How do I troll crankbaits for walleye?
Trolling cranks is the coverage tool — the way to find fish spread along kilometers of contour or suspended over open basins. The skill is depth control: every crankbait runs a knowable depth for a given line length and diameter, so use the published dive charts or a trolling app, and treat "how much line is out" as sacred information (line-counter reels exist for exactly this). Match running depth to the fish marks — walleye feed upward far more readily than down, so err a meter (3 ft) above them. Start at 2.5–3.2 km/h (1.6–2 mph) in warm water, slower in cold, and troll S-curves until a pattern emerges, then repeat the productive speed, depth, and lure. Where multiple lines are legal, planer boards spread baits away from the boat's shadow and multiply learning speed. Every fish is a data point: same bait, same depth, same speed, same line length — reproduce it.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
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