It’s tough to find a more effective method than trolling for BIG fall Musky.
Here are 5 tips to help you make the most of your time on the water:
1) Use a trolling leader! It’s easy to leave the same leaders on from casting season, but this might just cost you the fish of a lifetime or that $100 Musky bait. Spent the extra $20 and get yourself a 2-4ft trolling leader. It will give you that extra insurance when banging your lure against rocks.
2) Sharpen your hooks! It’s an obvious one, but check your hooks all day long. You may only get one bite and you want to make sure that fish is pinned real good!
3) Use a line counter! Many trolling reels come with a built in line counter. A line counter let’s you get precise with how far back your bait is trolling. Find a depth that is getting bit and you can now replicate your success!
4) “T” Your Hooks! Take your treble hook and bend the two hooks that rub against your bait this will make a “T”. I do this for two reasons…Now the bait won’t wear groves into the side of the baits and now the hooks sit further off the bait which improves hookups.
5) Know your spots! We have incredible technology at our fingertips in our modern day sonars. It may take “burning” a spot on your first troll over it, but if you have auto-mapping technology make sure it have it turned on when you’re trolling. Next time you decide to fish that spot again you’ll be able to keep your baits in the perfect strike zone. If your sonar doesn’t happen to have auto-mapping technology don’t be afraid to lay down some waypoints…drop a waypoint every time you hit a specific depth and before you know it you’ll have a great trolling pass.
Enjoy this video from my time on Lake Of The Woods with my good buddy Clayton Schick.
