High water trolling tips

[rangerman]

Over the years I have refined some techniques when working Bull Shoals during high water periods.  I am a troller at heart. Being able to refine trolling techniques on this awesome walleye lake will put numbers in the boat as well as larger specimens. 

As of now, the old shoreline is in play with the thermocline being where it’s at. Choose erratic crankbaits such as jointed ones to draw attention to your baits.  Trolling depths of 17 foot in 25 foot of water is where your want to be. Sure there are deeper fish to find however the above is where I found success.  I have many trolling setups but when it comes to trolling brush, I always go with mono rigs. 10 pound Berkley big game gets the nod for me. Braid, lead core and snap weights can be hard on tackle supply when it’s comes to trolling the brush. Mono has a bit of buoyancy, which makes it pull through the brush a lot better. 

Over the course of 2.5 days I lost 1 crank and that’s was my failure to retie when I should have.    Use dive charts to figure out dive curves for different cranks. I was running 152 foot back with the cranks I was using which put me skipping the top of the brush.  

Pay attention to your electronics. If walleye are wanting to feed you will see them suspended in the middle to top portions of the brush. You also want to stay in the correct depth zone to ensure your baits are not running any shallower water than they should be for obvious reasons. Speeds of 2.0-2.3 correlate with the current warmer water temps.  

When you hook up, keep your rod tip up, these fish will want to grab a bait and head straight back into the brush.  

There is definitely a stronger crank trolling bite in the mornings and evenings during the lower light periods as the fish rise to the tops of the brush. During the day, other techniques such as bottom bouncing slow death and crawler harnesses are better. 

Good luck!

[Ron Burgundy]

Great info Rangerman!..Thanks for sharing!

[Rob P]

great info Rangerman.
I'll admit to running clip weight with set line out and trolling an old crankbait.
Then running over a point to see if I snag.
Knowing the depth and set up I can verify my lure depths.

Doing it at least once tells me exactly the speed/line out/weight combo for that lure.

I run mono also but I like the clip weights for inside trolling rods.
Outside rods are longer and can be longlines.

I've found my northern Michigan crazy lure colors work the same on Bull.

walleye are walleye everywhere...

[rangerman]

22 hours ago, Rob P said:

great info Rangerman.
I'll admit to running clip weight with set line out and trolling an old crankbait.
Then running over a point to see if I snag.
Knowing the depth and set up I can verify my lure depths.

Doing it at least once tells me exactly the speed/line out/weight combo for that lure.

I run mono also but I like the clip weights for inside trolling rods.
Outside rods are longer and can be longlines.

I've found my northern Michigan crazy lure colors work the same on Bull.

walleye are walleye everywhere...

Yes they are! They like some different colors. A couple of eaters I cleaned had pumpkinseed in them.  I definitely love my snap weights but I was trying to follow the 25 foot contour and anytime I made a slight turn the inside line would drop into the brush. It was no beuno!