What is your favorite lure to troll behind the canoe on travel days and why?

I have seen the recent top-water argument - Easy, less drag on canoe, obvious fun factor of fish coming out of the water for the lure.

What else do you all think? Last year we did well with various crank baits. This year I plan to try some top waters as well as a Mepps spinners. Any other interesting ideas?

I like trolling a storm hot n tot. They dive to 15ft and have a lot of action/ big wobble. They're good for trout, bass, walleye, and even northern. I like trolling them behind a canoe because they react really well with a lot of action with each stroke of the paddle. A close second is the shad rap.

Had good luck with xrap shads in the 6-15 model. Need to be careful you won't be going over any jumps or moving into shallow water or you'll be out $8 real quick, but that depth seems to work well in the BWCA and that lure has caught me everything from pike to 'eyes to lakers.

In July and August, Buzz Bait on a fairly short line if you're paralleling the shore, otherwise a shallow running Rap.

Jointed shad rap. Just about anything will hit it and that means dinner for when I get to camp. A good ol fashioned original rapala is a close second.

F-18 original rapala blk/gold longer profile lure without the added weight.

I like a gold Rapala. Either a husky jerk or jointed floater.

F-9 rap in firetiger, catch lots of walleye just dragging it around anytime I'm in shallow tannin stained walleye water.

I like booyah spinners because of their more weedless nature and the action it creates from paddle motion. Paddle, slight pause as you prep for next stroke, repeat. Works for smallies, walleyes, and northerns. Just don't pause too long between strokes or they will drop and snag bottom structure.

Mike - I was expecting you to reply Zulu rigs all they way! haha.

I'll try the gold Raps. You're always a great resource. Thank you.

Hands down a lindy rig crawler harness tipped with leeches.

Travel days? I hate pulling deep diving crankbaits with big lips on travel days........hassle! You must pay close attention to where they are at lest they get hung plus they create lots of drag on the boat.

Much depends on time of year. QM suggestion of floating/jointed rapalas is a fine choice the 1st half of the summer. Much less effective after July 4th IMO.

I like a good sized lure without lots of drag which will run at 8 to 12 ft. Why big? First off hopefully it will discourage little fish (this concept only works in theory) and if you end up in deeper water, say 20ft bigger fish will often come up for something which can get their attention. The largest jointed shad rap in crayfish would be an excellent all around choice.

Now here's what I do.......I remove the belly hook and then I upsize the rear treble by 1 size. This does lots for you...........you are much less likely to hang bottom even when you start bouncing said bottom with your lure. 2ndly this makes catch and release a quick easy process. You don't want to be fooling around with fish on travel days. Get whacked, reel them in and flip them off and then move on. I notice little difference in hook up ratio with the belly treble off.

I have 3, for diff. depth ranges and actions.

F11 or 13 orig. Rap. minn....goes to 8ft. on the troll with 8lb.test mono....medium wobble

Hot-N-Tot....the 1/4oz. goes 6-7 to 14ft. on the troll...wide wobble. The 3/8oz. goes 25ft.

Sr9 Shad Rap...goes to 20ft...tight wobble.

I pull a Tail-dancer in purple/silver color. I use an in-line weight about 6 feet in front of it to get it down in the water. This is for deep water like Knife.

I've quit trying to troll on travel days. If traveling with a group, you get so far behind if you have to land a big fish and if traveling alone landing several fish can cut out a couple hours of your travel time. I wait until I arrive at my campsite and have the camp set up before I start to fish for dinner.

LIke above, we don't troll on travel days because we like to push on. But once we are day tripping, we like to throw on a tail dancer in deep lakes. Or shallow shad raps in perch color in shallow lakes.

Last trip, I picked one up just dragging my top water before I could reel it back in! You never know.....

quote RMinMN: "I've quit trying to troll on travel days. If traveling with a group, you get so far behind if you have to land a big fish and if traveling alone landing several fish can cut out a couple hours of your travel time. I wait until I arrive at my campsite and have the camp set up before I start to fish for dinner. "

Several fish sets you back a couple hours! I want to catch what your catching!

Personally iv caught pike and walleye trolling a shallow diving (3-5ft) storm uv crankbait.

Its cheaper than some listed, stays shallower than some listed, avoids excess drag and still produced eyes.

Original orange floating rapala. Not sure of the size......4 inches about? guaranteed at least something so far.

Move that 4" orange Rapala to a 7" Rapala and see what you catch. We've caught northern pike and walleyes on them.

More recently we've been trolling with shad raps and catch the same pike and walleyes but add smallmouth bass to that but we only troll on days when we aren't travelling or after we set up camp. Yes you can lose a couple hours by trolling. I've caught northern pike over 25 pounds and walleye up to about 8 pounds trolling the shad raps. You don't just reel those fish in.

quote RMinMN: "Move that 4" orange Rapala to a 7" Rapala and see what you catch. We've caught northern pike and walleyes on them.


