What do you guys like to use for trolling combos? I haven't trolled much in the past as I usually stop walleye fishing by July 1 and fish for other fish. This year I want to do more walleye trolling with the kids.
There have been 4 items I am not sure on and looking for suggestions: Gear ratio of reel, length of rod, rod weight, and type of rod
I am assuming that you can run cranks and spinners on lead core, but maybe I am wrong on this as well. I was thinking of just getting a couple of lead core set ups to do it all.
You can troll cranks and spinners with leadcore. My leadcore setups are 9'6" Gary Roach Mr. Walleye rods with Cabela's Depthmaster II reels. Tony Roach also has a new line of rods with a 9'4" leadcore setup that looks and feels very nice. I think the price on both rods is around $100 and the reels are 30-50. If you want to keep the cost down a little more, check out the Cabela's Depthmaster rod/reel combo. Go with the 8'6" or 9' Planer Board rods. The reels are size 30 or 35 if I remember correctly. I use Cabela's brand 18 lb. line with a 10 lb. Vanish leader. For summer fishing on Mille Lacs, you will be glad that you added leadcore to your arsenal.
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Humana Insurance Representative-Brainerd and Mille Lacs Area
Thanks for info. I will be heading to Cabelas on Thursday.
One other question when using lead core. When over the mud flats areas, do you let out the line until you feel crankbait hitting bottom and then bring up a couple of feet? Or do they have charts with lead core similar to what I found for crankbaits?
Speed: Keep it around 2 mph (leadcore is very speed sensitive, so you want to keep it constant)
Depth: Figure 1-2 ft dive depth for a typical #5 or #7 crankbait. Each color of leadcore will sink 5'. If you are fishing the edge of a mudflat in 24', I would let out just under 4 colors to keep my crankbait at 21'.
If you lengthen your leader, you need to compensate for your crankbait diving deeper. If you go slower than 2 mph, the leadcore will sink faster. Another very good way to learn leadcore is to spend some time trolling the gravel on the south end. Let out the line until you start hitting bottom. Take a note of your depth, speed, and length of line out. Then you can head out to the mud and have confidence that your bait is in the strikezone.
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Humana Insurance Representative-Brainerd and Mille Lacs Area
