Interactive Video Trolling

Tools: Aqua-Vu camera, rod (trolling), downrigger, rod holder, Aqua-Vu Cam Rigger Kit, (allows for easy connection of camera to downrigger ball).

Schwartz’s idea about scent comes from watching video footage: Muskies often appear to be scenting lures like a dog sniffing an unfamiliar hand. “For sure there’s something about big thumping blades, coupled with a wide flapping plastic tail that plays on a muskie’s senses,” he says. “And I’m convinced that scent can play a larger role than any of us realize, although I don’t know the specifics of how, just yet.

“I’ve recorded many muskies following plugs like Grandmas and Believers, but the lure they eat consistently on camera is the Train Wreck.” Schwartz’s largest on-camera muskie last year was a 54-incher that gulped the lure last fall.

›Active muskies often prefer the lee side of windblown structures— Schwartz: “Almost every muskie I’ve viewed during higher wind conditions, whether a curious follower or a willing biter, was on the calm side of islands or reefs. I saw few fish on spots with lots of windblown waves crashing in.”

Schwartz also notes that when the wind subsides, the fish start showing up on the windblown side of structures. “In the past I often concentrated on the windblown side of structural spots,” he says. “Now I think I was getting beaten up for nothing all those years. I don’t know why this has been the case. We’ll see if it continues this coming year, but I’ve logged a lot of hours and this seems obvious.”

›Muskies are the undisputed kings of their domain—“Doesn’t take long watching underwater footage before you realize muskies dominate their habitat area,” says Schwartz. “Watching a muskie engulf a giant bait trolled a foot behind a gaudy downrigger ball leaves little room for doubt. They want it, and even if it’s big, they get it. Place an object such as a motor propeller or downrigger ball in their world and muskies are just as likely to investigate as flee.”

As we’ve noted, Schwartz has footage of muskies that appear curious about both the motor propeller and the downrigger ball. He’s also recorded a large pike attacking the downrigger ball. In each of many instances, muskies and pike ignore a trolled lure while investigating other objects attached to the boat.”

›Video trolling probably works everywhere muskies swim—Schwartz has footage of muskies following or striking in seven different waters, from Canadian Shield lakes to mesotrophic lakes in Minnesota, and in several heavily pressured lakes and flowages in Wisconsin. So long as the water has a few feet of visibility, video trolling works. Next season, he plans on exploring the possibilities offered by trolling in the deep basins where muskies pursue pelagic baitfish.

“Observing muskies on the camera and studying the footage later reveals so many clues that expand your understanding of muskie activity,” Schwartz says. “There’s no other way to gain so much knowledge so quickly and have so much fun at the same time. I’m trolling more precisely and more confidently now than I thought possible. I’m always engaged in what’s going on. I can’t wait to see what new stories these monsters have to show me next year.”

*Cory Schmidt, Brainerd, Minnesota, has authored articles for In-Fisherman publications for over a decade.