Mille Lacs Open Water Trolling Report, 7.22.2012

The open water trolling bite on Mille Lacs continues to produce! Over the last week I took out 9 walleye anglers and conducted 3 On The water – Open Water Trolling Clinics. Open water trolling consists of trolling deep diving crankbaits out in the open basin on Mille Lacs using long trolling rods, line counter reels, planer boards, braid and leadcore lines. These walleyes are not relating to any type of structure. They are out in the open basin of Mille Lacs chasing and feeding on tullibees. The key is to use deep diving crankbaits such as Rapala Deep Tail Dancers and Storm Deep Thundersticks that mimic these tullibees and fool these walleyes into striking. The focus on these trolling clinics is learning the open water trolling system so an angler can go back in their boat, apply what they learn and be successful.

Joining me on the first day was Chuck Hanson (threewayguy), Tom Rucker (tomr) and Steve Hodge. Joining me on Saturday was Jeff Huberty, his son Corey Huberty (AlwysE’yn) and friend Herman. Joining me on Sunday was Al Hoppe, Ken Perttula and Scott Maciej. All of these guys are experienced walleye anglers wishing to add another walleye catching technique to their repertoire. The days were filled with excellent questions and some that get me thinking more about the “whys and how to’s” of open water trolling. This is my 13th year of open water trolling on Mille Lacs and every time I’m out there, I learn something new as well! Over the course of the 3 open water trolling clinics, a total of 85 walleyes were caught and all were carefully handled and released unharmed for someone else to enjoy.

A question that is frequently asked is “what are some of your favorite crankbaits for open water trolling and why?” It depends on the lake, time of year, water temps and most importantly the forage base of the body of water I’m fishing. State DNR websites have some good information and can help you determine what the walleyes are feeding on. Look for baitfish such as tullibees/ciscoes, gizzard shad, shiners, alewives and smelt. These are the primarily baitfish that you will find out in the open water and why the walleyes are out there.

Once you figure out the forage base in your body of water, now try and match your crankbait to the forage base. Long sleek baits such as Deep Tail Dancers and Deep Thundersticks look and swim similar to tullibees. Reef Runners are a dead ringer for ale waves. Shad Raps, Flicker Shads, Thundercranks mimic gizzard shads. You get the idea…

Now you need to think about where will the baitfish be located on your body of water? Determining factors include time of year, water temp, time of day, water clarity, weather (wind, precipitation, and temperatures), bug hatches, oxygen levels, thermoclines, weed growth and fishing pressure. The more thought you put into this, the faster you’ll locate them.

Now get a map of your body of water and look for the following:

– Consider the deepest depth a weed bed can grow in your body of water. This marks the end of sunlight penetration and you’ll often times find this depth is productive all around the lake on structure as well as in open water.

– Look for areas of structure or cover that has quick access to deeper water. Baitfish will continue to swim at this same depth as that structure while in the open water.

– Look for long, consistent trolling depths or flats where you can pull your cranks. To me, fishing contours or structure and running your cranks near the bottom is not open water trolling. It’s a different presentation and therefore another strategy involving other trolling tactics.

– Scout, scout and scout some more. If you don’t mark them – you won’t catch them. If you find schools of baitfish, odds are the walleyes are close by. Have the attitude that you are there to eliminate unproductive water. Get out a map, get a game plan and mark down your scouting runs before you hit the water.

OK – you’ve figured out the forage base and you have a game plan on where these baitfish may be located on your body of water and you just marked some good sign on your sonar.

There are now four determining factors that you need to think about:

Which crankbait? Trolled at what depth? At what speed? And which color?

I consider depth is the most important factor of the four. It’s extremely important that you understand the depth curves of your crankbaits and be able to place them in the water column at the desired depth (2-6 feet above the arcs on your sonar). It doesn’t matter what crankbait you choose and its color if you can’t position it within a walleye’s strike zone.

The next important factor is the style of the crankbait. Think about the action of the lure. I like to break them down into 3 action categories – subtle, moderate and aggressive.

Subtle to me means the eyes of the crankbait when trolled are moving side to side and the swimming action is loose. Crankbaits that fall into this catergory consists of Rapala husky jerks, max raps and original Floating Rapalas, Yozuris stickbaits and Suspended Smithwith Rogues.

Moderate action crankbaits are a little more aggressive than subtle and consists of Deep Down Husky Jerks, Smithwick Deep Rattling Rouges, Rapalas Troll To’s, Rip Sticks, Minnow Raps, X-raps, Jointed Raps, Reef Runner Ripsticks etc…

Aggressive to me means the eyes of the crankbait are moving up and down and the swimming action is tight with fast wobble. Aggressive action style crankbaits consists of Deep Tail Dancers, Deep Reef Runners, Storm Deep Thundersticks, Reef Runners etc… These crankbaits are long and sleek imitating fast swimming baitfish.

Which crankbait action to choose is also depended upon water temps. Walleyes are cold blooded species and their metabolism is directly correlated to water temperature. The cooler the water temps, the lower their metabolism and the amount of energy that is needed to feed. A general rule of thumb that I like to follow is:

Colder Temps (50 degrees or less) = Subtle Crankbaits
Moderate Temps (50-60 degrees) = Moderate Action
Warm Temps (60 or more degrees) = Aggressive Action

The next factor is color. Again when in doubt, match the forage base. Another factor that determines color is the water clarity. In clear water, I have a tendency to gravitate towards natural colors and anything that has chrome, silver, perch or flash. When the water clarity is poor, I gravitate towards more fluorescent colors like chartreuse, yellow and orange. Try and think about how the color of the crankbait and how it will appear in regard to its background. I always try and make it stand out. Time of day is also a factor. In low light conditions (morning, evening and cloud cover) I gravitate more towards solid colors. Once the sun is out and high overhead, I move towards anything that has a flash or chrome to it. I feel it reflects the light better in the sun.

Rattles inside the crankbaits are also very important because of the vibrations it creates. I will not troll crankbaits in the open water without rattles. My goal is to get as many walleyes to look at my crankbait as possible. Not all will eat it, but it increases my chances. I feel that rattles have the ability to pull in a lot of fish due to the vibrations. Also, be sure to check them before you put your crankbait in the water to make sure they are working properly. Sometimes a walleye bite will create a small puncture in the crankbait and water will get in there and it can affect the rattles.
We are smack in the middle of the open water trolling bite. If you’ve never experienced it, you’re missing out! This is the best big walleye presentation in regard to consistency. If you’re interested in learning more about it and want to attend one of my open water trolling clinics please send me a PM or email.

Until next time – keep trollin’