Had the pleasure of joining a couple friends on Wednesday and Thursday for a day and a half of trolling the waters of Green Bay’s western shores. A cold front that moved in earlier in the week made for a tough day on Wednesday, and the forecast NE winds at 10, were actually more like 15, gusting to 20 or so, with 3 to 4 footers by the time we got off the water. Still managed to boat 5 eyes between 23 and 27 inches, and missed at least as many hits, nipping short on the harnesses we were pulling. Water temps had dropped to the 43/45 range from couple days earlier, but we stuck with the harnesses nevertheless, struggling to keep a straight course and low speeds.
Quite a different story, though on Thursday. A bad forecast actually turned into a very nice morning on the water, with moderate winds, and waves at about 2 to 2.5 feet, with the sun peeking through most of the morning, and water temps up to the 47/48 range. Trolling with the wind at 1 to 1.3 again pulling harnesses was the ticket. The fish ran smaller on day two, and by the time we quit just before noon, we boated 9 eyes in the 21 to 24 inch range, missed at least as many,plus a nice, spunky 8 lb. brown that pulled the board straight back and went airborne after the hit. Pretty steady action for the 3 hours we fished.
No pics on this trip…dropped the camera holding on for dear life on Wednesday, and that was all she wrote…time for a new one. 
The larger fish were spawned out and pretty skinny, not the typical football-shaped eyes you would have seen a week or two earlier. Trolling these waters should remain pretty steady for a few weeks. If it’s a mixed bag you’re after, going with cranks at a faster speed should give you a better shot at pike and browns.