Trolling with trolling Motor

[Chumy77]

Hi guys, i been trying to troll for walleye with trolling motor ,seem to have a hard time with boat control and speed .Got a Motor guide  80Lbs/24V. I zig/zag way to much ,never know if i go to fast or to slow. Anybody here that trolls a lot,do you use a kicker or trolling motor.
What's a a good trolling speed for walleye, bottom bouncer, spinners , crankbait ,jig trolling. How far back do you troll,etc.I'm talking about river trolling in the current, do you go with the current or against . Any advice would be greatly appreciated ,thank you...Chumy!!!!

[Greg]

I have tried, like you, to use the trolling motor but find the same difficulties you describe so I just troll with my big motor (150 Evinrude) but throw a drift sock out - I have two different sizes in the boat to use depending on wind & current.  Usually around 1.8 to 2.6 KPH is good for me, I try to vary it.  Sometimes I just put the electric down and run it straight forward or straight backwards at a constant speed to help control the overall boat speed.  What is key though, I find, is put out plenty of line - like 50 yards worth to give your lure the most opportunity for good action.

Hope this helps.

Thx
Greg

[GregL]

I am the opposite. I exclusively troll with my bow mount, I love the fact that I can set cruise control and bump the speed up and down and it just holds that speed.
Auto pilot it awesome if you need to do something just hit autopilot and put the remote down.

Boat control from the bow is awesome going into the wind, it can be more of a challenge going with the wind to keep the boat straight, I think a glass boat would be less work.

I can tell you on our last trip it failed again, I did not realize how much I actually depend on the TM while fighting fish etc when trolling. Using the big motor is
a lot of work! We had to troll all week because our anchor would not hold the boat in the weather. I was on the throttle all day every day YUK! How lazy is that! LOL!

Back trolling to get down to the required speed sucked in a big chop. Nothing like having waves crash into your thighs for hours!

I missed my TM very much last week!

[limacharley]

I exclusively troll with my kicker. Easier to gas up than it is to re-charge batteries.
2-2.3 KPH

I take a good cast with my bait casters and let another 10 yards or so out. Probably 100-120 feet total.
That's with crankbaits only.

Drop shots, bottom bouncers is way slower and I'll use TM for that. Only in calm waters.
There's current in most narrows on Kip. Drifting a jig works.

[Lund Rebel]

Hey Chumy,
I run a Motor guide as well. I agree with Greg. I love my bow mount. When trolling in open water the cruise and auto pilot features are fantastic. However, if I am trolling in tight to the shore and want to follow the contours of the shore line, I like to use the bow mount, get it straight off the front of my boat, get my speed set to 1.2 -1.8 depending on the action/lure and what I do is use my main motor as a rudder. This work particularly well trolling with or into the wind. It also allows me to make those subtle changes to the boats direction when following the shore line. I run a 60 tiller and understand this would be much more difficult for anyone running a boat with a center consol. Also, I agree with Greg, I like to get my lure way out behind the back of the boat, 50 plus yards for sure. My go to lures are bottom bouncer, worm harness or  jig (3/8 â€" chartreuse, white, black) tipped with a half worm no plastic.

[Chumy77]

Thanks for all the info guys, you mean you drag a bottom bouncer 50 yard behind the boat ,wouldn't that make a lot of twisting and line tangling. .I though bottom bouncer had to be 45 degree beside the boat, I been trolling 1.2 to 1.5 MPH  thats why i haven't had much
success. Is it better to troll against the current or down with the current on the rivers. i do have the i-pilot and cruise on my TM ,it doesn't seem to be to accurate. Thanks again...Chumy

[Lund Rebel]

No, I am sorry. I don't drag a bottom bouncer 50 plus. You are right, the bouncer would be down off the side of the boat. However, if I was bumping a jig along the bottom, using a body bait or spinner I like to get my lure way out behind the boat.

[Hodgey1]

Thanks for all the info guys, you mean you drag a bottom bouncer 50 yard behind the boat ,wouldn't that make a lot of twisting and line tangling. .I though bottom bouncer had to be 45 degree beside the boat, I been trolling 1.2 to 1.5 MPH  thats why i haven't had much
success.

This was my first year trolling with bouncers and they worked great, so take this info for what it is, from a newb. The bouncers come in multiple weights 1oz, 2 oz & ect. The concept as I know it, is to get your speed set "I think 1.2 -1.5 worked good last week" then let out line with the bouncer and worm harness attached until the bouncer begins just ticking the bottom occasionally. With the pole in the holder, you should see/feel the bouncer, bounce the bottom every now and again, not necessarily dragging the bottom constantly. The weight of the bouncer, the speed of the boat and the depth of the water well dictate on its own, the distance behind the boat. I'm a new at it and did ok, doing what I just described. @Jay Thomas I think is a bouncer guy, maybe he can chime in here.

[Jay Thomas]

For anyone interested in bottom bouncing for walleyes

At least 90 % of my walleye fishing is bottom bouncing while back trolling. I only change from bottom bouncing if I'm not having any success or if I'm marking so many walleye that jigging is a more efficient way to put walleye in the boat. I fish walleyes in mid to late Aug and typically find them in 20 to 30 FOW. I prefer to back troll (for speed control (target speed is 1 mph)) and I prefer 2 ounce bottom bouncers. Occasionally I move to 3 ounce bottom bouncers if fishing 30 FOW or deeper or I'm fishing in current. Probably most important advice for bottom bouncing is to try to maintain a 45 degree angle of your main line into the water. As Hodgey1 stated - don't drag the bottom, just keep the bottom bouncer ticking the bottom occasionally.

Here's a web reference to a good article on bottom bouncing https://www.ohiogamefishing.com/threads/bottom-bouncing-from-a-to-z.12099/

Jay

[Chumy77]

Thanks again for all the good advise. 90% 0f my fishing/trolling is on the Ottawa river ,i'm not a big fan of bottom bouncing the wife is.
I prefer  to drag a walking sinker behind with a spinner was maybe 70ft behind with no success but will try 100ft back @ 2mph see if i have better luck .Can you troll backward with a bow trolling motor ,not sure.

[Jow]

I push the boat with 9.9 kicker and steer with bow mount Terrova. works great. Troll for walleye like this all the time. I set up a recorded track when we find them and just let the trolling motor take the boat back along the same route. Works great.

[Hodgey1]

I push the boat with 9.9 kicker and steer with bow mount Terrova. works great. Troll for walleye like this all the time. I set up a recorded track when we find them and just let the trolling motor take the boat back along the same route. Works great.

That, right there sounds like magic! I need to read the manual and learn that trick for following a track.  Do you just keep the kicker steering straight ahead and then allow the troller to guide?

[Jow]

I push the boat with 9.9 kicker and steer with bow mount Terrova. works great. Troll for walleye like this all the time. I set up a recorded track when we find them and just let the trolling motor take the boat back along the same route. Works great.

That, right there sounds like magic! I need to read the manual and learn that trick for following a track.  Do you just keep the kicker steering straight ahead and then allow the troller to guide?

Yes, keep the kicker straight.