Fall is in the air! Trolling Report 9/4

Ever have one of those outings where the “black cloud” hangs over you? You know those outings where the fish are biting but not on the end of your line? Well last night was one of those nights for me.

David and I headed out to do some evening trolling for walleyes. A few weeks ago we were out and had done well, so we were off to try again.

This time we were trying a part of the lake that we hadn’t fished before.

We got out shortly before sunset and it wasn’t long and David had the first fish on. This would set the tone for the night as for the next 3 hours I proceeded to watch all 13 walleyes come in on the end of his line.

It was hard to believe that something like trolling crankbaits could yield results like this. It was nice to see fish being caught, but I could have handled a few on the end of my line

It was a beautiful night out and it felt like Fall was in the air!

Some nights you’re get to do the catchin. Some night’s you’re the netman! Lord knows we’ve all had it break both ways. Regardless it sounds like you had a good night. I know the cool weather over the weekend had me itching to pull some HJ’s or Rogues along a weedline somewhere.

Thanks for the update. I’ve never made it out to OT for night trolling but the reports over the last couple seasons sure make it sound like it would be worth the trip. Is it safe to assume the bite gets better through October?

James, thanks for letting me know I wasn’t alone in being the net man

As for the bite, yes it should only get better thru October. There are some nice fish that can be caught just like Mille Lacs. Last year the lake seemed to have “turned over” before the Full Moon as the bite was very tough for us.

It’s always a good time trolling out on OT though.

Nice bag Loren….OT again? We went up there friday “evening” and caught nothing. Not sure what “evening” is for some people but for me it’s just before the sun goes down. Well….I was corrected when we came off the water that we were leaving too early. Turns out some peoples “evening” troll is another mans Nite trolling. Next time I ask for times!

Yes, Ottertail again.

As for “evening”, yes when I go out there to troll I usually get out there about a half hour to an hour before sunset and then fish for an hour to three hours after. As far as staying out, it all depends on the bite. We have caught the majority of fish the hour before dark and have only caught our fish after it’s dark.

Finally…..someone else to back up my reports!! LOL Looks like you guys had em dialed in, or at least your partner did.

Hope I didn’t mis-inform you Chappy on the bite, i guess i need to re-adjust my internal clock now that the days are getting shorter. A lot of the fish last week were being caught before dark, thus the reason i ‘labled’ it an ‘evening bite’. Some nights the bite is later, after the sun goes down.

To answer your question James, yes, as the water temp. continues to drop, the fishing will become even more consistent. A lot of guys turn in the trolling rods for the jiggin and lindy rods though and target fish that way – i’m one of them. We just saw our first glimpse of that Monday night as one of our guests CPR’d this 26″ walleye on a jig-n-minnow that needs to chew on some more pesky perch!

Nice job Trev! We have yet to get one over 25″ out there this year. Last year it seemed like we were getting a fish 23″ or better each time we were out trolling.

Have to see how the Full Moon is this coming weekend!

I’m guessing there are going to be a lot of lights on the lake this weekend…the access’ were full almost every night last week… I’m hoping to get the tiller back in my hand next week – been almost 3 months!!!

Thanks for the reports guys! I know I won’t be able to make a full moon run until October so your updates will keep me going for the time being.