Page 9 - ODUMar-Apr2019

Anglers who prefer trolling in the spring will find the most success west of the Bass Islands, if the water

clarity is good, which means being able to see your cavitation plate. The most active fish will be in the
“mixing” water, which means it’s not too dirty and not too clean. The water is warmer in the dirty
water, but the fish are the most inactive in it, and it’s hard for them to zero in a bait they cannot see.
There will be fewer fish in the colder water, so finding the mixing water is your best chance, because it’s
still warmer than the clean water, and the fish will be able to see your baits as they move past them.

If the spring brings big rains, the rivers will be dumping a lot of mud into the lake, and if big winds come
along with that rain, the shallow west end gets churned up pretty bad. If this happens, looking for the

elusive walleye on the east side of the Bass Islands, and the on the North side of Kelly’s Island is an
option, because it’s one of the major migration routes in and out of the west end. The current that runs
west to east passes by the islands
and creates and eddy on the edges
of the islands, just like an island in
a river, which any river fisherman

knows can hold fish waiting to
ambush passing forage fish.

Trolling speeds are typically much
slower when the water
temperature is colder, but don’t
feel you have to go slow just
because everyone else is going

slow.

Sometimes, if a bite is slow, all it
takes is speeding it up to trigger a
bite. One thing I like to play with
is, the Rabbit button on my
MinnKota trolling motor. By hitting

that button on my remote, I can
change my speed from very slow
to very fast for short periods of
time, and if it triggers a bite, I’ll do
it again. If I get another bite, that
tells me I should speed up my
presentation to catch the active
fish that want it that speed.

Speed can vary from hour to hour,
so if you’re catching, and then
not…try changing your speed.

Lake Erie has a lot of
current and hitting a