Mid July Open Basin Trolling on Mille Lacs Lake!

Now’s the time to get out to Mille Lacs and try the wonderful world of open basin trolling. Joining me yesterday for a late afternoon/evening trip was my nephew Brent and my wife Tina. Even though the winds were strong and we were battling 3 footers out there, the fish cooperated and we had a great day on the water.

This was the very first time my nephew Brent had experienced summer walleye fishing. When I told him that we would be out there until dark, he looked at me as if I was a little nuts (not the first time someone has looked at me that way). But after he got a few open basin walleyes in the boat, he was all smiles!

Deep Tail Dancers purpledescent was the crankbait of the day and long lining leadcore out the back of the boat was on fire. After my last report, I received numerous emails and PMs asking me about how I set up my leadcore presentation on Mille Lacs. So… I will use this as an opportunity for “This week’s tip!”

First off you don’t need to use leadcore line to get TDD#11’s down to the desired trolling depth on Mille Lacs (anywhere from 20-32 feet) because the crankbaits can do it on their own using braided line. Some people have asked me why do I use them with leadcore then? For two reasons: One is that when trolling in rougher conditions and your boat is rocking in the waves (like yesterday), longlining leadcore produces more results for me than braid. I believe the reason why is because there’s a “S” curve in your leadcore line and when your boat surges in a wave the leadcore line pulls out some of that “S” curve and your crankbait can continue to swim consistently. On the contrary, when using braided line, there‘s no stretch or “S” curve and when your boat surges in the waves that crankbait below is affected and swims erratically.

The second reason why I use leadcore is that I believe it gives your crankbaits a little bit different swimming action or perhaps your crankbait a different swimming angle versus braid or mono. Time and time again I will tie on the exact same crankbait/color/depth that’s producing on leadcore but I can’t replicate that bite on the braided line. This proves to me that something is different and the only thing is the type of line.

The last reason why I use leadcore on Deep Tail Dancers is that is works – plain and simple! Sometimes I like to answer the question by saying “Why not use leadcore versus braided line”? You don’t have to put out as much of line and it corners easier than braid when trolling structure.

Now – here’s my setup. On Mille Lacs, I use 18lb leadcore with a long mono leader (anywhere from 30-50 feet) Berkley XT – 10lb test. I’ve done a lot of experimenting with leader length and longer ones are more productive for me. I have two theories on why: I believe the swimming action on certain crankbaits may be affected by the leadcore if it’s too close. Another reason is that the leadcore line may scare some fish away if it’s too close to the crankbait. Regardless, longer leaders work better for me and that’s why I use them. Anybody else have other theories?

I also tie directly to the crankbait and don’t use a swivel or a snap. Again, I think they may affect the swimming action of certain crankbaits or it may affect the vibration and/or noise of your crankbait. Some people will argue that point but I’ve experimented a lot and get better results directly tying on the crankbait. This also ensures that I consistently retie my knots to make sure they are strong. Besides, how long does it take to tie on a crankbait?

I usually run out 2-4 colors of leadcore (depending on the depth curve of my crankbait) and my 30 – 50 foot mono leader. This will put me anywhere from 90 – 170 feet back. Right now I’m trolling TDD11’s and have 50 foot mono leaders and I will put out about 2.5 – 3 colors (75-90 feet) for a total of 125-140 feet of line. This is a deeper presentation and I’m looking for walleyes that are 2-6 feet off the bottom.

The DNR recently changed the slot limit on Mille Lacs from 18-28 inches to 20-28 inches – effective July 15th. Little did I know how that would end up being perfect timing for us! We actually kept 7 fish last night and 6 were between 18.5 – 19.75 inches! Just when I said that trolling cranks in the open basin was a big fish presentation! However, the big fish cooperated as well and we caught 6 between 25-27 inches. We ended the day pulling 21 walleyes and the bite was very consistent. Somebody recently asked me why I like to troll the open basin so much. I mentioned several things but Tina pointed out one that I simply overlooked – she loves the serenity of it. There was not another boat is sight for the majority of the day yesterday and that’s just the way we like it!

I repeat – now’s the time to get out there and try open basin trolling. Typically this bite will continue into mid Sept. so there’s plenty of time! Keep the PMs and emails coming and I will do my best to help you out!