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REACHING THE DEPTHS
JON THELEN
There is a time during the summer months where on pretty much every body of water throughout the
country, walleyes inhabit deep water. Deep water can mean anywhere from 25 to 30 feet on Mille Lacs Lake in
Central Minnesota to fish being 100 feet down over 180 feet of water on the Bull Shoals Reservoir in Arkansas.
It is these conditions which, very often, leave anglers at a loss regarding how to fill the livewell. Believe
it or not, there are multiple tactics which can be used to reach the depths at which these walleyes are holding.
First and foremost, even these deep water nomads are relating some type of structure. On Lake of the
Woods in northern Minnesota, this may be a simple one foot break which can be found on the southern
shoreline. In deep water reservoirs found on the Missouri River through the Dakotas or Bull Shoals they may
take up residence in flooded timber fields. Most likely not the kinds you are thinking, I’m talking trees topping
out 30 feet below the surface in 80-100 feet of water.
I begin by relying on my Lowrance LCX 111C equipped with a Lakemaster mapping chip
(www.lakemap.com) to show me the contours as I move out into deeper water. Once I locate these breaks, I
simply follow them looking for fish on the sonar. Sometimes this can take several miles of looking before
either making contact or heading for the next break.
Upon locating walleyes, I then have to decide how to best approach the next step, getting a bait down to
them. This decision is made based upon whether the fish are suspended or on the bottom. Upon answering this
question, I have four options to reach these fish.
Depending on the depth, I may be able to reach these fish by simply long-lining deep diving crank
baits. Baits like the Reef Runner Deep Diver will achieve depths of 29 feet when trolled on 10 lb.
monofilament line. You can add several feet by using a braided line like Ugly Braid from Shakespeare. Longlining is also a great option if the walleyes are suspended within range of the lure. The only change I make
when long-lining suspended fish is to clip on an Off Shore Tackle planer board. The boards enable me to cover
more ground to the side of the boat but also spread my baits out away from the noise of the engine.
My long-lining equipment consists of an Ugly Stick Lite CAS 1186-2MH rod coupled with a Tidewater
line counter reel (T15LCL) from Shakespeare. Aside from these items, a copy of “Precision Trolling” is a must.
This book will tell you how much line to let out, with nearly every crank bait, to achieve your desired depth.
Depending on the mood of the fish, a deep diving crank bait, with its increased wobble or action may not
produce. If this is the case, I switch to a smaller lure and go to snap weights. Off Shore Tackle Co. makes a
snap weight kit which comes with a variety of sizes of weights and the Precision Trolling book explains, in
great detail, how to use these weights.
The premise behind snap weights is to send a shallow diving lure down to greater depths. (For example,
a Reef Runner Deep Little Ripper will achieve depths of 22 on its own. With a 1 oz. Snap weight 20 feet ahead
of the lure, it will reach 29 feet. The equipment I use with snap weights is the same as I would use when longlining. In general, snap weights can be used whether walleyes are suspended or on the bottom.
If my targeted fish are relating to the bottom, 3-ways can be a great way to put a bait in front of their
nose. To run this rig, simply tie a 3 oz. bottom bouncer on the end of your line then add 20 feet of line leading
to your crank bait. When using a 3-way, let out line until you start ticking bottom with the bouncer, then reel up
several cranks. A shallow diving crank bait is best on this type of rig. This is also a great river set up.
Last, but not least, is lead core. Lead core line is a strand of lead with a Dacron or nylon wrapper which
comes in 30 foot segmented colors. The weight of the line itself will sink at 5 feet per color (30 feet) when
trolled at 2 M.P.H. For example, if you let out 6 colors at 2 M.P.H., you will achieve 30 feet. At the end of the
lead line tie on a 20 -50 foot leader of Ugly Braid to a snap which attaches to the lure. Lures which excel best
on lead core will again be shallow divers but deep divers can be used.
When trolling 3-ways or lead core, I switch to heavier action equipment. My lead core setups are 7 and
10-foot Ugly Stick heavy action rods coupled with Shakespeare line counter (model # T20LCL). I upsize the
reel vs. long line setups because the 20 size will hold 10 full colors of lead core, or 300 feet!
The next time you need to “go deep” to catch fish, try any of these tactics. They will all get you down to
the depths and prove productive on most bodies of water.
Editors note: Jon Thelen owns Professional Angling Promotions through which he provides guided
fishing trips on Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake. You can contact Jon at (612) 720-3837 or visit his website at
www.proanglingpromos.com.