Boat-control systems for walleyes have come a long way since the early days of backtrolling (the late 1960s). Bigger boats and outboard engines, high-power electric motors, crankbait trolling systems, and the quest for suspended fish have revolutionized walleye fishing presentations. Bass-fishing boat maneuvers pale in comparison to walleye trolling systems.

The key word is trolling. While you can position the boat and cast for both species, most walleye presentation systems involve a two-step approach: You position the boat, and the boat positions the lures. Precision boat control places multiple lines and lures at various depths. Done properly, they saturate the fish zone with fish-triggering offerings.

Primary boat control systems used in walleye fishing today each have their strengths and weaknesses. For consistent walleye success, select the one that best matches conditions.

Backtrolling Versus Forward Trolling

Backtrolling excels for precise vertical presentations where lures or baits must be placed accurately. Water pressure against the flat transom of the boat slows trolling speed, and slight left-right turns of the motor precisely position the boat. A vertical presentation directly beneath the boat follows every twist and turn along a drop-off or weedline edge. Anytime fish are oriented along a distinct edge or depth change, backtrolling is a prime presentation.

Forward trolling with an outboard motor is inherently less precise than backtrolling. Forward speed is harder to diminish since the bow slices through the water without much drag. Slight left-right turns of the outboard cause the boat to veer farther left and right, making it harder to follow a vertical edge precisely.

But forward trolling covers more water faster, expanding coverage without necessarily sacrificing depth control. It’s ideal for fish spread across flats, holding on gradual slopes, or suspended within a general depth range. The object is to cover a swath of water, not strain a small zone. Scrape bottom bouncers across the bottom, or troll diving lures or weighted lines for fish suspended at any depth.

Transom electric motors (12- or 24-volt) work best for backtrolling small to medium-size boats (14 to 17 feet) in light winds. Tiller outboard motors in the 35 to 100hp range perform better in high winds but are more difficult to troll slowly in calmer water.

Larger walleye boats (17 to 20 feet) generally are rigged with outboard engines from 75 to 225hp and have console steering. A big engine gets you there and back in a hurry but is difficult to troll effectively at slow speeds. A 7.5 to 15hp outboard kicker motor often is placed on one side of the transom for slow forward trolling. You can backtroll with a console walleye boat, but most of them aren’t rigged with splashguards, so they take considerable water over the transom when backtrolled in heavy waves.

Powerful 24- or 36-volt bowmount electrics provide the best precision boat control for larger walleye boats. They enable you to hover, control drift, or troll slowly with or against the wind. They provide more speed and power than transom electrics and usually are better suited for spinner presentations. Walleye tournament anglers often select foot-control bowmounts to keep both hands free for fishing.

Go slow and use vertical presentations for fishing precise edges; move faster with horizontal presentations for covering flats, gradual slopes, or for suspended fish.

Backtrolling

Drop a livebait rig, jig, or jigging spoon to the bottom and hold the rod in your right hand. Shift the engine into reverse with your left hand, and then grasp the tiller. Proceed slowly backwards into the wind, turning the engine left or right to correct direction. Watch the depthfinder carefully. Keep the boat precisely along drop-offs, transition edges where soft and hard bottom meet, or along weedlines. Use just enough throttle to inch ahead.

Shift into neutral to hover momentarily, such as when you spot fish. Give the outboard enough throttle to exactly match wind velocity to hover in place for an extended time, as when you’re vertically jigging a small spot or casting to a turn in a weededge.

If you shift the engine into neutral, you’ll drift downwind. Turn the boat at an angle to the wind and apply frequent short bursts of forward or reverse power to correct the angle of your drift. This controlled drift technique is ideal for slowly maneuvering downwind along a drop-off, or for making minor course corrections as you drift across a flat.

When backtrolling upwind, spread lines to either side of the boat. For control drifting downwind, place all lines on the upwind side of the boat to minimize tangling.

Longlining

This is the basis for forward trolling tactics applied from the transom position, using either a large tiller or kicker outboard. Let your line out 100 to 200 feet directly behind the boat, and troll forward. This tactic excels with crankbaits and monofilament line down 15 to 20 feet. Add clip-on weights (lead shot, Rubbercors) above the lure for extra depth.

