Trolling question

Long winter coming to plan a plan and looking for your insight.

I’m interested in trolling for Pike in the open basins of larger lakes. I’m thinking in the dead of summer. Mid June thru August and into Sept. As the Pike turn to the deeper cooler water what are they looking for? Will they hang off points or are they just following the bait fish wherever they go? What about rock reefs and piles? I’m unsure if I should target specific structure in deep water or just throw the bait over the side toss the motor in gear and cover water. Last thing…….is there a rule of thumb for depth when trolling? Should I stay in the upper 1/3 or upper 1/2 of the water column? Last weekend I had decent luck pulling lead core but that was over 30+ feet of water. I’m not certain if I could use lead core in the heat of summer. Thoughts?

If it matters we are talking about the rocky lakes of the Canadian border waters. Kabatogama, Namakin, Crane, Rainy.

I don’t have any experience with this but I’ve been reading up on it, too.

I would think deep water adjacent to structure whether it’s humps, points or reefs would be where to start. If you find baitfish, that’s the depth I would start at.

I would assume the pike will be below any baitfish so start a bit shallower and continue to work deeper. I think leadcore will work. Any reason why you mention it wouldn’t in summer?

Expanding on the baitfish thing. I would think that if you would fish a few feet above the thermocline with baitfish present. Specifically in lakes with whitefish, tullibees or smelt. Although, I can’t imagine that the pike would be below the baitfish in this situation because the water is uninhabitable under the thermocline.

The IDO crew regularly uses 18 lb lead core for 30+ lb lake trout on Superior so I can assume you could make it work. The dive curve might be a little less if you’re using lures with a little drag to them. Just make sure you have a smooth drag.

I have no experience with this at all but this is what would make sense to me.

In summer I have camera`d big Pike, Muskies and Walleyes laying right tight to fish cribs in 20 plus feet of water. I have used big plastics and jigs and have gotten a few to go. Not the way you were asking about just another option.