Tough Day For Trolling

[powerdive]

Went to Stockton today looking for walleyes. Lake is 7' high; put in at Mutton South. All we did was troll cranks. Found a couple lost eyes suspended at the mouth of a small cove, west side just north of the Mile Long Bridge. Checked the usual late-summer spots from there to Chicken Rock, both mainlake and in the coves, and the only other place we found any action was on a little 15' spine on the Point 7 flats. There were lots of tiny shad on top, from 1/2" to 1-1/2" long, plus some mayfly casings floating on the surface as well. Using leadcore and shad baits, and also a 2-oz. inline with a small stickbait, we caught 35-40 walleyes. Only 4 were legals though, and nothing over 17".

Bottom bouncing would've been much more efficient on that spot. Seems like the fish are scattered for the most part.

[powerdive]

Oh, we also caught a catfish that was pushing 10 lbs. No other species came out to play. Hot, humid, calm.

[Sac River Jim]

thanx for the good report.

[Quillback]

What, no bass?? I am disappointed.

[powerdive]

QB, I am shocked and amazed also. Better yet, after digging on you for chasing dinks, I get a taste of my own medicine. Touche!

[bfishn]

It still ain't the same thing. Catching dinks accidentally while pursuing nobility is just a negative consequence, and acceptable to degrees. Pursuing dinks intentionally is another story, perhaps better suited to the realm of Dr Phil.

[mjk86]

How deep would you say your cranks are running when you troll? Do you try to keep them off the bottom? or do you want them to tick the gravel? Just curious...headed down in a few weeks with my bro.

[powerdive]

Mjk, leadcore is super precise. Most of the time we keep our cranks within 1-2 feet of bottom--tick occasionally to make sure. Often the contour will vary quite a bit, so at times the baits will be running 5 or 6 feet up--they'll still get hit, if there's bait around.

[Quillback]

It still ain't the same thing. Catching dinks accidentally while pursuing nobility is just a negative consequence, and acceptable to degrees. Pursuing dinks intentionally is another story, perhaps better suited to the realm of Dr Phil.

You have hurt my feelings, I'm going to watch some of my Oprah DVD's, maybe she can restore my wounded pride. Or...I'll just go bass fishing tomorrow and take it out on some dinks!

[mjk86]

We will be pulling with braid line, never used the leadcore line before. With enough line out I think I can still get those cranks deep enough. Still itching to drag those walleye runners! I imagine we can still find some deep fish mid september. Also....35-40 fish even with all the shorts seems like a fun day on the water! Nice work!