To effectively troll for walleye, you must understands the relationship between line length, boat speed, and the depth at which your bait will travel. A dive chart can help you to understand the relationship between these three variable. A dive chart will give you a starting point for trolling for walleye.
However, you must adjust the speed at which you troll and the amount of line that are let out based off what you see on your sonar. The depth at which your lure will reach is determine by the amount of line that you let out and the speed at which you troll. If you decrease the speed at which you troll, your lure will remain higher within a water column.
How line length and boat speed change lure depth
If you increase the amount of line that you reel out, your lure will travel deeper within the water column. If trolling with monofilament line, the stretch in the line will cause the lure to remain higher within the water column. Braided line will allow your lure to reach deeper into the water column because braid lines has almost no stretch.
The lack of stretch in braid line allows for the forward movement of the boat to create downward pressure on the diving lip of the lure. Walleye Runner lures comes in a variety of size to allow walleye anglers to reach different depths within the water column. If using smaller Walleye Runner lures, the bait will remain in the upper water column.
Small size of Walleye Runner lures are ideal if the walleye are residing in shallow water during the spring season. If using larger sizes of Walleye Runner lures, those lures will naturaly travel deeper into the water due to the added weight and the size of the diving lip of the lures. The added weight of larger sizes of Walleye Runner lures will not necessarily allow the lure to naturally travel to greater depths.
However, the heavier lure will stay at the depth to which it is trolled when traveling at high rate or when exposed to a current in the water. The depth at which the walleye lives within a body of water changes according to the season in which they are residing. During the spring, walleye are usually in the shallow areas between 4 and 12 feet deep, so smaller lures and less line can be used.
During the summer, walleye move to depths between 18 and 30 feet deep, so larger lures and more line is needed. During the fall, walleye return to the shallower areas as the baitfish moves into those areas. However, due to cooler temperatures in the fall, the boat should be moved at a slower speed since the walleye have a slowed metabolism during these cool season.
During the late fall fishing season, walleye may venture into depths below 30 feet, thus larger Walleye Runner model will be needed to reach these depths. The color of the bait should be chosen according to the water clarity. In clear water, natural color that resemble baitfish such as shad or perch can be used since the walleye can easily sight the lure.
In waters stained with waterborne substance such as copper, bright colors for the lure will allow the walleye to sight the lure better. In muddy water, the walleye will easily sight high-contrast color, such as black and silver, when the water is cloudy. There is some fishing tools that can make trolling walleye easier.
Planer boards help cover more water while avoiding line tangle. Using the S-turn technique moves the boat at different speed. Sometimes changing the boat speed will trigger strike from the walleye.
The rod should remain at a 45-degree angle to aid in maintaining the proper action of the bait. A line counter reel will help the fishermen return to the line length that was successful when trolling for walleye. By understanding how line length, boat speed, and the action of the bait all relate to one another, fishermen can troll for walleye effective and efficiently.