Trolling methods for walleye

[fish_fishburn]

Most of my fishing consists of river fishing. When trolling for eyes I usually use cranks with good success. This year I want to expand my trolling and try worm harness's and bottom bouncers. I have never used bb's but bought a couple last week. They are 2 1/2 oz. What I need to know is,

How do you rig these and what do you use for bait.

what speed do you troll.

Also bought some assorted worm harness in different colours with different types of blades and numbers of hooks.

How do you rig these?

Do you use a snap swivel,

Do you use a sliding weight

How do you hook your worm on

Do you use artificial worms, ie Gulp etc.

Sorry for all the questions but trolling is not my forte as I am mostly a bass guy but my g/f always wants to troll instead of jigging so I thought if were gonna troll I should expand my knowledge on the topic.Thanks Mike

[Joeytier]

2.5 oz should be way more weight than what is necessary, unless you're talking heavy current or water deeper than 20-25 feet. I like to make sure the worm is threaded on straight (don't 'ball' it on the hook). I try not to go any faster than 2.0 mph. I've always preferred single blade, single hook harnesses, even in dirty water. After a few trips you'll realize how easy it is, but there's also a million ways to refine your technique.

[smally21]

we used to always use beaded worm harness with blades for trolling. trick is weighting them properly to match speed and depth.

 

found it cumbersome so led to crankbaits. i would definitely troll under 2mph, more like 1.2 - 1.4

 

walleye aren't speed demons, of course a little extra speed might fire them up...

[bigbuck]

Make sure you use a snap swivel to attach the bottom bouncer to the main line, then another swivel (not a cheapie) for your lead (min 3ft), you can use artificials (worms or minnow type) but I like to stick to real worms. You don't use another 'walking' weight when bottom bouncing, that's only used for Lindy rigging.

[troutologist]

Lots of variations on the bouncer technique. For the weight the standard is 1oz for every 10ft in depth, though with a river and current you may have to bump this up a bit. You want your line to have no more than a 45deg angle from the boat...keeping the line more vertical reduces snags.

 

When working the bouncer rig I like to hold the rod (baitcaster for ease of letting out more line) touch bottom, lift up 6" or so touch bottom, and so on. Letting it drag for me seems to invite snags.

 

 

Lots of choices in the harness world...making your own is simple, cheap and allows you to customize to what the fish are telling you in your waterbody. I'm not going to rewrite the techniques because there are already great resources available on Google, but look into Slow Death, spin n glos, and swim and spin techniques.

 

A favourite of mine is a 4' leader, with a slow death hook, 2 or 3 beads and a Macks Smile blade. Trolls 1.1-1.6mph depending on what the fish are telling you.

 

Good luck

[iFish4real]

I've only done trolling once since I got my boat, last long weekend on pike/pickerel opening up north, we used 2 hook harnesses with green spoon and a little floater on them, they seamed to work well in brownish water with live worms and plastics, we even caught a 30" pike on a plastic worm and we kept the boat at idle speed for the 15hp motor which was around 1 mph

Like other guys say here, don't let your line drag too long, increases the chances of snagging.

 

Good luck!

Share the success

[Handlebarz]

Fishing LSC I like 1/2 oz bouncer that way I can let the bait gat away from the boat more. I use 4-5' line for my harnesses this way of its a spooky day the bait is well behind the bouncer. .8-1.1mph is my range for speed. I like to use big worms double hooking the head then put the second hook in the back of the worm leaving extra length out back to entise the eyes.

[hunter/fisher]

Rule of thumb. 1 oz of weight for every 10 feet of water. The slower the better .8mph -1.3mph for worm harness. The other way that has been a great susess that i have used up north is using a bottom bouncer and a gold and black original rapala. Works amazing. Good luck and hope this helps.

[fish_fishburn]

Thanks for the tips lads I will give em a try next time out. Went out last night anad we jigged up 9 while drifting with a 1/4 oz erie jig with a 3 in white Mister Twister tipped with a piece of worm. Had to release 2 because they were over our 40cm slot size. Cant wait till june 15 when the slot size is gone.

[pikeguy]

all i have to add to that is Mustad slow death hooks great action use them and have done well with them

[Rod Caster]

Make sure you have enough length from the BB to the hook. A lot of store bought worm harnesses are less than 2feet long, which to me, is too close to the BB. I actually make 3-5 foot leaders and then attach my 1 foot spinners to the leader. Allows for quick changes and lots of distance. The longer the leader however, the harder it is to land the fish a the boat, so be prepared.

 

Also, I usually make my spinners with two hooks. Hook the worm once with the first hook, then again once with the trailer. The worm will swing naturally and you'll get a lot less "rip offs".

 

Enjoy! This is one of my favorite methods for walleye

 

 

[fish_fishburn]

I checked out the slow death hooks today on you tube. Will be buying some today, thanks for all the tips guys. What size would you use for eyes? Or do they only come in one size.

[mike rousseau]

My brother is great at fishing spinners/worm harnesses... And we fish the st.lawrence so my experiences should compare to what you'll run into....

 

For trolling we use 4oz weights because of the current...

 

Then a 2-3 foot leader made of 20-25lb test mono or florocarbon...

 

Tied to this is a high quality snap swivel...

 

Setting up like this eliminates that twisted up tangle that can happen with spinners...

 

And then the harnes... Keep em short... 8-10 inches... We use steel wire for our spinners and they produce as well as 10lb mono ones... I've even used 100lb florocarbon and it still caught walleye just as good... And size 4 Colorado blades...

 

One hook only on the harness...

 

And we use 3 inch gulp minnows for bait...

 

Trolling speed will be different at every spot you fish because of the different currents in the river... And you don't wanna drag bottom but you always wanna be really close to it... Its a tricky balance of weight...speed...and line out....

 

If I missed anything... Lemme know...

 

Hope this helps...

 

Mike

[fish_fishburn]

Thanks again guys for the great tips. I checked a few shops out today and grabbed some slow death hooks. They only had size 1 and 2 hooks. They seem a bit light to me was hoping for some X2 at least for incidental Northerns. The 1 and 2 size are very thin wire. Took a walk through Crappy in Pembroke man there prices suck. 4.99 for a bottom bouncer. At that price you would think they would be quality but there the cheapest ones available.. A pack of 3 Lindy rigs were 13 bucks. Stopped at my local bass shop and bb's 2.00 each and spinners 2.50 each and an awesome selection. sorry for the rant but that store is really pissing me off.

[Kayakmike]

This year I tried bottom bouncing for the 1st time too in Bay of Quinte. It is easier than I thought and rather effective....I will be trying it in the smaller lakes too!

 

Had used a Titantium wire spinner rig kit...I just had to add the blade and beads....thought the titanium might not work as well as mono or fluoro due to visibility but it didnt seem to be an issue (added protection too against the northerns).

 

Weight was 1oz in ~10 to 15 feet of water, speed about 1mph also. Both worms and plastic worms had worked...but the real worms did much better as far as bites. Want to try a rapala or wobbler too some time.

 

Bottom bouncing makes me think of checkers...seconds to learn...a lifetime to master lol.

 

 

 

[dave524]

I bottom bounced inshore off Port Colborne for evening walleyes, found it best to use a quite heavy weight for the depth, so the angle of the line was pretty steep. That way raising and lowering of the rod tip could compensate for variations in depth and you could keep contact with the bottom. One eye on the fishfinder to anticipate a change.