Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2020 - 9

Trolling gear

Lures

Walleye anglers just getting started on Lake Erie should fare well
with a section of trolling spoons, such as Michigan Stingers and
Dreamweavers, and stickbaits, like Storm Thundersticks, Renosky
Crystalinas and Rapala Deep Tail Dancers. It is common to run spoons
off Dipseys and stickbaits off leadcore. Deep Tail Dancers, which get
down to the 25-foot range, will often take high-riding Walleyes while
simply line-line trolled.

Accessories

Iman strongly recommends a landing net with an extendable handle.
Trolling rods tend to be long, and there may be an 8-foot leader between
a Dipsey Diver and the spoon. A long handle will go a long way, literally,
toward getting more Walleyes in the boat. Also, Walleyes taken from the
cool Lake Erie depths will generally not survive in the warm water of a
livewell. Keep the catch fresh by having a marine grade cooler loaded
with ice.
Iman, who worked for years as a meat cutter, immediately dispatches
keeper Walleyes, makes a cut along the throat of the fish to allow it to
bleed out in the livewell, and transfers it to the ice chest a few minutes
later. The result is snow white fillets.
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Rods with line counter reels add precision to trolling
and allow the angler to replicate a successful setback.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * January/February 2020

9

photos-Jeff Knapp

Line counter reels matched with 71/2- to
8-foot trolling rods, often marketed as
"downrigger rods," can be purchased as
a combination, saving the angler funds
that can be used on other gear. Iman loads
these rods with 20-pound-test braid and
recommends having the reels filled to the
level where the line counter is accurate.
Videos on the internet are available that
demonstrate how to properly calibrate line
counter reels. In addition to braid, he has a
few outfits spooled with leadcore line.
Some trolling sinkers dive without
By summer, when most fishing attention
the option of planing to the side.
takes place, it is common for Walleyes to be
in 40- to 75-feet of water off Pennsylvania's
Lake Erie shore. While fish typically suspend
in the water column, it is still often necessary to employ some type of
device to get lures down in the 20- to 40-foot range. Like most savvy Erie
Walleye anglers, Iman carries a few directional diving sinkers like Luhr
Jensen Dipsey Divers to get lures down into the Walleye zone. Dipseys
dive and can also plane off to the side, the latter accomplished by angler
settings. Other models, such as Jet Divers, only dive. Dive charts supplied
with diving sinkers provide a means of placing lures at the depth desired.
"It is important to understand which direction a Dipsey will plane,
otherwise, you will get major snarls," said Iman. "I remember that 'left'
Directional trolling sinkers like Slide Divers and Dipsey
setting is run off the port side, as both have four letters."
Divers both dive and plane to the side.
Leadcore line is another way of getting lures down to the Walleye
zone. A thin filament of lead runs the length of the nylon line.
Essentially, it is a continuous inline sinker. The more line you let out, the
deeper the lures run. Leadcore line is color coded every 10 yards.
Inline planers are another device Erie Walleye anglers should
consider. Unlike large planing boards that run off a boat-mounted mast,
inline planers clip to the fishing line, a set distance in front of the lure.
This allows a wider spread and puts baits in front of Walleyes that move
off to the side of the boat's path.
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2020

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