Weave the boat left or right to position lures where you want them. Remember that they’re a long way behind the boat. Boat and lure may not pass through the same water on sharp turns, and you’re prone to snag. In general, the tactic covers a narrow swath beneath the boat and runs the risk of spooking fish in shallow water or suspended near the surface.

Power Trolling

This forward trolling tactic can be applied reasonably well from the transom position, but it’s often easier with a bowmount electric.

Drop a bottom bouncer or three-way rig to the bottom, engage the reel, and begin trolling upwind, downwind, or at an angle to the breeze. Apply minor adjustments to the foot pedal to correct course and speed. This is a great combo of speed, precision control, and ability to cover water.

Open-Water Trolling

Tactics incorporating planer boards, snap weights, leadcore lines, diving planers, downriggers, and other advanced forms of 3-dimensional coverage in open water are the cutting edge of current-day walleye presentations. They represent the logical progression of traditional longline trolling, from simply pulling lures behind the boat in shallow water, to sophisticated multiple-line systems geared to strain the depths in search of active fish. Efficiency is at a premium, quickly eliminating unproductive areas and depths through the simultaneous use of electronics and trolled lures or baits.

You Gotta Stroll Before You Can Troll

These are some of the primary boat-control systems you’ll likely use when walleye fishing. In most cases, boat control is integral to walleye success; you can’t simply talk about casting a lure or bait, because in most but not all conditions, you’ll be using boat control maneuvers to position your offerings. Whenever you think about lures and baits, don’t simply think about their effectiveness, but about their effectiveness when applied as part of a system incorporating boat control. Because even when conditions call for casting, you still need to position the boat in the correct location to make a productive cast.

To Cast Or To Troll?

When is casting better than trolling and vice-versa? Before answering, we should address the terminology. Common terms like casting and trolling are bandied about until their meanings become bleary. And some may think gray areas exist between the two.

Trolling is moving the bait with the boat. When speed and movement of a lure or bait is determined by boat movement, that’s trolling. Casting is the act of physically throwing and then controlling the speed, direction, or depth of a lure or bait with rod, hands, wrists, and arms.

So standing in the bow and moving the boat with a trolling motor while pitching is casting, because the angler controls the speed and action of the lure. But drifting and vertical jigging is actually trolling, because the boat controls the direction and speed of the presentation.

Which leads us again to the essential question: When to cast and when to troll?

Cast when:

• Fish are tightly grouped and concentrated in a small area.

• Fish are scattered in weeds or tight to weededges where trolling can be inefficient, due to fouled lures.

• Fish are on precise spots on spots, like a patch of boulders on the end of a point, or the cup on an inside turn.

• Fish are shallower than about 12 feet and spooky.

• Fish are shallower than five feet.

• Fish are visible.

• Fish are scattered vertically on a sharp break.

Troll when:

• Fish are scattered horizontally.

• The situation requires covering a large piece of structure quickly.

• The situation requires covering water quickly.

• Exploring and learning a new body of water, especially during a calendar period when walleyes tend to hold deeper than 12 feet.

• Fish are deep, generally deeper than 12 feet, though the deepest parameter for effective casting is actually about 25 feet.

• Aggressive, biting fish are scattered on shallow flats.

• Fish are suspended.

So, while a small rock pile in shallow water is always a casting target, a large reef in deep water typically is a trolling target. In most cases, the break point between trolling and casting is determined by depth. As a rule, cast to walleyes shallower than 12 feet, and troll for deeper fish.

But such simple guidelines require modification. Factors that can move this arbitrary break point shallower or deeper include light, clarity, and the aggressiveness of the fish. Aggressive fish respond to trolling tactics in 8 feet of water or less, especially in darker water on dark, noisy, windy days. Yet spooky fish in 16 feet of ultraclear water on a bright, calm day might best be approached by casting.

For the most part, the equation is simple. When walleyes concentrate shallow and orient to small, specific identifiable spots such as a patch of boulders on the tip of a reef or in pockets along a weedline, casting is indicated. When walleyes are suspended over deep water or spread over large areas with 20 or more feet between each individual fish, trolling is the way to go. Often, though, it’s necessary to reach beyond such arbitrary guidelines when weather, water clarity, seasonal aspects, and other conditions change the rules.

To cast or troll? Depends on conditions. Be prepared to do both. No matter the presentation systems you use, proper boat control is essential to success.