On many river systems, the best cranking locations might not
be the best places to vertical jig and vice versa. We can talk
about crankbaits having a place as far as vibration in the water,
color, easy to find profile and all the other reasons walleye
will hit a crankbait early in the year…. The fact remains
that there are obviously stretches of river that is ideal for
trolling crankbaits and places where crankbaits are less effective.
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When I am looking for good locations to
troll crankbaits early in the season on the Missouri River
near Bismarck North Dakota, there are a few things that
can make stretches ideal for trolling crankbaits. First
off, most of the fish we catch early in the season are
shallow. The biggest fish often come off planer boards
run up into a few feet of water. Every river system is
different however in the sense that in some places, all
of the action might take place in the main channel with
heavy three way rigs where sauger might be the hottest
game around. Regardless of whether or not the patterns
are up shallow or in the channel, crankbaits excel whenever
you get that water that is just basically too fast to
slip a jig downstream. Year in and year out, the best
locations for our crankbait trolling generally involve
long sandbars and shorelines where we have time to let
line out and the general "roll" of the contour
stays consistent enough where we can troll a significant
distance effectively. Obviously the larger this area is
the better for trolling crankbaits but large spots can
sometimes turn into community spots. |
Across the country, I would be willing to bet that most of the
trolling applications on rivers right now are using some kind
of super line like Fireline. The reason is simple. Besides walleye
runs and moving water, one shared element all rivers have right
now is debris in the water that can foul your hooks or line.
If a no stretch line is being used, choosing the right action
on a rod is paramount in my opinion. Early in the year, fish
often get just enough of the lure to get nicked by a single
hook. When bringing these fish back to the boat that aren’t
hooked exceptionally well through the current, there can be
some serious tension on that tiny piece of flesh on a walleye’s
gaping jaw.
We like a somewhat moderate action blank with a soft enough
tip to offer some cushion yet enough backbone to handle larger
deep diving baits or quickly ski in smaller fish when we have
to. Rods that fit this bill are the Jason Mitchell Guide Series
Trolling Rods. These rods have an interesting feature in the
fact that the handle behind the reel seat is much shorter than
traditional trolling rods. The reason is that we often have
the rods pointed in angles that are horizontal to the water
when using rod holders. The shorter handles eliminate a long
piece of cork or foam jabbing you in the ribs every time you
move around in the boat or worst yet, rubbing against seats.
From a fish catching standpoint when fish are just starting
to hit crankbaits and are just "barely" hanging on,
much less goes wrong while bringing the rod out of the rod holder
with this particular design of rod.
When trolling along contours where we take advantage of planer
boards to put lures in shallow water right up next to shore,
we are often using a stick bait with a small bill. These baits
however can be hard to read on boards when fouled up. One trick
we often do when dealing with a lot of floating debris in the
water is using a small piece of rubber band tied in a knot on
the line ahead of the lure to pick up debris on the line. Something
else we do from time to time is simply speed up to see if the
lure will come to the surface fouled up. Since this is a shallow
water affair where we don’t have a lot of line out in
many cases, there isn’t much pull on the planer board.
One thing we sometimes do with the Offshore Boards we use is
put two clips on the front bracket and just clip the line on
the two clips in front, skipping the back. This will cause the
board to run more directly to the side of the boat even at extremely
slow speeds. This advantage can really fine tune boat control
in the sense that it seems like we can put the boat where we
have to and visualize where the lure is behind the board much
more easily when the boards are next to the boat versus behind
the boat.
The myth that crankbaits don’t work for walleye when the
water is cold or early in the season has come to pass in that
most walleye anglers know or have heard that trolling will work
early in the season. There are two scenarios where they seem
to work more so, the expanses of the Great Lakes and the current
of river systems. When targeting walleye on river systems, just
remember that the best places for jigging and anchoring for
example might be terrible locations for trolling a crankbait.
Use crankbaits in locations and situations where they will likely
be more effective and you will have success with walleye this
spring.
Editors Note: The author, Sheldon Meidinger is a very accomplished
angler on the Professional Walleye Trail with several top finishes.
This article has been brought to you by Yar-Craft Boats, www.yarcraft.com
and Jason Mitchell Guide Series Rods, www.jasonmitchellrods.com.
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