I found some older articles within the fishing forum here, but wanted some 2018 BWCA opinions. I understand there are a number of factors that play into this question, but without knowing the lake size, water clarity, or the strike zone, what would you guys recommend?

How slow should the presentation be?
How much line should be behind the boat?
Target water column depth for morning and night?
Lure color preference?

If it helps, I will be fishing lakes 50min North of Grand Marais from May 23 - June 4th.

Best of luck to you this fishing season, and thank you in advance for your hard earned knowledge!

14 husky jerk gold. Google the trolling chart for depths and speeds

Gold #7 Shad Rap...if I had only one for 'eyes.

Frankie_Paull: "14 husky jerk gold. Google the trolling chart for depths and speeds"

+1 (HJ14)

I never have had much luck with trolling and crank baits during the cold-water early season. Jig and twister tail, jig and leech, jig and minnow are my go-to combinations that time of year. Work mud flats, shallow bays, small rocky drop-offs. Stay away from deep reefs and mid-lake humps as these are still cold.

little-joe-style spinner and a minnow, either gold or silver, Maybe orange. start shallow and quick, work your deeper and slower. That HJ is a winner as well; start with that and you may not have to mess with live bait.

i'm a fan of the rapala CD9 , but i do more casting with them then trolling (early may) that way i control the depth that they run at. and as bobber3 mentioned jig /twister tail and add a jig spinner set up , it can be deadly work over the bottom.

Hmmm........Thats early, fish ought to be fairly shallow. Quiet stealthy trolling is the play of the day. My first instinct would be to grab a J-ll original rapala in Perch add a split shot 18" above and put it pretty far back. I want my boat and lure far apart since you will be trolling over the tops of the fish. (8' to 12' would be my target depth for trolling at that time of year).

What I would try and avoid is hard wobbling plastic crank baits but rather look at tight vibrations. Balsa comes to mind. I also like the Shad rap in gold that was mentioned for mid morning. The Berkley Frenzy has a tight type of wobble as well.

Bear in mind that when running lures at a medium or even slow speed a long ways back that line stretch becomes a huge factor. In this instance I would angle my rod towards the lure even more than my typical 45 degree angle. I want almost no bending of the rod before significant pressure is brought to bear to be able to instantly pop those hooks home. Throw in that I want 6lb line with this and a perfect drag setting becomes paramount.

While I am a big fan of jigs and safety pin spinners keeping them near bottom while trolling can be problematic.

Focus on flats, where the angle of the shoreline is gradual, not steep. Banks which are filled with rubble and not smooth are key. Newly emergent weeds can also be very good.

Typically now until July 4th I can find walleye on shoreline (depending on the day and year)
I will troll a #7 shadrap 6-12fow and bounce the points. It will allow me to cover a lot of water and locate fish. Once that happens I’ll often pick apart s particular piece of shoreline with a jig or sometimes casting the same cranks up shallow.

We pitch the #9 a short cast back and adjust from there.

#7 Shad Rap or #10 Deep down Husky Jerk. These will keep you in that 5-15' depth.

F9 Floating Rapala in either firetiger, orange/gold, or black/gold.

Find warm water and fish will be in less than 7'. Easy trolling - no worries about hang ups.

Hot N Tot Mad Flash 07 Blue/Orange/Chrome and Mad Flash 05 Blue Steel Shad. Never fails for trolling in early spring. Just be sure to stay on relatively shallow bays at this time of year and don't go too fast.

shock: "i'm a fan of the rapala CD9 , but i do more casting with them then trolling (early may) that way i control the depth that they run at. and as bobber3 mentioned jig /twister tail and add a jig spinner set up , it can be deadly work over the bottom. "

That is a nice set-up with the color coordination. Beetle spins work well in the right conditions. i"m going to experiment with homemade lindy rigs this spring. I'll probably also troll with minnow raps and jointed shad raps in perch, firetiger and chartreuse. Something has to work out of all of those.

