How To Video – Speed Trolling on Pepin

This bite is NOW so if you’re looking to get in on some fast paced action be sure to check out the latest IDO video showing how to put the hammer down and some nice walleye in the net!

James Holst and Joel Nelson fish #5 shad raps late May, 2013 on Lake Pepin, MN for early summer walleye. The action is as fast paced as the trolling speed!

Additional Info:

Front Rods – St. Croix Eye Con 10’6″ Med. 115′ – 130′ foot back to #5 Shad Rap.
Rear Rods – St. Croix Tidemaster 7’6″ Med. 135′ – 160′ foot back to #5 Shad Rap.
Trolling Speed – 3.0 to 3.5 MPH
Depth – 7′ – 8′
Water Temp: 64′

Good show. I’ll have to give pepin a try sometime.

Did you have the new Sealines rigged up on those rods? If so, how do you like them?

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Did you have the new Sealines rigged up on those rods? If so, how do you like them?

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We had a pair of Sealines (older model – black) and a pair of new Shimano Tekotas (silver). I’ve not fished with a “new” style/model Sealine yet.

I don’t think the baits, the water temp, or the speed had anything to do with it.

It was that boat

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I don’t think the baits, the water temp, or the speed had anything to do with it.

It was that boat

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You like, yes?! I feel like I’m on top of the world every time I get behind that steering wheel.

SyiAre the faster speeds you guys trolled here over ground or over water speeds? I know on the lake its less effected but just curious?

great video, guys
hope that pattern is still holding in 2 weeks

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SyiAre the faster speeds you guys trolled here over ground or over water speeds? I know on the lake its less effected but just curious?

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GPS speed is what it is, over water or over ground.

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great video, guys
hope that pattern is still holding in 2 weeks

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This pattern will be there for you as long as the water levels don’t fall considerably.

Looks like rain today.

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great video, guys
hope that pattern is still holding in 2 weeks

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This pattern will be there for you as long as the water levels don’t fall considerably.

Looks like rain today.

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WHATS NEW? We could hold off on the rain for a few days would be nice.

First, thanks for the great video and information James.

In regards to “This pattern will be there for you as long as the water levels don’t fall considerably.” – Does this mean the high waters right now cause the walleyes to go shallower, then falling waters will push them deeper again?

Thanks

Great video guys. Im going to have to play around with picking up the speed on some of my pool 2 trolling runs that have been slowing down lately.

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Does this mean the high waters right now cause the walleyes to go shallower, then falling waters will push them deeper again?

Thanks

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Exactly right.

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great video, guys

hope that pattern is still holding in 2 weeks

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The good thing is that even if water levels do fall a bit and push those fish deeper, there’s traditionally a good leadcore crank bite going off the same shorelines that you fish earlier. Some details change like trolling speed and bait choices, but you can chase these fish well into the mid-summer period and see some great results.

If you don’t find fish shallow, head progressively deeper and don’t be afraid to switch out baits for Jointed Shad Raps in sizes #5 and #7. With the addition of Red Craw, the same colors produce year round. We’ve also seen success in Bleeding Blue Shad down there for a great color when trolling.

Keep in mind however, that even after fish push deep, they’ll still come up to areas like points or old wingdams when the wind blows into them. Some of the best mid-summer bites I’ve had down there have been big-blow days where trolling short passes on big points yielded a fish or two a pass. That adds up when your trolling run is only a few hundred yards at most!

Good luck, and keep us posted on how it’s going down there!

Joel

James/Joel, Thanks for the excellent information. Will be down there this weekend trying it out. Have had decent success trolling flatline, boards and lead core on Pepin in the past and am looking forward to dialing up the speed and trying this out.

Any difference/preference for upstream vs. downstream?

Thanks,

KT

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Any difference/preference for upstream vs. downstream?

Thanks,

KT

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Upstream or downstream didn’t seem to matter but the fish seemed to show a strong preference for trolling with the wind.

James,

Great Information. I had not considered pulling cranks over 3 mph. Seems like we are always in the 2-2.5 range. I tried it out on the river and we had some pretty good success so I will continue to work on perfecting this pattern. We also caught smallie, crappie, northern, white bass and of course our old friend the sheepie (must have slowed down)

The thing that I noticed though was that we had quite a few fish come unbuttoned on the way to the boat. I’ve not had this trolling in the past, seems like the fish set themselves. We were using Suffix Braid and #5 Shad Raps with soft rods(duplicated your process almost exactly.) Kept tension on them with a steady retrieve, yet about half way to the boat, no fish.

Any thoughts? Is there something different about hook sets? At the higher speed, are they just swiping at the bait and no getting a good grip?

Thanks,

Dave

I was on pepin on Friday and attempted to use this tactic. We caught alot of fish, especially towards dark, but they were all of smaller size. Ranging from 12-15 inches. Does anyone know why this might be, or what structure of shorelines we should target to find bigger fish?

Worked for me…
Caught Sauger, Walleye, Crappie, Smallmouth, White Bass, Sheephead, and a nice Northern….

Took my grandson and his mom down 2 days later, and caught fish again.

fun, fun, fun.