When trolling for walleyes in open water conditions pay close attention to the speed of your presentation. Many times throughout the year I find that speed plays a vital role in triggering bites.

When using crank baits, be sure to pump your rod occasionally to entice a trailing fish. Also, be sure to make erratic turns of the boat or play with the throttle on your kicker motor for periods of time to see if the fish want things sped up. There have been times when I had to troll 4-5 mph to get fish to take a crankbait. Be sure to use a crankbait that will maintain it‰’s action and not bust to the surface when going above slower speeds.

In reverse, sometimes fishing crankbaits you‰’ll need to slow down your approach. One area that I have seen this work is on the Great Lakes after a cold front. Many times you will be catching fish and a cold front comes in. Usually you‰’ll catch the small fish, but have trouble getting those 7‰’s that you found the day before. In most cases, by SLOWING your pace and making the action of your baits a little subtler you can trigger those big GIRLS on even the toughest of cold front conditions!

WATCH YOUR SPEED AND IN COLD FRONTS TRY SLOWING DOWN!