Trolling For Walleye On Lake Erie

Trolling for Walleye Lake Erie Western Basin

The first thing you should know is that this will not be all inclusive for trolling for Walleye. It is an article based on my years of experience and what has worked for me. I hope this information helps you catch more fish this year! This article is designed to explain how to troll using “in-line” planer boards. I prefer to use Gator Bait Tackle boards with the built in “strike flag” kit which is included. The flag is spring loaded and will go down when a fish strikes letting you know when you have a fish on!

The first thing to note is the speed at which you should troll depending on the time of year. In early season (June) I always troll fairly slowly. Since the water is still cold the fish are lethargic and will not chase aggressively so I prefer to troll from 0.8 to 1.2 MPH. As the season goes on and water temperatures rise I will increase my trolling speeds to 1.5-2.0 MPH at a maximum when using worm harnesses. This changes, however, if you are trolling crank baits. If you run deep diving crank baits without an inline weight you need to go faster to get the baits down to depth and to activate good action of the bait so I would suggest 1.5-2.0 for those. I also prefer not to mix up worm harnesses with crank baits. I find it better to run one or the other.

When trolling worm harnesses, which is my “go to” bait of choice for Walleye in the Western Basin of Lake Erie I run them off a 2.5 to 3oz bottom bouncer weight. Many anglers will let the weight down to the bottom and after hitting bottom they will let out a few extra feet. Make sure you keep your thumb on the spool when letting your line out to avoid a “birds nest”. Line counter reels are not necessary for bottom fishing although they are the standard. I do the opposite and I’ll explain why. Once I hit bottom with the bouncer weight I crank the line back up a revolution or two. I do this to ensure the bottom bouncers stay vertical. If your bottom bouncer lays down flat you will not catch fish and you WILL get snags repeatedly.

For my worm harnesses I like to use a double barbed Eagle Claw hook 1/0 in size (much larger than many pre-made harnesses but we have BIG Walleye in these parts!!!) and a length harness of about 3 feet. I do not find colour matters as much as many think, however, copper colours, purples, and orange seem to be the best in my opinion. I would put forward to you that colour is far less important than the action of the spinner blade as the flash attracts the attention. You can also opt for a plastic worm, I use 7” Zoom worms of many colours, rather than live bait. This will make your life much easier as these do not come off and you will not have to check your lines every 15 minutes to ensure you aren’t just washing bare hooks!

Another tried and true trolling formula for Walleye is to use an inline weight system such as the Off Shore Tadpole #2 and then attach either a 5 ft leader to a 3” spoon or a worm harness. Many Walleye suspend in larger bodies of water and this will allow you to target them as well as the fish that remain on the bottom. I like to combine bottom bouncers and some inlines on the outside of my spread.

Speaking of spreads (meaning how many lines on each side of the boat while trolling) here is a very important tip for you all! Make sure the lines closest to the boat are running the deepest, and the shallower lines to the outside/far away from the boat. If you don’t set up in this manner when a fish hits your furthest outside line you will get a tangle when reeling in that fish!

Another important step to remember when “stacking” your inline planer boards is to make sure they are spaced out well apart from each other to avoid tangles. All lines should be put out the back of the boat and then allowed to swing out away from the boat. When putting out a line that needs to say go in the middle of your stack, simply let out enough line so that the planer board looks to be between the others and then close your bail. The planer board will be pulled out away from the boat and set in the appropriate position. On the other hand, all fish should be brought IN the back of the boat! The easiest way to do this is to turn the boat slightly away from whichever side has a fish on, and then crank the planer board inside of the stack and then straight up the back of the boat. If you attempt to bring a planer board with a fish on up the side of the boat you will tangle your other lines. I typically run 6 to 8 rods and by retrieving a fish in this manner I do not have to bring in any of the other rods on the side the fish hit.

Using these methods of trolling with in-line planer boards will allow you to run multiple rods at once and continue to fish even when you are reeling in a Walleye. Being able to leave your other lines out fishing will help produce more fish and optimize your time on the water. The rule to go by is that all lines go out the back of the boat and come in the back of the boat allowing you to net your catch off the stern rather than the side of the boat in the midst of a big tangle.

Good luck this season trolling for monster Walleye on Lake Erie! I’ll see you on the water!!!