Trolling question

[Tenntrapper]

Over the weekend I tried walleye fishing. I tried multiple things with no success. One question though..I tried trolling with a crawler harness/spinner. Because of all the rain, the current was faster than I realized. Everything I read indicated a speed of about 1.5mph. I was able to set my speed with a GPS, but was this wrong? If there had been no current, I would have been going considerably faster. I don't know the current speed, but I did sit in one spot for about an hour with the trolling motor set on 3 and running continuous. (Had to troll with outboard) My question is..if a specific speed is suggested, is that a GPS speed, or a speedometer speed? Thanks

 

[fishboy1]

trapper,
In fast moving water, the recommended speed goes out the window. You have to try different speeds to see what they want.
If you have a 3mph current and then run 1.5mph down stream (boat speed) your speed over ground is 4.5mph. If a fish is hiding behind a current break of some kind, your lure will go past the stationary fish at an unnatural speed.

My limited experience indicates it has more to do with how the lure is running in the water than the actual speed when you have a lot of wind and current. In calmer water, its much easier to use trolling speed as a technique.

 

[Tenntrapper]

trapper,
In fast moving water, the recommended speed goes out the window. You have to try different speeds to see what they want.
If you have a 3mph current and then run 1.5mph down stream (boat speed) your speed over ground is 4.5mph. If a fish is hiding behind a current break of some kind, your lure will go past the stationary fish at an unnatural speed.

My limited experience indicates it has more to do with how the lure is running in the water than the actual speed when you have a lot of wind and current. In calmer water, its much easier to use trolling speed as a technique.

Thanks for the info. I was trolling up stream. If I had a speedometer, I'm sure it would have been much higher. You could just about troll sitting still. I've never fished for walleye, this is a whole new kind of fishing for me. I'll get it figured out eventually. Thanks again for the info, keep it coming, I can use all I can get. Thanks

 

[scn]

It has been a while since I fished for walleyes. But, the spinner/worm deal has traditionally been a late spring or summer deal on the lakes I fished. This time of year we normally fished jigs and, in the river, trolled rapalas and other crankbaits.

 

[Doskil]

Usually you troll the spinners deep with a downrigger or weight