Tasted pretty good last Thursday. You got to slice them to make the fillets thinner, so they cook faster and don’t soak up the oil. Kooty probably doesn’t remember how they tasted, I think he was well into his second case by then.

By my count our group (Kooty, Crossin eyes, Old Coot) boated 8 fish over 30 inches and at least 12 – 15 more above 28 inches. Numbers were down a little from last year, but size was awesome. We had a good time all the way around. Look forward to next year.

When I get some of the pictures back from the guys with the digital I will post a few monsters from the Beaver Puddle boat.

Beaver Puddle

I started using power pro about 10-11 years ago, but not for trolling. I have since switched to some different “superlines” (mainly superbraid and fireline) for techniques such as vertical jigging, rigging, bottom bouncing, 3-waying. I doubt a mono leader will yield enough stretch to protect from ripping the hooks out. However, using the correct rod for the various applications when using super lines will help with this issue. I do use a flourocarbon leader much of time to prevent fish from seeing the line and to help with abrasion. That’s what sucks about the superlines, is they are not translucent and are easily seen in the water unless it is very dirty. Some don’t think it matters, and much of the time I don’t think it does either. But there are those days when I am convinced a leader is necessary.

I think when someone asks what is the best for this and the best for that it comes down to personal preference. My suggestion is to try both and see what you like. Mono still is best for certain techniques and I think most are convinced that the braids have there place as well.

One thing to keep in mind is that taking advice from Kooty is not good. We all know he couldn’t catch a fish in a fish bowl . Just joking. Everyone has there prefrences.

10 lb XT or Stren regular. Any standard 10lb mono. More forgiving. Dive curves are true to the charts and there is much less for experimentation and interpertation. Also, you won’t need any special clips for the boards. If you need more depth use a snap weight or lead.

All that I know, is it would have been good to be on the bank with binoculars watching the cluster @#$% that unfolds when you to goof balls get together to fish .

Channel Clear,

Old Coot

I’m glad I could entertain you guys. It was mostly clean.

Great report Kooty. Those dates sound good for me. The Iowa gang had a great time fishing with you boys. You know your catching big fish when the 25’s are the small ones. It will be interesting to see how the FLW turns out after all that weather. Hopefully I can hook up with you and Mike in a couple weeks for some Pepin walleye trolling.

Keep in touch,

Channel Clear,

Old Coot (Beaver Puddle)

To All,

Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll give them a try and report back in June.

Old Coot

Ecnook,

I had a 619 with dual counsel for several years. It was a great boat and handled water great. My only complaint with the 619 was it was a little slow as compared with the 620’s with the 225s’. Last summer I up-graded to a 621 with full windsheild. I love this boat! With a 250XS it cooks right along. It too, handles rough water very well. I have speared a wave also, and it wasn’t pleasent. It wasn’t the boats fault, it was me not taking my time in some very serious conditions. We made it, and I learned an important lesson. These boats are so sturdy and ride so well, one can easily get over confident in very rough conditions.

I have a global map 3300c and a X-19c on the council, a x-125 on the bow and x-125 at the stern. To get everything to fit on the council I used RAM mounts and was able to adjust them so there in the right spots. I mounted a CD player to the right of the steering wheel and a VHF radio below and on the right hand side of the council. I am using a T-8 kicker and love it. These motors absoluteley run great. It can be a little akward back trolling, but with a drift sock out the front it isn’t bad. I use a removable steering arm to the big motor and a troll master remote throttle when trolling cranks. This system has worked well for me. When I had the 619, I had the kicker set up for remote operation only. I found this to be a bit restrictive and backtrolling was tough. With the current set-up, I have the best of both worlds. The other option would be a goldeneye remote steer.

IMHO you can’t go wrong with a Ranger. I would go with the 620 or 621 over the 619.

As far as 4 stroke vs 2 stroke I still recommend 2-stroke. More power, and often top end. Also, fuel economy is often as good as a 4 stroke, except at very low rpm. Bass and Walleye magazine had a very good comparison in the February or March issue. It turns out the 250XS actually got slightly better mpg than the 250 Verado. The XS is a heck of alot cheaper than the verado and much lighter. Everyone keeps preaching fuel economy and I think it just isn’t true. When you get one of these big, heavy walleye boats going it takes power and power needs fuel and doesn’t matter what you have they are all gas hogs.

Good luck with your boat shopping and I hope you end up with a Ranger, you will never regret it.

Old Coot

Thanks to all for the helpful coments and advice. I am talking about using them for walleye and “normal” conditions. I think I will stick with in-line planar boards for now and see how I like running them on Erie before I go spending the money on the mast system. My boat is already full of stuff I don’t use, I probably need to get more proficient at the in-line boards before moving on to something else.

I will be fishing at Red Wing Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If any of you see a dark green Ranger 621, full windshield, 250XS and T-8 Kicker swing in and say hey.

Thanks again,

Old Coot

Scott,

What specifically do you not like about the mast system? Again, I don’t see the disadvantages, but I’m sure there must be some or I would see more serious trollers using them. To me fighting the fish without the board in between is more appealing, but I’m not sure it is worth the 400 to 500 bucks to get set up with a mast system. It is hard to break away from something (in line boards) that has been working for years, but I’m always looking for new ways to pull cranks and the mast is a tool I want to learn more about.

Thanks for your help.

Lip Ripper,

Thanks. Now I get. I feel stupid. Of course, the rod that just caught a fish becomes the inside line. Makes sense.

So, what if any are the disadvantages of the mast system. I just can’t think of any, except expense and storage.

