Try Trolling For Fall Walleyes

Fall walleye fishing, whether on the Mississippi or Wisconsin River is a game of hunting for the fish.  Fall walleyes are scattered, and rarely do you find a lot of them in any one spot, so stopping and casting to a rock pile or to the shoreline, is not very effective.

The way to find them is to troll.  There are many areas in both rivers to do this.  On the Miss. the rocks along the RR tracks and riprap along the islands is a good place to try.  On the Wis. the rocky shelf areas will hold many fish.  In either case, trolling will cover a lot of water and drag your lure in front of a lot more fish.

To troll all you need is a good fairly limber rod, line of 8# or 10# test and a handful of crank baits.  Bomber, Wiggle Wart, Shad Rap, and Storm Thundersticks are just a few that work well.  Pick the one you like and then you have to experiment with speed and the length of line behind the boat to achieve the right formula for success.  You must be bumping the bottom with your bait and once you find the right combination, you’ll start getting hit.

Trolling is a great way to cover a lot of water and search out those scattered fish.  And usually, when you troll you’ll end up with a larger overall catch than you usually get jig fishing.  

 Post by: Dan Bomkamp

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