Sometimes I put a few beads and a small spinner blade ahead of a barrel swivel. The blade seems to “deflect” allot of junk before it reaches the crank and they run cleaner longer. I usually use a quick change clevis so I can change the size of the blade depending upon which crank I’m running. The willow leaf blades seem to work a little better for me and provide a little attraction in stained water. This has worked with some of the recent may fly hatches that make me cry. I can hardly wait for things to get cleaned up. Good luck.

They might have to pull it up a bit when they try to load it. Looks like the PWC would “float” off the SUV. I wonder if auto insurance covers “pure stupidity”. . . This made my whole week ….

Hi Dustin,
I trolled around Maiden Rock for awhile and the water was pretty stained. We picked up a few, noticed that jointed cranks producing a little bit more noise helped. I wonder if putting a big Colorado blade ahead of a crank would help dialing em in?

Lots of small debis in the water. Keeps a guy focused when he’s running anyway.

Heard that some were having some luck with leeches around the Bay City Flats area. Water has been pretty muddy, finding cleaner water is probably the ticket.

Wonder if the backwater is the place to be at this time. Going to give it a go this weekend.

Good Luck

I was out Saturday, fishing Bay City flats and had one bite.

Oh, but what a bite it was.

Drifting in 5 feet of water and under the

boat, a “piggie” gobbled it down (hammered

gold spinner on a crawler harness). After

the third run, she snapped my line. My

largest fish ever was 8 1/2 pounds and I

can truely say that this one dwarfed it.

The day cost me a buck because my partner

caught a 17″ sauger, but I had the story of the

day of the one that got away.

Life lesson: Don’t have your drag set too tight,

you just might miss that fish of a lifetime. I would

have measured it and let it go anyway. I just feel

sick that she’s pulling around 3/4 oz bottom bouncer

in her mouth as it snapped my line above the snap swivel

so to speak. Oh Well … tight lines and loose drags.

Hoping the “numbers” pick up this weekend. I can hardly

wait.

Good luck to all.

I like using smaller cranks in the spring, such as a #5. The profile is usually pretty short and stubby with a small diving lip. I’ve had problems in the past trying to get these guys down there until I bought a set of snap weights. I let out about 50 feet of line with the crank, then snap on a 2 oz. – 2 1/2 oz snap weight directly on the line. Then I let out 5 feet at a time feeling for the tick of the bottom. I can guarantee that you won’t find bottom with 200 ‘ of fireline out. As you troll, your line forms a bow and the speed that your trolling cause an uplifting pressure on the line. Try a 2 1/2 oz snap weight 50 feet back from the crank and I would guess you’ll only have to let out another 35-40 feet for a total of 85 – 90 feet (if you’re trolling 10-12 feet of water). Walleyes I’ve caught in the spring trolling seem to fancy the smaller baits …. at least in my boat anyway. I have Church’s snap weights and Offshore makes a decent snap weight. Be advised that Offshore recommends a wrap around the snap to prevent the weight from popping off the slippery “super” lines. The Church snap weights seem to simply clip on and off without the wrap. I haven’t lost one yet anyway and I’ve been using them for three years.

Happy trolling

Jenn’s post hits the nail on the head.

Do yourself a favor and buy a copy of the Precision Trolling book, by Holt, Irwin, and Romanack. You’ll be glad you did.

With all the different makes and models, it takes allot of guess work of putting your crankbait in the fish zone. The book has profiles of most of the common cranks and serves as an excellent starting point.

Like Jenn said, the book is written with dive curves for 10 pound mono, but there is a conversion chart in there if you prefer Fireline or different diameter mono. I like using Fireline because I can usually take most cranks down deeper than with mono and find that I don’t need as much line out.

As Jenn mentioned, check the line counter to see how much line you have out to duplicate this factor. I also glance at my depth finder and check out the speed and depth. (I have a paddle wheel on my transom to monitor the speed.)

A line counter can get pretty heavy if you troll all day. It will have a tendancy to flip upside down (must be my carpal tunnel). I find it less of a strain when trolling with the reel facing down as I do like to pump the rod every now and then.

If you prefer to put it in a rod holder, make sure you have a rod holder that will hold your reel securely and the drag set properly, otherwise if you snag something or get a southbound walleye while trolling north you might experience the “slingshot” effect and watch your investment leave the boat rather quickly.

I mention that because I was trolling last fall with my neighbor and he picked up a nice line counter, rod, several colors of lead core and a nice crankbait to boot. All I caught that day was a cold.

Good Luck

Thanks for the response. Much appreciated.

I’ve had pretty good luck with Red Rhino. I have two for “guests” like folks who seldom fish, then I don’t have to spend allot time removing rats nests from my baitcasters. Pretty low maintenance (from a usage point of view). I change line often so it doesn’t have a tendency to develop “memory” and that helps allot too.

I couldn’t agree more. Who’s heard of a “bug” with a comb in his back pocket? I got my vise this past weekend at Gander. The roads were too slick to run down to Cabelas. I think I’m all set. I’ve seen allot of different colors of thread out there. Is there a “preferred” type for hair (like a little extra tough) so it doesn’t break off in the bobbin when you wrap it?

Thanks

I’m going to Cabelas to check one out on Saturday, Lord willing and the water don’t rise. I want to get a fly tying kit so I can ties some those hair jigs. If I’m lucky this weekend I may even have some white rat hair to use. My daughters friend brought a rat over to the house to show it off and well …. it’s still in the house, somewhere. Anyone in the market for a nice long pink tail for their jig? Why me Lord?

I wonder if a 4-stroke kicker (maybe 8 or 9 hp) would slow me down, concerned about the noise though and think the kicker would be more weight than the electric. I wonder if the 24/36 volt transom electrics have the stamina for a days worth of trolling (or at least 4-6 hours). I have a 50 Power Drive up front (12 volt) and by the end of the day the battery’s pretty wasted. I guess it depends too on the current and the wind blowing.

Thanks guys. Some real nice advice. I’m going to Cabelas or Gander Mountain for some “equipment” and give it a go again. I’ll post a picture and ya can tell me how I did. Thanks again ….

He’s very lucky indeed. I’m glad everything turned out o.k. I guess here’s proof positive that one should NEVER anchor the boat from the back. I’ve heard stories of floating debris catching anchor lines and pulling transoms down all the time. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t anchor from the rear. Get up, stretch your legs and anchor from the bow.

Nord, Sorry to hear about your delays with Jigmasters. This makes me think twice about ordering from them. I would like to tell you about a positive experience I just had with B-FISH-N-TACKLE though. I’ve read so much about “ring worms” and BEAVER’s article on ring worms really intrigued me. It sort of slapped me in the face and reminded me of an article from the Walleye-INSIDER regarding fishing plastics on a river system. Anyway …. I ordered a BEAVER Kit # 3 from B-FISH-N-TACKLE, Sent the check on Saturday and opened my package on Thursday. THANKS DAVE !!!

I would order “the DO’s” from Dave in a heart-beat if he has them. Drop him a line