The Open-Water Alternative

Open-Water Trolling Systems

Planer board trolling—On-line planer boards have in the past fifteen years emerged as the preeminent presentation for open-water walleyes, working equally well for fish suspended or near the basin, typically at depths down to about 40 to 45 feet. Planers attach to your line via a release mechanism, although most walleye anglers opt to clamp them tightly on the line and remove them by hand as they fight in their fish. They work well with a variety of lures, ranging from spoons to crankbaits to spinner-crawler harnesses, at a range of trolling speeds from 3 or 4 down to slightly less than 1 mph.

As you slowly troll forward, let out your lure and line—typically 10-pound monofilament—a desired distance. If fish are relatively shallow—less than 25 feet—unweighted or diving lures should reach them. If they’re deeper, let out about 50 feet of line and pinch a snapweight ranging from about 1/2 to 3 ounces onto the line. Then let out sufficient additional line to position your lure at a target depth, in conjunction with trolling speed. A metered trolling reel and a 71⁄2- to 9-foot long-handled trolling rod provide the best combination of repeatable accuracy and control.

Now attach the planer board to your line via a set of pinch pads, lower it into the water, and feed it out under line tension, or reel clicker tension, to send it out a desired distance (typically 50 to 125 feet) to the side of the boat, spreading and trailing your line and lure out behind it. When it reaches the desired spread distance, engage your reel and place the rod in a holder.

Proceed to set out additional setups, forming a wedge-shaped array spread to either side of the boat. Target a specific known productive depth or spread lures throughout the depths until you locate fish. Troll forward, typically downwind, incorporating lazy turns to impart speed changes to lures. Note the presence and depth of suspended fish on your electronics, and reset lines as necessary to reach them.

Upon the strike, the board drops back. Pick the rod out of the holder, gingerly begin reeling the fish in, and sequentially detach first the planer board, then the snapweight, from the line. Eventually net the fish over the transom, then reset the line. Multiple strikes are common when a school of active fish is located. Punch in their location with an icon on your GPS. When you troll past a school of fish, pick up lines, move back upwind of the school, reset lines while approaching them, and catch even more.

Bottom bouncers—Heavy 3-ounce bottom bouncers, big-bladed spinners, and nightcrawlers are excellent options when walleyes are near or right on bottom, down to around 40 feet. Fish ‘em handheld in traditional fashion, or spread them to the sides a bit with on-line planer boards, and set the rods in a holder. (Can be used simultaneously in conjunction with planer boards and spinners or crankbaits.) The wire leg of the bouncer defeats the line-nicking capacity of zebra mussels should you troll over a colony in the Great Lakes. Where breakoffs are not a problem, as in most inland basins, substitute a heavy three-way rig for the bouncer.