Fishing with Piotr

Trolling is a method used by many anglers to cover a lot of water in hopes of catching one of the larger species of fish such as walleye, musky, or pike. Trolling involves casting your bait and letting the line go out as you slowly putt your boat through the water. By casting your bait out and keeping your bail open you will allow the bait to move out a safe distance away from the wake of your boats motor so as not to spook the fish. Of course, once your bait is about 50-60 metres away you should close your bail just in case a fish bites and to begin your troll. Once your bait is out in the water you can hold your rod or use a rod holder and simply manoeuvre your boat through canals, around structure, or through open waters in hopes of catching a hungry monster. This method is very successful when using larger baits such as large crank baits, large spinner baits, or big spoons. As larger fish species tend to cruise around looking for a quick snack, a well presented bait that is moving through the water with a bit of speed can entice them to bite. By trolling you may not put as many fish in your boat as you would when you are fishing for pan fish but when you do catch a fish using this method it is usually a trophy.

Classic Trolling

Classic Trolling: Side view

 The other method of trolling is to use a trolling motor. Now this method is not “really” considered trolling but it also allows you to cover a lot of water and get into some tight places where fish may be hiding. A trolling motor is an electric motor that attaches either to the bow of your boat or the stern. You will see many professional bass anglers using their trolling motors once they find a place where the fish are biting. By using the trolling motor you can pull up your main engine so that it does not get snagged or damaged on anything and then you can simply manoeuvre your boat in and out of weed pockets or shallow areas, the places where the monsters like to hide. When using a trolling motor you will usually be casting your bait and retrieving it making it a quite different method from the traditional trolling method described previously. The electric trolling motor is also whisper quiet which does not spook the fish and allows you to creep in on them as if you were stalking your prey.

For the traditional trolling methods you can use a trolling plate or even a drift sock on your boat to slow down the speed at which you are travelling. When your main engine is on, even if you are going at a slow speed, your propeller will still create a tunnel of water behind your boat. By using a trolling plate you disperse this “noise” from your propeller and help maintain a calm water zone behind your boat which in turn will not spook the fish. Secondarily the trolling plate allows you to slow your boat down even more so that you can slow the presentation of your bait if the fish are proving to be a bit sluggish. A trolling plate simply attaches in and around your propeller and can be lowered quite easily when you desire to do some trolling or can be easily raised when you wish to get under way. They come in a variety of sizes and materials but it is best to get the largest trolling plate you can afford and one that is made out of metal, not plastic, as the plastic ones have been known to easily break off.

A drift sock can also be used when trolling but it is not as effective as trolling under the power of your main engine. A drift sock is quite simply a large cone shaped device with a hole at the thin end to allow water to pass through. A drift sock is lowered into the water and adds more friction while you are getting pushed around the lake by the wind. This too will allow you to slow down your bait or will allow you to spend more time over certain structure, such as a sunken island or drop off, where the fish will be hanging out.

As mentioned you can troll a large bait behind your boat in order to entice to big boys to bite. Traditionally when trolling you will use a large crank bait that can be either deep diving or shallow diving depending on the depth of the water column that you are fishing and the fish you are targeting or a large spinner bait such as a Musky Killer. You can also use a swim bait or even a spoon when targeting the large fish you can catch when trolling. You would never use a worm and bobber when trolling and jigging is also a bad idea. You can easily get snagged up if you were to troll with any of these methods and it wouldn’t prove to be a very effective way of catching monsters. I will go in greater depth about trolling methods and baits to use in later articles but for now this is just to give you an idea of what trolling is all about and what to use.

Check out some of the maps I have posted and target some of the trolling lines I have outlined. Try your hand at some trolling and don’t forget to get some large baits to target the large varieties of fish you can catch using this method.

Northern Pike (or just Pike)

Characteristics: Pike are a long slender fish. They usually have a greenish body, but this can change from a light green to a darker green based on their environment and their food source. They also have very unique spots on their body. These spots are oval shaped. Cover their entire body, and are usually white or yellowish in colour. Pike can range from anywhere around 30cm and can grow all the way up to 150cm! These are true brutes of the underwater world. When they are young they can weigh in at a small 3-4 pounds but once they grow up they can get up to 50 pounds with some even larger than that.

How to handle: Be very careful with these guys, especially if you land a big one. They are very powerful fish and if you catch one that is 20 plus pounds you make have some issues with grabbing it. First of all you must be aware that these large predators have very sharp teeth, so don’t go sticking your hand inside its mouth unless you want to be cut. The best way to pull them ashore or to pull them into a boat is to grab them under their gills. If you look at a fish it usually has a hard outer edge around its gills to protect them. This is known as the gill plate. On a pike this gill plate is quite large and you can easily side your hand in behind this gill plate and grab the fish through there, all the while making sure not to actually grab it by its gills so as to not damage it. Once you have it grasped under its gill plate you can pull it into your boat or onto shore and then support it by its belly so that it is cradled in your hands vertically, as my buddy Tom does in the pictures page. One of the best ways to land these guys is to use a net or a fish cradle. While you usually net a fish it tends to calm down making it a lot easier to handle.

Where to find them: These guys love to hang out in weeds. As they are ambush predators so they tend to hang out in weed beds ready to pounce on any minnow or small bait fish that swims by. Weeds however, or only part of the equation, these guys can also be found in deeper waters with rocky bottoms. Be sure to try out both of these types of waters to try to catch one of these guys. These guys are best caught in early to late fall as they go into a feeding frenzy before the winter. You will find a lot of targeting anglers them at this time.

