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Member
Posts: 18
Location: Rhinelander WI | Hello everyone. I am looking for info as to how to get started trolling out on the big waters. Any info would be great even if it's a good reference book. I've done it a few times when I was young, and now am in a position to start again. Have done good amount of walleye fishing on the wolf and in many of the lakes and flowages in northern WI, and now want to expand my fishing prowess on the big waters. Thanks in advance  |
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Member
Posts: 3899
| Medic, welcome.
You came to the right place. Some great guys here with a willingness to help others.
For my part, I'd suggest getting the Bible, Precision Trolling by Mark Romanack. This is a wealth of Information on trolling, both crankbaits, and crawler harnesses.
Edited by Shep 6/6/2005 4:44 PM
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Member
Posts: 265
Location: Combined Locks, WI | How to get started? Well, if you have some money to spend I would suggest getting yourself set up with 2-6 line counter reels. I prefer Diawa Sealines but you could go with the lesser priced models out there. I would also suggest Off Shore planner boards with tattle tale flag kits. To buy a complete set up of 6 boards and 6 rod and reels your looking at spending a fair amount of money. Maybe starting out with only 4 would be better. Depending on what big water you want to start fishing a good assortment of crankbaits is in order. Anything from Dave's Kaboom deep shiners and winning streaks to #7 shad raps, deep husky jerks ect... Crawler harnesses also can be productive and you can get them down to many depths by using snap weights, in line weights, or bottom bouncers.
Good luck with your quest it can be a lot of fun hitting the big waters. Always pay attention to the weather though, those big waters can get nasty real quick. Let us know how thing are going and if you have more questions just ask, someone will certainly help out.
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| Beginner...Rocket is right. To get started, it takes a good amount of tackle. I just started this year and have been picking things up along the way. Like Rocket said, it'll take a few dollars to really get set up. Off Shore planer boards are great and with the Tattle Flags. Like he said, line counter reels are a must. The Bible is a must also. To be honest with you, one of the best things you could do is go out with someone, it doesn't have to be a guide, but they certainly are great also, that have done this type of fishing for a while. My buddy and I went out with someone after we had been trolling for a while and we were taught more than we ever thought. We started to think we knew what we were doing until we went with him. If you have any other questions, let me know, or even better others on here. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help you get started. |
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Member
Posts: 18
Location: Rhinelander WI | Whats the difference between Off Shore and Yellow birds? Also are there any tricks in rigging up a tiller boat to troll easier? |
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Member
Posts: 2393
Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Get the off-shore and not the yellow birds.
You have received some excellent advice from some very knowledgeable trollers. I would agree that one of the most important things to go is to get out in boat with one of us and pick our brains for a day. It's one thing to read up about what to do or use and its a totally different experince to live it for a day. Many of us are tournament fishermen and often look for a person to prefish with us for a day. I bet with all the tournaments coming up...................if you would ask the question in the general discussion forum.....you'd get some very positive replies. Otherwise PM me and I'll set something up for you. I have Otter coming up and then FLW in July.
As mentioned a few times before...get the bible now and read it. A lot of things people are suggesting will make more sense to you.
Take baby steps in your lure buying. It can become addictive and very costly. If you buy proven lures in a few different colors, you are on your way to catching fish. You are also entering the crawler harness season on most lakes........... learn how to make yopur own and it can be very inexpensive.
