Trolling for walleye can be some of the most interesting and exciting fishing an angler can do.  It is effective all year round, but especially in the fall and early winter.  It really shines in northern lakes with a lot of water and big basins, particularly the Great Lakes. 

These lakes are phenomenal walleye fisheries, but they can sometimes pose problems for traditional walleye presentations, such as jigs and minnows.  Trolling comes into play when traditional techniques are no longer successful.  It allows an angler to cover much more water more effectively.

There are three basics to keep in mind when trolling for walleye:  speed management, depth management and forage base.

First, as the water cools, you need to slow down when trolling.  According to Lucky Craft pro and long time walleye fisherman, Cary Bever, there is never a speed too slow. 

“I catch my biggest walleyes trolling Lucky Craft Flash Minnows and Pointers right before the Great Lakes ice up, which generally runs into December,” Bever said.  “Experiment day to day with speed, and remember, just because the fish bit well yesterday at a particular speed doesn’t mean it will be the same today.”

One of the best ways to determine the best speed on any given day is to incorporate ‘S’ turns into the trolling run.  When you have several baits out at once, you will most likely be using planer boards.  These boards will allow an angler to have multiple lines out at once, depending on local and state regulations, without worrying about crossed lines and tangled messes. 

As you begin your ‘S’ turn, the inside board will stall because it is on the short side of the radius of the turn.  Therefore, the board on the inside will actually slow down as you make the turn.  The outside board will speed up because it is on the wider arch of the circle, or turn. Obviously, if the hits come on the inside boards, you may want to slow down a bit while trolling.  Conversely, the opposite is true on the outside - if the hits come on the outside line, speed it up slightly.  Make sure to always pay attention during the turns, because this is a great way to determine the maximum speed for trolling. 

Second, managing the depth at which you are trolling is very important.  Contrary to popular belief, walleye are not bottom feeders.  Basin walleye, in particular, which are going to be the bigger fish, sit very close to the bottom when they are inactive or neutral.  When they are active and feeding, they will come up in the water column.

It would not be unusual to be in 50 feet of water but see walleye suspending at a depth of about 10 feet. 

“You really have to pay attention to your electronics,” Bever said.  “You are looking for fish that are up in the water column, not snoozing on the bottom.  If you’re not getting bit, be sure you are not fishing underneath the fish.  Remember you need to be above the fish for them to bite.”

Whatever you do when trolling for walleye, make sure to put the bait at a depth consistent with where you’re seeing fish on your electronics.  You want to be shallower than the fish you are targeting, because they will feed up, but will never feed down.

In traditional walleye lakes, there is a big basin area that can sometimes exceed 100 feet in depth.  The basin areas are the deepest part of the lake and hold basin walleye, which are the bigger fish and the ones you may want to target. Some well-known areas famous for basin walleye are Green Bay, the Bay of Quinte, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

The Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 110 is designed to run fairly shallow, only going down about three feet.  It may not go deep enough by itself to catch the big, suspending fish, so you might need to incorporate a weight system.

The most common weight system is referred to as the snap weight system.  It is a system of adjustable weights, ranging from 1/4 ounce to 4 ounces.

“You put out 50 feet of line, apply your weight and drop 50 more feet of line,” Bever explained.  “The weight will stay on your line and when you get a bite, you reel the line up to the weight, take it off and fight the fish.  The second chunk of line you let out will determine how deep the bait will actually run.”

Determining how deep you want it and how much line to let out is usually found through experience.  However, if you want to be roughly five feet off the bottom, you can let the line out until the weight actually hits the bottom, give it a couple cranks and bring it back up where you think you might want it to run.

Another really important aspect of depth management is incorporating Lucky Craft Staysee 90s and Pointers into the mix.  These baits will fill a void when trolling with the Flash Minnow because they will run deeper.  For example, if you are trolling the Flash Minnow on a flat line (no weight system or planer board) and let out 100 – 200 feet of line, the bait will go down about three feet.  If you put a Pointer 100 on another rod, it will go down about five feet.  The Pointer 78 DD will go down about eight feet and the Staysee 90 will run at about 12 feet.  If you want to go deeper than about 15 feet, you know you will need to incorporate a weighting system, much like the snap weight discussed earlier.

Lastly, in addition to speed and depth management, you want to be aware of the forage base around the area you’re fishing and make sure your bait colors are consistent with what the walleye are currently feeding on. 

According to Bever, most of the Great Lakes have a number of different forage bases walleyes key on, but generally they can be broken up into two different categories, perch and shiners.  Perch are a favorite food for walleye, primarily because their habitats overlap.  If that is the case, the perch and fire tiger colors could come into play.  If shiners are the primary forage, use colors such as Laser Rainbow Trout. Walleyes also sometimes feed on crawfish and alewives, making MS American Shad and Lucky Crafts crawfish colors popular as well.  

“Fish any colors that closely mimic the game fish in the area,” Bever said.  “Use colors such as Aurora Green Perch, Laser Rainbow Trout, MS MJ Herring, MS American Shad and Tennessee Shad, to name a few.  Once in a while, it pays to be different and experiment with other colors, such Pearl Ayu, because the cones in a walleye’s eyes allow them to see colors differently than other fish.”

Now that the trolling trilogy has been revealed, another important aspect of trolling for walleye is the type of tackle an angler should use.  First, 10 – 12 pound monofilament is the standard line size and type.  Next, always use a trolling rod, not your everyday seven-foot flipping stick, because it is too stout and trolling is not good for your rod.

Being able to duplicate your techniques from one day to the next is key when trolling for walleye.  What you actually did to make those fish bite may not be as important as knowing how you did it.  One of the best ways to do that is to incorporate line counter reels into your array of tackle.  They actually meter your line and tell you how much you have let out.  It takes the guesswork out of it, which is a huge factor in walleye fishing. 

Now you know Lucky Craft’s trolling trilogy – how to manage speed, depth and what colors best represent the walleye’s favorite forages.  It is getting close to ‘that time of year,’ when the water cools down, the fish come up and Lucky Craft baits bring in the big ones.