Trolling in the propwash

[Brian]

For those of you who are apt to troll a spinnerbait, or crankbait, in the propwash, what have you used and at what speed?



- B

[esoxjunkie]

Brian, trolling on a shortline, whether in the 'wash or out the side is a very productive method at times. The biggest challenge is finding heavy enough baits to troll with that stay subsurface when trolled on just 5'-10' of line at 3-6mph. Try it with a standard spinnerbait or crank and you'll find the lure just bounces along the surface. Several companies are making trolling specific muskie spinnerbaits now that are in the 4oz or larger range, and typically have willow blades to reduce the lift. The deep diving cranks such as the Slammers and Depth Raiders to name a few will run a foot or so under the surface on a shortline at 5mph from my experience.

Just do some experimenting. You'll find the faster you go, and the shorter the line, the shallower the bait will run. If you can keep it down in the 1'-2' range you'll be in the neighborhood.

If you see a white/blue Ranger trolling this fall on the Zo' or at WT, that will be me!

Good luck.

Jamie

[Brian]

Today we were on Merritt, trolling in the Boardman arm. Water clarity there was pretty good but, was stained from all the rain. We could see baits down in 6 fow.

Last weekend, I customized one of my old 3 ounce spinnerbait molds. Rigged them with heavy wire, a short (1 inch) upper arm, a heavy #8 willow blade, and tandem hair, and we were running 6-7mph and it ran great on 12 feet of line at about 2 feet under. No luck but....it passed the trials!


- B

[esoxjunkie]

What was the water temps there? The guys I know who are succesful shortlining don't usually start until late summer and go until almost freeze-up. It seems to me to be a tactic for very active fish, but then again most people are casting during the spring/summer months, so I'd be interested to hear if you have any luck with it this time of year.

One other thing I forgot to mention as far as baits go, and thats the jerkbait trolling aspect. Bobbies, Suicks, and the like that have the bendable tail can be a good trolling bait on shortlines too once the tail has been adjusted to dive deeper. My favorite "bob" sways and swims on a shortline behind the boat like you wouldn't believe.

Jamie

[Brian]

Not sure on the water temp (my transducer has a few issues)....but I'll let you know next time I go (Last night I ordered a new Lowrance unit!!!!!!)

It's still pretty cool up here, though. I'm guessing high sixties, low seventies. We haven't had any hot days yet this year, and the nights are still getting down into the forties. We'll be fishing for a while yet.



- B

[ogrefish]

There is a new spinnerbait being manufactured for this purpose called a trainwreck.