Lure sellection in our area:
Dave KABOOM deep and shallow shiners (buy deep now and shallow for fall patterns)
Dave KABOOM Winning Streak (these are starting to produce right now and will continue while the mud bite contiues on bago)
Shad Raps
Wally Divers
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Member
Posts: 874
Location: Neenah, WI | If you don't fish any tournaments..........yet, go to some of the weigh-ins and look at how the trollers rig their boats. That's an education in itself. most guys will be happy to answer questions. Rigging a tiller boat is pretty simple, I trolled out of one for a few years. Start with quality rod holders like RAM 2000, Fish-On!!!, Scotty or Cabelas. Prescision Trolling bases their findings on 10# mono line with a conversion for Fireline, etc. For a beginner I would recommend mono because it stretches a bit and is more forgiving. Fireline and Power Pro, etc. don't stretch and can rip hooks from a fishes mouth unless the drag is set correctly and you have a feel for how to use it. That's where Sunshine's baby steps come in. When you get the trolling book make sure it's volume 7. That's the latest one. There's also a Great Lakes edition but I don't think you need it yet. If you come down to this partof the state be sure to post on here and you just might find one of us to visit with and get some tips. Good Luck to you. |
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Member
Posts: 88
Location: Fond du Lac, Wi | Sunshine is right lure buying can be addictive and very costly so ask other fishermen what colors have been working for the lakes you want to fish. Trolling is very exciting and can be very productive but let me say this DETAILS DETAILS DETAILS. You need to beable to monitor you speed depth, know what depth your baits are running, where the fish are in the water column, and so on. When you find fish keep working them until you can develop a pattern by refining colors of your bait or the depth your bait is running. Maybe they want spinner rigs or maybe they want cranks. Some times your speed can be the issue. I remember fishing the Bay where you would not get bit if you where going faster then 1.0 mph. other times it could be an exact depth of water the fish are in. So these are some of the things you need to be aware of when trolling. The best way to learn is to get out there and just troll also take Sunshine up on his offer to prefish he is a great stick and you will be amazed what you can learn after one day on the water with a seasoned troller. Best of Luck to you. |
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New User
Posts: 4
| I too am just getting started, and have a question or two. I bought the book called Precision Trolling. I see where it says put a weight 50 feet up the line then let out another 50 feet. I thought I could put the weight up just a few feet from a harness, then let out enough line to get that weight to the depth I want to run it, and go a certain speed. Example: Mud fishing at say 2 mph, in 18 feet of water means XX feet of line out with 1 oz. etc. Possibe?
Greybeard |
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Member
Posts: 201
Location: Jackson, Wisconsin 53037 | If you are doing the 50/50 method, at 2m.p.h. you are going to get down around 10ft. 2m.p.h. is fast for trolling harnesses, most of the time you will be around 1m.p.h.. You can use in-line weights, that attach right to you harness, you can use keel weights, bass pro shops sells them. You can also experiment with how much line you put between the harness and the snap weight then the board ()ex. 30/30, 20/30) you can use any variations you want.
The best way to figure out how deep you are running is to find an area that has a sand bottom 5-10ft. Then experiment on how much line you have to let out between the harness and the snap weight then your rod before you hit bottom. If you are fishing shallow, or the fish are high up in the water column, you can just use a split shot with 20-30ft of line out.
If you want to fish the bottom, use a bottom bouncer and let out enough line until you hit bottom.
Just go out an experiment, there are alot of variations you can use.
Eric |
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Member
Posts: 859
Location: Appleton wi | Hey shink question for yeah. I'm relativly new at crawler harness compared to alot of guys. I understand the 50/50 method with 1/2,3/4, 1oz. If you shortened distance from weight to harness you will be running deeper is that correct?And would shallow water be the reason to shorten distance from weight to board. Thanks |
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Member
Posts: 201
Location: Jackson, Wisconsin 53037 | Yes you would run deeper if you shorten the length from harness to weight. As far as shortening from weight to board, shallow water doesn't matter. In Bago for instance, most of the time you are fishing in the top half of the water column. That is where the most active fish are, that's a reason you would shorten the length from weight to board. I don't use snap weights that much, I use in-lines most of the times or keel weights, or just a split shot. If you have more questions, just P.M. me.
Eric |
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Member
Posts: 106
Location: Chilton, WI | Not nesscarily Eye Lunker. The longer distance from the harness to the board (lead), the less up and down action your harness will have in rough water. The shorter the lead the more up and down action your harness is going to have in rough water. There are situations where fish like the eratic up and down action of the harness and sometimes they don't. Experiment with the lead and see what the fish want. In calm water you won't really get any up and down action so there really is no need for a 50' lead. In that case the most I would run would be a 20' lead. Depending on your speed, size of blade ect. a longer lead might make you harness go a couple of feet deeper but thats not really the deciding factor. Depth is controlled by the distance from your weight to the board. I hope this helped. Any more questions just ask. |
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Member
Posts: 201
Location: Jackson, Wisconsin 53037 | scrap iron, you can control your depth by using both ways, from weight to board, and from harness to weight. You're right on with the eratic motion caused by waves and length. you also have to remember if you're in clear water, the weight can and will spook fish, that's why you would want a longer lead from the harness to the weight. Especially if you are up on bay de noc.