HighnDry: "

shock: "i'm a fan of the rapala CD9 , but i do more casting with them then trolling (early may) that way i control the depth that they run at. and as bobber3 mentioned jig /twister tail and add a jig spinner set up , it can be deadly work over the bottom. "

That is a nice set-up with the color coordination. Beetle spins work well in the right conditions. i"m going to experiment with homemade lindy rigs this spring. I'll probably also troll with minnow raps and jointed shad raps in perch, firetiger and chartreuse. Something has to work out of all of those."

i feel this maybe the most underrated lure ever. so versatile & produces well into late July,,, in weedy lakes go with a 1/8,,,, in windy conditions in the BW i've casted a 3/4 oz jig head that cuts the wind like nothing else and you can cover a lot of area from camp..
and the color combination are endless !
but yes gold jig head with yellow twister tail is $
1 time in some major wind i was casting a 3/4 oz jig spinner with a larger white twister tail (early May) and boom #5 laker, it's always been about adapting ;)

shock: "

HighnDry: "

shock: "i'm a fan of the rapala CD9 , but i do more casting with them then trolling (early may) that way i control the depth that they run at. and as bobber3 mentioned jig /twister tail and add a jig spinner set up , it can be deadly work over the bottom. "

That is a nice set-up with the color coordination. Beetle spins work well in the right conditions. i"m going to experiment with homemade lindy rigs this spring. I'll probably also troll with minnow raps and jointed shad raps in perch, firetiger and chartreuse. Something has to work out of all of those."

i feel this maybe the most underrated lure ever. so versatile & produces well into late July,,, in weedy lakes go with a 1/8,,,, in windy conditions in the BW i've casted a 3/4 oz jig head that cuts the wind like nothing else and you can cover a lot of area from camp..
and the color combination are endless !
but yes gold jig head with yellow twister tail is $
1 time in some major wind i was casting a 3/4 oz jig spinner with a larger white twister tail (early May) and boom #5 laker, it's always been about adapting ;)"

Yes, I totally agree with the underrated part. Plus I think they are a big fish lure as well. Super versatile. Hard to get quality safety pin spinners though. Much of what is out there is junk. Check these out........I like the gold color as well.

Slayer

Frankie_Paull: "14 husky jerk gold. Google the trolling chart for depths and speeds"

I purchased the gold husky jerk today. I also fell victim to roughly $60 worth of additional tackle.
My main focus will be to start shallow, then work deeper as need be. I will focus on rubbled shorelines, wind blown structure, and emerging weed lines.

I really hope all of my research pays off this season!

Thanks everyone for the help.

QueticoMike: "

Frankie_Paull: "14 husky jerk gold. Google the trolling chart for depths and speeds"

+1 (HJ14)"

Thanks for the help Mike!

bobbernumber3: "I never have had much luck with trolling and crank baits during the cold-water early season. Jig and twister tail, jig and leech, jig and minnow are my go-to combinations that time of year. Work mud flats, shallow bays, small rocky drop-offs. Stay away from deep reefs and mid-lake humps as these are still cold."

BobberNumber3,

At what depth are you targeting on your map when trying to locate walleye? I can follow my Fischer map as it has water depth contour lines. (will not be bringing my fish finder this trip)

I will be bringing three rigs with me. One will be set up with a lighted slip bobber, plain red hook, and leach. One will have an 1/8th oz jig (will have multiple colors to choose from). And my last set-up will have a trolling/locating gold husky jerk on it. I would rather streamline my fishing tactics and bringing additional rod/reel set-ups makes the transitions all too easy.

Thanks for the information!

rockstaranon: "Hot N Tot Mad Flash 07 Blue/Orange/Chrome and Mad Flash 05 Blue Steel Shad. Never fails for trolling in early spring. Just be sure to stay on relatively shallow bays at this time of year and don't go too fast. "

RockStarAnon,

At what depth do you suggest? My map shows multiple bays, near campsites I plan on utilizing, at the 10' depth. I will start there and work my way deeper as necessary. What are your other preferred methods of fishing for Walleye?