How to catch them: As I said these guys are big time predators and they like to hang out and just wait for a bait fish to swim past them. The best way to hook into one of these guys is to fish the edges of weeds. Unlike bass they don’t tend to really dig themselves deep in the weeds, they prefer to just be on the outskirts waiting for something to swim by. They can accelerate very quickly with their slender bodies and will eat almost anything. The best baits to use on these guys is a buck tail spinner, a large spoon, or even a crank bait. One thing is certain though, if you want to catch a big pike you have to use a big bait. A large predator like this will not waste its energy eating a lot of tiny fish, instead it will make one quick move to get the most out of its bite, hence you should use larger style baits. A great method for catching pike is to troll right beside weed beds or through channels in lakes with a slow presentation. In winter months these guys can also be caught through the ice. They feed all year long but your best bet is to target these monsters in early to late fall.

Northern Pike

Northern Pike 2

Personally this is my favourite type of bait to use. I love the fun of seeing a fish go after my bait by using a top water lure, but crank baits have proven to be the most successful for me, the average angler, and even tournament anglers.

Crank baits come in all shapes and sizes. There are lipless crank baits, one’s with lips, deep diving crank baits, and some with rattles. Let’s start off with telling you about the lipless crank baits. I would suggest you use these baits once you have a little bit of practice with the lipped crank baits. Below is a picture of what these baits look like.

Close up of a lipless crank bait

Variety of lipless crank baits

You can get these baits in all different sizes and colours, but for the most part they usually resemble a diamond shape. These baits are great to use if you wish to fish a variety of water depths. The great thing about these baits is that you can cast them out and start your retrieve right away if you want to fish them shallow or you can let them sink and fish them a little deeper. The one draw-back of these baits, when compared to a lipped crank bait, is that they do not offer as much action when they swim through the water. What do I mean by this? Well, action refers to the amount of motion that the bait creates as it swims through the water. In order to attract fish you usually want a bait that is going to move side to side a lot and make some noise. The vibrations from the bait will usually attract fish as they can sense its movements through the water. Vibrations can travel a lot further through water then they can on land so fish are very sensitive to this. This action makes the fish think “hey, this must be a small injured fish that will make an easy snack.” Another great thing about these baits is that you can cast them out, retrieve them fast, if you are fishing shallow water, and then retrieve them at a lower speed to allow them to sink a bit as you retrieve into deeper water. You can really cover a lot of water with these baits and locate where they are hiding.

Lipped crank baits are my bait of choice when entering a lake I have never fished before or if I want to cover a lot of water (fishing as much area as possible) and find where the fish are hiding. I can cast this bait our repeatedly and basically do my own scouting of the lake. What is this lip I am talking about? Well, a lip on a bait determines how deep the bait will dive. If you look at the picture below you will see two crank baits with lips. The lure with the larger lip is a deep diver while the one with the smaller lip will usually stay quite shallow.

Lipped Crank Baits

Lip Size Comparison

 A deep diving crank bait can go up to 15’ in depth while the shallow one will usually go just beneath the surface, 2’-4’.  A shallow diving lipped crank bait will usually stay on the surface when you cast it out. It will only start to go under the water once you start your retrieve. As you retrieve this bait you will feel its movement on your rod. This is its action. These baits will jump from side to side and for the most part many of them come with rattles inside that increase the amount of vibrations in the water and entice fish. I absolutely love to fish these baits. I will use the shallow diving crank bait as I fish a shore line or if there is a large amount of weeds. I will usually cast it out and retrieve it slowly so that it does not dive too deep and get all caught up in weeds. After all you want to be fishing not catching salad all day. These baits create a lot of action but by fishing it fast or slow you can change its action and movement. If fish are in an eating frenzy then you want to fish it quite fast as the fish will grab at it. If the fishing turns slow and the fish are being lazy then you want to present it as if it were an injured fish, an easy snack for a fish. I will use a deep diving crank bait if I know I am in deep water. Once you cast these baits out they are usually weighted so that they start to sink right away. The action on these baits in similar to the shallow diving crank baits but you will need to retrieve them at a regular speed so that they maintain their action and stay at the depth they are supposed to stay at.

Crank baits are probably the most versatile lure you can use. It is a good idea to have a variety of colours and different style crank baits in your tackle box. They are ideal for covering water especially if you arrive at a lake you have never fished before. The beauty of these baits is that by having a few of them in your tackle box you can catch a large variety of fish, from largemouth bass and smallmouth bass, to walleye, pike and even musky.  If you are going thinking of getting into the sport of fishing or are just looking to add something to your collection of baits then go for the crank bait.

Strike King Pro-Model Crankbaits -Mini 3 – 3/16 oz. – Sexy Shad Mini crankbait catches almost anything and lots of them! Beautiful finishes, reflective eyes, and enticing wiggle are irresistible to the fish. Like all of Strike King’s Pro-Model Series crankbaits, the Mini-3 features free-floating rattles and lifelike 3D eyes. If you really just want to catch something, put one of these on and add some fun to your fishing trip. Weight: 3-16 oz. Dives 4′-6′. Manufacturer model #: HCM3.. Strike King® Pro-Model® Crankbaits – Mini 3 (3/16 oz.)