As I said eye lunker their are different scenarios for all the weights,leads adn how far from the boards. The best way is to just go out and experiment and see what catches fish.
Eric |
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Member
Posts: 106
Location: Chilton, WI | Shink, your right about the longer lead not spooking fish. Some cases you can get away with running a keel weight right in front of the harness like in Bago and other places with real clear water a longer lead will be better. I never thought the distance from the harness to the weight would effect the depth very much though. |
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Member
Posts: 1314
Location: Menasha, WI | Very informative thread for us beginners guys. Thanks. Keep the info coming. I have a question: If you're using a weight 20' from the harness, how do you pull it off when your relling and fighting a fish? I can see where a partner could pull a snap weight off, but I fish alone most of the time. With a 7' rod in my hand, I wouldn't be able to just reach out and pull it off..... |
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Member
Posts: 201
Location: Jackson, Wisconsin 53037 | Viking, it's the same as taking a board off. Actually it's easier. Hold the rod in one hand aand take the weight off with the other. Just make sure not to get any slack in the line. Do you use in-line planer boards? If you do then I think you know what I mean. It's kind of hard for me to explain, maybe somebody else can put ti into words better than I can.
Eric |
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| I fish alone too, and don't use boards. The reason is: I use one long rod,
and put it in a rod holder in the side, and one short rod, and put it out the back. They don't tangle that way. So weights are what I am trying to learn. I do use the bottom scratchers, but want to fish higher up when the fish are above the mud. So for example I want to run one at 10 feet down,
in 20 feet of water. I know you try for about a 45 degree angle with the line. Guys are saying with harnesses they run anywhere from 1.5 to 3 mph.
I suppose I could run into shallow water and see when the bait hits bottom, I just thought someone may know how much line to put out.
Greybeard |
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Member
Posts: 744
| Graybeard- First off, I think your harness speed is pretty quick. I (and most guys I think) run them 1.5 at the VERY most, and usually at .8-1. If you can get the 45 degree angle using your speed, weight and spinner size, you can figure 1.5 feet of line for every foot down. So if your line is at 45 degrees, 10 feet down would be 15' of line (with the rod tip at the water). If the rod tip is 3 feet above the water, you would add 4.5 feet for a total of 19.5 feet.
Dave S |
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| Great advice Thumpy! Didn't know they taught math in Omro!?! jk..... |
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Member
Posts: 3899
| My Great Uncle Ed was the Mayor of Omro many years ago! I think he instituted basic math for 6th graders and above during his term!
Edited by Shep 6/22/2005 10:38 AM
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| Thanks for the info Thumper. So now I know to go 1.5 feet back to each foot down. I didn't realize I was going too fast for harnesses. I will find a way to slow it down a little.
When they say they ran a bait 50 feet back, I assume that means with no
weight, just the lure right? Also, the Husky Jerk 10 is not in the book,
only the 12, is it close enough for figuring the distance back? I think they base the distance on the speed of 2.0 mph?
Greybeard |
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Member
Posts: 580
Location: Green Bay, WI | Greybeard,
As far as crankbaits go, speed doesn't matter to a point. A crankbait will dive to its max depth based on the length of line whether you are going 1.3 or 3.0. The thing to remember is if you are only going 1.3 to 1.5 it will take longer to get to that depth and if you are on the top end your crankbait may "spinout" and be ineffective. |
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Member
Posts: 25
Location: Kaukauna, Wi. | I don't own any trolling bords, so i have never used them. Is it possible to catch eyes out on Winnebago using slip bobbers? I live in Kaukauna, so where would you recommend i go?
Michael, i received your email. Thanks, but have someone in family teaching me somethings. |
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Member
Posts: 10
Location: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin | I will be coming over to Winnebago this Thursday morning and would like to try some trolling with my boat. If anyone would like to go and has some experience or ideas message me here with a phone number to call and maybe we can hook up. I will be comming to the Oshkosh area. Thanks, Rich |
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