Tom and I went out today. We were working a soft to hard bottom transition in 10 - 12 FOW. By 9:30 am we had;

2 Bass
1 Sheephead
1 Mega Bullhead
2 Walleyes
5 Northerns (3 over 30")







My god! I have 2 chins!

I will tell you how I did it later today. If thing don't change that is.

Beautiful.

Tom or the fish?

Way to keep on stick'n em Muddog

When we were fishing the up wind side of this bar I would look up from my electronics once and awhile. During these short periods I would see three other boats that were fishing the same lake. These boats would go up wind drop there lines into the water and let the wind blow them across the lake, when they reached the area that we were fishing they would watch us for a short time before heading back up wind and starting the process all over again. So I ask. Does this work? I see a lot of people doing this. They drag there bait across large areas of no structure (transitions ) . Then when they get to structure they reel in and do it again. Being from the Buck Perry school of fishing, I have a hard time seeing any game plan what so ever in this way of fishing.

Maybe someone here can give me an idea as to what these people are doing.

On another note. Some Cormarantes landed on the water and a boat started chassing them around the lake. I do not see how this would help in the amount fish they would catch. It also looked like a waste of time and energy.

Dog, you are the Troll Master and I bow to you... In reflection, I can remember trolling and or drifting a flats area of a northern lake to pick up on a hot walleye bite. As for the boat chasing the birds, well on Leech Lake they were shooting them to heck, actually sounded like a war zone, because they said they were killing the walleye population. I have no numbers or even can give a opinion on if this has worked or if it was actually the birds doing the damage. But with that said, maybe I can get you to take me out and show me a little of that trolling mastery?........ Todd

Muddog,

The old saying-- "10% of the fisherman catch 90% of the fish"--What you saw today is a good example of this. Sounds/looks like you had a nice day.

I have heard that they do drift the mud flats of Mille Lacs Lake but this was no Mille Lacs.

I was standing at the landing on Volney a few weeks ago. There was a guy there tellimg me that they should bring back DDT. He said; Bald Eagles eat alot of fish and DDT would take care of that. He also told me that one day on Volney he had 5 Northerns in his livewell with a total weight of over 70lbs. He did not say there was someone in the boat with him. After talking to him all I could think was, If he wanted to know there were less fish for him to catch he should just look in the mirror!

maybe we could get together some time. Tom M likes to sit in the front of my boat and planes on it every weekend. Maybe I'll find an opening sometime soon.

Nice fish Guys! I have to assume that they do not have decent electronics or do not read it very well, so they find an obvious structure (hump or bar, dropoff etc.) & drift around it or up to it looking for action. A less refined way to do it when you don't have or use info that electronics give you. That's what my Dad did when I was young. Most of the time he would just anchor just off structure & throw out a bobber. It's like any sport, consistent success is no accident, you refine it,you perfect it, you pay attention to detail,success will happen. Then again, some people are just out to float & fish getting away from the hustle & bustle. L2f

Quote: "He also told me that one day on Volney he had 5 Northerns in his livewell with a total weight of over 70lbs. He did not say there was someone in the boat with him."

That's one of the saddest & ignorant stories I've heard, that's not a very big lake either.

This is a tactic that works very well on a few lakes around here as well as in the UP of Michigan. In MI, 2 lines are legal, so with two guys, 4 lines.....my dad and I will rig each of the 4 rods differently after fishing our usual spots in the morning and drift during the "slow" time of the day. It is a productive way to find the hot-bite (like someone mentioned before), but is also usefull in finding new water (when one does not have high-end electronincs).

We use a zig-zag pattern to cover an area, drift it a couple times (depending on the size of the area) and then find someplace new on the map to try. It is a good technique!

I have to agree, very sad that the eagles have been here for thousands of years and he feels they are the problem, even though they are at some of the lowest numbers in a hundred years. Funny thing is, eagles eat road kill and anything else they can scavenge, they don't actually hunt unless they have to.......... Todd

Aimlessly drifting is completly differnt from having or trying to find a pattern to catch fish, and what Muddog was describing sure sounds like aimless drifting. From what I have noticed, they have no idea how to control a boat, and they know very little about fish. Also when they do stumble apon a fish, they never take notice of why that fish was there, or what kind of structure it was on, they just keep drifitng....

If they are aimlessly drifting and catching fish, more power to them. Sometimes it takes a little something different to hook up with the fish. Many times during the day or searching for fish I have done this type of drifting and yes, I picked up fish and may have learned something from it.

They probably had a great time doing what they were doing.

I didn't see that part in Muddog's post

Nothing wrong with the aimless drift, IMO. Maybe it leads them to a new technique, different structure then they usually fish or they find a pattern they hadn't realized existed. As long as they're having fun right?

When I was a kid until I graduated high school, my dad use to do the drift thing. We didn't have a trolling motor or good electronics in the 70s and early to mid-80s. It was a great way to find schools of suspended crappie on Madison and Washington. We didn't stay on the school, but would pull a few fish with every pass. Lots of fun.

Just because it isn't your cup of tea, no reason to look down on someone else. Everyone is out for on the water for their own reasons. I would rather watch paint dry than troll for gators. The next guy may hate to flip reeds, skip docks, throw top water, pitch weed pockets, or drag a 10 inch worm on a point for bass. Whatever trips your trigger.