Scott,

I fish Pepin, Francis Case and Lac Seul. This year I am going to fish Erie for the first time in late April and Winni for the first time in Late may. I don’t have any real preference in techniques when it comes to catching walleyes, but I find myself trolling some kind of crank bait more and more. It is a very effective technique. I long line mostly, but also use lead core and sometimes snap weight when needed. I have pulled spinners also on in-line boards also.

Thanks for your comments. I would like to hear from some others as well on the use of the mast systems. The only draw back I can think of is if you hook a fish on the outside line, all other lines on that side need to come in to re-set that line again. Is this true? This would only apply when fishing several lines out each side.

I am a big fan of Chris Ledoux as well. His hard work, perseverance and family values have been an example to many. He had a very unique style that was exceptional and his shows, well they speak for themselves. I have been to country shows and rock shows and have never been to any more entertaining than what Chris Ledoux put on. His music made me feel like I was a part of the story being told. I particularly liked the songs about Wyoming and the western life. Many artists have songs about the rodeo life or the western life, but Chris Ledoux lived this life for real. He was a cowboy who entertained, and this could be heard and felt in his music.

He will truly be missed by many, but will live on in his music. God Bless Chris Ledoux and his family. I wish them the best in this time of sorrow.

I saw the In Fisherman article and wasn’t surprised at what they had found. When we have been duck hunting I have seen a handfull of guys fishing for eyes in some of the places incicated in the article. I talked to a couple old boys this last November and they were hammering them. They were also in an area in the backwaters that was difficult to get to and unless you have spent some serious time on that water would have never found it. Like I mentioned earlier, I have spent a bunch of time hunting the area and have been from the lake to above Jones Island and know my way around better than most. Again, I am anxious for any first hand information on fishing this area in the about 3 to 4 weeks. Will the same techniques we use on pool 4 work out there? If there is a good bite out there, I could see this being a location to beet the crowds that come with the early spring bite.

Thunderstick Lodge. It is pricey, but it is pretty much all inclusive. The lodge is wonderful and is located overlooking Francis Case. It is located south of Chamberlain a few miles.

Carpking,

Thanks for your information. Those are truly a couple of sows. The October trip sounds good, however I am trying to put something together for next month. I am an avid waterfowler and am chaseing ducks and geese in Saskatchewan during that time period. Any additional information on the early spring bite would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Old Coot

Where was this taken?

More suggestions and pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Old Coot

Steve,

Thanks for the links. Now I remember these posts from last year. There was some good information in these reports. Are you fishing above reefs or near them? What makes one reef better than the other? I have been told that the smaller males will hold on the reefs, but to get the pig females one needs to look for them suspended or maybe a little deeper than the reef. In your experience is this true? Do you fish any of the reefs within the Camp Perry range? Is it true that cranks perform better when the water is below 50 and as the water reaches 50 or above the spinners and crawlers are the ticket?

I’m full of questions, and I’m not looking for GPS coordinates or anything like that, just trying to get as much information as possible so I’m not wasting a bunch of time looking for fish in areas that don’t have them.

Thanks again,

Old Coot

I’ve had both, and would have to say the maxxum is the way to go. More responsive and durable. I currently have the 36 volt 101 and it goes a lonnng time on a charge. If you tighten down the tension on the foot pedal, you won’t have to keep your foot on it all the time either. Nothing against the power drive models, but after having both, the maxxum is the way to go.

We fished Friday through Sunday. We found it tough at the upper portion of the lake and Sunday moved further down into the lake and pulled lead core and monofiliment with snap weights to get down further. Craw colored SR5’s clearly out produced anything else for us. We were trolling in 14 ft of water.

I know Clam beds are good throughout the summer and I have located a few of these over the last couple years by accident (snagging clams when trolling). When looking for beds how do you locate them? What do you look for on the graph? Is it possible to see the difference in bottom hardness on the graph? I have an X-125.

10lb XT or Stren original. I have tried Power pro, and it is not forgiving enough for this technique.

Thanks for the information James.

How much success has there been towards the lake? Do you think the fish will begin showing up in good numbers down towards Colville and Youngs Cabin? Also, has anyone been having success pulling 3-ways? I’m heading up Thursday-Sunday and will gladly report upon my return.

I was down there Friday for a little while and Saturday morning. Also hit a couple spots off the back channel. Tried about every technigue I could think off for this time of year. Ended up with one short walleye. That was it. Ran back up river above Everts and caught a limit.

Paff,

That is basically the drift we ended up fishing much of the time. I didn’t get there until Saturday afternoon.
I too noticed several groups who would complete a drift then think you have to run like heck to the head of the drift creating enormous wakes and making it very difficult to fish. I also noticed a couple small boats fishing the area. Some of the wakes from people running half in and half out of the water were huge when your in a small boat. Everyone needs to slow down a little. Go like heck in the clear, not when your in close proximity of other boats.

Thanks to all who replied, I really appreciate the information and will be sure to report Monday when I am back in town. Looks like I will start at the damn and try to put a few in the box, then start looking for a bite away from the crowds. I should also report that I fished Guttenburg last Friday and put 8 in the box, an even mix of sauger and walleye. The hot bait was a 4 inch lizard in chartreuse/pepper. What colors do you all recommend? I read the other post from James. It sounds like I may need to bring Bass plastics. Maybe I should give a jig and pig a try. Just kidding.

Thanks again for the information!

What kind of structure were you fishing?

Wouldn’t that be fantastic. A fish that eats as good as a crappie but fights like a smally!