Refined Tactics For Lakes, Rivers, & Reservoirs

Sometimes longlining is as easy as trolling straight forward at the same speed. Other times, give crankbaits a little action to trigger strikes, by pumping your rod forward to add action to your crankbaits. Momentarily hesitating as you let the rod tip back floats the crankbait until the boat or the next pump dives it forward.

Running crankbaits near bottom, occasionally ticking rocks and weeds, also gives lures an erratic action. Steer the boat in an S-shape pattern to impart a subtle speed-up slow-down motion to crankbaits. Using your motor thrust to speed up and slow down also gives crankbaits an action that can trigger strikes.

Lake Tactics

Longline trolling is effective on defined structure like following contour edges. Rocky shorelines, shallow offshore reefs, and weed locations also are prime spots.

Minnow-imitating lures, like a Storm ThunderStick or a Rapala Minnow, excel for trolling shorelines and reefs. Correct line length makes lures run at proper depths. Some situations require up to 150 feet, while other crankbaits and other situations call for less than 75 feet of line, depending on water depth and cover, such as boulders and the tops of weeds.

Shorelines are good longline trolling spots when walleyes are near shallow spawning areas in spring or feeding locations in fall. In spring, walleyes move shallow to spawn near lake inlets and rock or gravel shoals, where they remain after spawning to forage. In fall, walleyes often move to shallow locations to feed heavily on baitfish before winter.

At night or on windy days, troll windswept shorelines or reefs as shallow as 3 to 4 feet, using shallow-diving crankbaits run about 75 to 100 feet behind the boat. Use just enough line to occasionally contact bottom or tick the tops of rocks or weeds. Make several passes along a shoreline or reef, trolling different depth contours to determine the most productive depths.

Troll over the tops of weeds or along weededges in spring and fall. Many walleye anglers shy away from longlining near or over weeds due to increased lure fouling. Trolling over weeds in spring, before they grow too tall, or in fall, once they begin to die, makes trolling easier and also easier for walleyes to find food.

Use superline, like Berkley FireLine, to longline troll weed locations. Superline’s sensitivity makes it easy to detect the tops of weeds or a fouled crankbait. The no-stretch qualities of superlines allow you to rip your rod tip forward several times to free weeds, leaves, and other debris that foul crankbaits.

Longline trolling is a good way to fish open basins, eliminate unproductive water, and find schools of roaming walleyes. Basin trollers often add planer boards to spread multiple lines, though the system is in essence nothing more than a glorified version of longline trolling. When you locate an area of active fish, continue to troll through the area.

Current areas, like lake inlets and narrows—necked-down locations that connect two different bodies of water—can be good spots to longline troll when there’s sufficient room and depth to troll. Key on hard-bottom locations and drop-offs near the mouths of inlets, particularly at night. In narrows, troll shorelines, keying on the downwind side—although trolling the entire current area can be good.