Several methods can help you troll crankbaits at specific depths, which can be critical for getting walleye to bite.
Doesn’t take long for it to be clear: crankbait fishing – particularly crankbait trolling – is a depth-control game. Whether you are targeting walleye in the bottom zone or suspending well above bottom, to catch them consistently you want to present your lure in their faces!
Walleye generally aren’t slashing or attacking type predators as much as they are stalkers. They just don’t typically streak away from the depth they are using to smash your crank. In my circle of friends, we call it a “glom on” bite when they slowly “glom on” as your bait wiggles past. It’s the most common type of walleye bite and results from their reliance on big teeth to hold prey until they swallow. They don’t need to run baitfish down or smash them. They just need to glom on!
Modern fish finders are so good at showing the exact depth where most fish are holding that it makes sense to run crankbaits at that exact depth. Hard-bait aficionados dial in their presentation to pull lures at a precise depth, and it’s important that you dial in your crankbait game just like the experts.
Flat-Linding
There are lots of sources to tell you how deep each crankbait trolls, depending on how much line you let out (and depending on the diameter of your line. Crankbait specialists almost universally have running depth apps in their phones. Just search “Crankbait Running-Depth” and you’ll find apps as well as books, charts and other printed info to tell you the inherent running depth of most any hardbait. This info is straightforward and simple to apply. Trolling crankbaits based on the inherent running depth is called flat-lining.
If walleyes are shallow, then crankbaits that run 6-8 feet deep with 100 feet of line out like 15A Bomber Long A and Cotton Cordell Ripplin’ Red Fin will run right into the fish. If you need to get shallower, you simply let out less line while trolling. To fish deeper, it’s pretty simple to choose a lure that runs the depth you need to fish. Lures like the Smithwick Perfect 10 Rogue and Bandit Walleye Shallow will troll into the 12-foot zone. To hit walleyes at 16 feet, you can choose any of dozens of lures, though anglers adept at triggering walleyes trust old favorite baits like the Cotton Cordell CD6 Wally Diver or 24A Bomber Long A. For those deep fish in the 20-25 foot range the Bandit Walleye Deep, Bandit Generator or 25A Bomber Long A have the big diving lip to dredge, and walleyes have a well-documented weakness for these deep divers.
Flat-lining has several advantages for anglers. Trolling lures on flat-lines is easy to do and requires no extra gear or technical expertise. Some anglers prefer small line-counter reels to dial in the amount of flat-line back to the lure. Some mark the line at a set distance. Back in the day, before I splurged for small line-counters, I marked my line at 105 feet with a magic marker.
But what if you have a shallow running jerkbait that you want to drag deeper? Or in the extreme, what should you do to get a Bandit Walleye Deep down to 37 feet?
There are lots of depth control options that have a proven record.
Adding Weight
