I like being on a lake when the sun rises. It might be my favourite aspect of the outdoors overall.
It’s also not that bad to troll around, looking or fish. It can pay off.
We were out in summer a few years ago. We were on the Spanish River. We were fishing in a convoy of
boats going up and down this one particular stretch in the river that had a sharp bend on it. There
were about 15 boats working
this section. Everyone spaced
out and did a pass, drifting
down the river around the
point and then starting up
the motor and going back
up to the top portion and
starting the process all
over again. Bill and I did
about eight to 10 passes
and failed to get a fish. We
noticed other boats picking up
the odd walleye here and
there. We were told to
slow drift minnows
on jigs down the river bottom on the bend side by others we knew who were out there. It didn’t work for us.
We changed it up. We went to the bottom bouncers and, most importantly, we switched to the other side of the river where no one else was fishing.
We made our first pass and came across a 10-foot hump in 25-feet of water. We hit a double header of two nice walleyes that both surpassed the 20-inch mark. Every pass, we picked up another fish. We had our limit in no time.
This summer, take it easy and try a few mornings of slow trolling for walleye. It’s also deadly on pike, bass and catfish. The morning bite is one to not miss.