Place the rod on the inside of your right knee for support. Work the same areas that you would when casting. Deep, tall cabbage or sharpe break lines. 5 Mph minimum and zig zag your pattern. Hot cloudy days are best.
You can cover lots of ground with this method and some fish will strike as your turning on your zig zags, when a fish slams your bait, 90% of the time it will get airborne. Be prepared to keep the line tight to avoid a spit hook.
Its a truly awesome and excellent way to fish muskies, the adrenaline really gets going. 
The other thing that the sinker does is to keep the loose floating weeds from sliding down your line and fouling your cranks. 
Mark
do you guys keep the drag somewhat loose when moving that fast?
Yes. great point Mark
Travis. not usually.I have used the bait clicker feature on my Abu’s with good success.
Derek;
Reminds me of catching my first “big fish” of 48″. A very fat pig in September.
Hot, cloudy, windy day, speed trolling the north side.
Pulling a very large black/red willow leaf spinner bait.
I can still hear that drag scream!!!!!!!!
The only thing that I would add to the good advice that has been posted thus far is to remind you not to be afraid to make a little contact with the structure you’re fishing, whether it be weeds, rocks, sand, etc. Found this to be a very valuable bit of advice I got from a fellow musky nut last summer/fall as we spent more time trolling. Yes, you may spend a little more time cleaning baits, but we found the reward to be worth the effort.
Good luck in your musky hunting….please post your results throughout the year. As someone mentioned earlier, don’t get discouraged if you don’t have success right away….muskies are a different ballgame altogether and patience is often your best friend out there.
Figure_8em
Thank you! I will post updates throughout this season. Got a new digital camera so hopefully I get into something worth taking a few pics of. Best of luck to everyone this season.
What days will you be going to west battle lake this summer? My unkle owns a cabin there and i go up there a lot in the summer. leave me a msg maybe we can meet up and do some fishing.
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What days will you be going to west battle lake this summer? My unkle owns a cabin there and i go up there a lot in the summer. leave me a msg maybe we can meet up and do some fishing.
Matt, Sounds good to me. I’ll be up there several times this season. I have a camper trailer at Battle View Landing and I spend as much time there as life will allow. Some of that time will be spent with my wife but there will be a few times I’ll be on my own or with the guys.
Drop me a note when you head there and we’ll make a plan if possible. I’ll do the same. I’m pretty easy to get ahold of, unless I’m fishing.
Wade,this gal has your name all over her.Check out her left eye.This fish was from Spirit Lake.
Ryan Hale
I see you made it back up to the hatchery. How long was that one Ryan? Hopefully we can nab her this season (and put her back of course). Will I be able to keep you away from wally long enough to chase these big girls this year? 
Wade check out my post on the Iowa Lakes forum.Have a few pics of walleyes on there.Hey I would love to see you tie into one of those IGL muskies.They have a few pushing 50″‘s right now.Believe it or not they haven’t even taken any out of West yet.And you know there are alot of trophy’s in West.
Ryan Hale
Lake winnibigosh has great musky fishing. We get up there at least once a summer and catch a few here and there. They are some monsters that will are pretty much in possible to catch but they are sure fun to see follow ur bait up to the boat…. I will probably be up on west sometime durning the weekend of the walleye opener. I will for sure be up for maybe a week or so around the first weekend in june or maybe the second have to see what work says about that one heh. Keep me posted.
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