More recently we've been trolling with shad raps and catch the same pike and walleyes but add smallmouth bass to that but we only troll on days when we aren't travelling or after we set up camp. Yes you can lose a couple hours by trolling. I've caught northern pike over 25 pounds and walleye up to about 8 pounds trolling the shad raps. You don't just reel those fish in."

could not agree more F-18 is the way to go and it does get down 10'-12'range. add some bigger split shots 24"-36" up and you can get it down deeper, definitely a money trolling lure in the BW. the rainbow trout color pattern is very good also.

quote RMinMN: "I've quit trying to troll on travel days. If traveling with a group, you get so far behind if you have to land a big fish and if traveling alone landing several fish can cut out a couple hours of your travel time. I wait until I arrive at my campsite and have the camp set up before I start to fish for dinner. "

i would never troll on travel days with If I was with a group. Solo or one tandem canoe with one rod is acceptable, otherwise you have the unenviable situation of others waiting around while somebody lands a fish. The stage is set for dissatisfaction. Unless of course everyone is in agreement but still your momentum will suffer greatly with multiple boats trolling (especilally on Kawanipi :-)

quote RMinMN: "Move that 4" orange Rapala to a 7" Rapala and see what you catch. We've caught northern pike and walleyes on them.


More recently we've been trolling with shad raps and catch the same pike and walleyes but add smallmouth bass to that but we only troll on days when we aren't travelling or after we set up camp. Yes you can lose a couple hours by trolling. I've caught northern pike over 25 pounds and walleye up to about 8 pounds trolling the shad raps. You don't just reel those fish in."

I will give that a shot

On our recent trip, we did ok trolling with Rattle Traps.

But not on travel days..only on day trips.

Trolling on travel days usually is no issue. When I troll, I always troll the lure of the day. Different lures on different days.

quote dpreiner21: "I like trolling a storm hot n tot. They dive to 15ft and have a lot of action/ big wobble. They're good for trout, bass, walleye, and even northern. I like trolling them behind a canoe because they react really well with a lot of action with each stroke of the paddle. A close second is the shad rap."

Nice choice. I think I have one around here, but had not thought of it for use up north. I will have to make a little room in the tackle box. Thanks!

I will usually go with a shad rap of some sort, or maybe an original rap. All depends on species, but I find I can get a nice mix at different depths depending on trolling speed, and if I use any weight ahead of it, etc.

quote mastertangler: "i would never troll on travel days with If I was with a group. Solo or one tandem canoe with one rod is acceptable, otherwise you have the unenviable situation of others waiting around while somebody lands a fish..."

Perhaps if catch and release only. If I knew we'd be eating well that day, I'd have no problem waiting to land some supper!

I'm going to piggy back off this thread and ask how all you guys arrange your pole and line to troll while you're paddling?

I just seem to have the damndest time getting my pole situated in a half way secure position while leaving myself two free hands to paddle with. I either feel like my pole is going to go bye bye if I get a fish on, or the pole or line is in my way as I'm trying to paddle. I'm generally on the stern. And obviously a bit of a fishing newb!

Thanks for any tips!

You have two options for how to hold your pole while trolling.

1. Use a rod holder that clamps on to a thwart or gunwale. There are various types and everyone seems to have their favorite.

2. Lock the pole between your legs. This is what I usually do, I prefer it because I feel I can adjust more quickly and I can also feel fish bit or how the lure is hitting structure through my leg. If I'm trolling on the left side of the canoe I'll put the handle of the rod behind my right leg right around or slightly below my ankle. Then the rod goes in front of your left leg with the reel being positioned somewhere between your legs. If a fish its or you hit a snag the rod will be locked in place by your legs and can't move.

You can play around with the positioning on your legs to find the sweet spot, probably different for everyone. By playing with it you can get your rod positioned in various positions. I am able to do this and still paddle just fine on either side of the canoe but generally I'll just paddle on whichever side I'm not fishing on and use a j-stroke to hold course.

I like the biggest ones. They perform beautifully at high speeds, which comes in handy on travel days.

I stopped trolling raps because of all the hassle with snags/ rocks in bwca. I switched to a typical bass spinner with the skirt removed and a big gulp minnow in its place. It works fairly well but I wonder if I'm missing out.

Any good ideas how to make trolling with a rap easy? Any specific raps that are relatively snag free?

Stopping your paddle and getting unsnagged or untangled is certainly a hassle... Especially of the wind is pushing you around. ...

quote Grizzlyman: "I stopped trolling raps because of all the hassle with snags/ rocks in bwca. I switched to a typical bass spinner with the skirt removed and a big gulp minnow in its place. It works fairly well but I wonder if I'm missing out.


Any good ideas how to make trolling with a rap easy? Any specific raps that are relatively snag free?


Stopping your paddle and getting unsnagged or untangled is certainly a hassle... Especially of the wind is pushing you around. ..."

i dont bring in a depth finder when i do my BW trips. if i,m trolling original rapalas or deep diving crankbaits , i tell my front man he needs to pay attention if we come up on a shallow reef or a shoal(the lures are a ways behind you)(most lakes in the BW you should be able to see at least 10' down), at that point quit paddling let the lure float up then paddle slowly till your front man see,s the water start to drop off again then kick it in gear.

Just picked up these 2 deep tail dancers just for trollin on this next trip. Leaving day after tomorrow! Hope i return with a good fish report!

quote tnvol: "F-9 rap in firetiger, catch lots of walleye just dragging it around anytime I'm in shallow tannin stained walleye water.
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