Stebbins and Ianiro on Trolling
March 2007 CWA South Chapter
At the March meeting, held at the Colorado Springs Sportsman’s Warehouse, Rich Stebbins
and Bill Ianiro gave a presentation on trolling. Rich and Bill gave out a lot of
printed information for future reading and reference. At the end of the evening almost
everyone in attendance approached these two and indicated that their presentation was
one of the best and most informative presentations they had heard. Keep in mind, there
are some very seasoned fishermen who routinely attend our meetings, some who have been
pursuing walleye for as long as walleye have been in Pueblo Reservoir. To shorten this
recap into something that will fit on the web, I will capture their key “tips” in
bulleted form.
Trolling Cranks and Worm Harnesses:
- Use your electronics. Look for baitfish, arches and the thermocline.
- Fish slightly above baitfish and arches, not below them.
- Drag cranks through the thermocline.
- Use smaller cranks (#5 Shad Raps).
- Must, must, must buy and know how to use the Trolling Bible (version 8).
- Run deeper running cranks on the inside boards/rods.
- Run shallow running cranks on the outside.
- Never troll against the wind.
- GPS and go back over spots that produced fish.
- Pay attention to waves, wind and sunlight. Fish shallower cranks when wavy, windy and cloudy. Fish deeper cranks when calm, no wind or sunny.
- Use Gulp on trolled harnesses, especially in weedy areas. Live crawlers tear easier when trolled through weeds. Use Matzuo sickle hooks. Better hook ups and fish don’t throw these as easy.
- Consider trolling worm harnesses following a Do-It molded in line weight or snap weight.
- Tune your cranks for the speed they will be used.
- Tying directly to the crank gets a tighter wobble from the crank.
- Tying to a snap then snapping to the crank will get a wider wobble.
The Colorado Walleye Association, especially the South Chapter would like to thank Rich and Bill for being our guest speaker. Rich and Bill are sponsored by Matzuo, Do-It Molds, and Cummins Rocky Mountain.
