Canadian Trolling Tactics Video: Trolling is one of the best ways to learn new water and contact active fish. Watch Jeremy Smith and Ty Sjodin on a Manitoba adventure catching walleyes and lake trout.

Mastering the Art of Trolling: A Northern Adventure in Fish-Finding Efficiency

Trolling has long been recognized as one of the most efficient and productive methods of locating and catching fish, especially in vast, unfamiliar waters. On a recent trip to Cranberry Portage, Manitoba, Jeremy Smith and Ty Sjodin from Angling Edge showcased just how powerful this tactic can be when targeting walleyes and lake trout. From advanced electronics to bait presentation and gear selection, the duo demonstrated a masterclass in trolling success.

Why Trolling is Essential on New Water

When exploring expansive fisheries across North America, time is of the essence. Trolling provides the ability to cover large swaths of water quickly, which not only increases your chances of encountering active fish, but also accelerates the learning process. It helps answer critical questions: Are baitfish concentrated on rocky points, sunken islands, or near weed edges? Are your target species hugging bottom structure or suspended in the water column? Identifying where fish are not is just as valuable as learning where they are.

Starting the Search in Cranberry Portage

Smith and Shadeen began their Manitoba adventure at Viking Lodge, targeting giant lake trout and feisty walleyes. Early action came quickly as they experimented with spinner rigs—a tactic that allowed them to effectively locate and catch active walleyes. Spinner rigging not only yielded a mix of eater-sized and quality fish, but also proved effective in navigating snaggy rock areas, thanks to clever rig enhancements like in-line floats.

Dialing in Spinner and Bottom Bouncer Rigs

The duo showcased an Indiana Blade spinner rig, perch-colored with a float, perfect for avoiding snags when making tight turns over rocky bottoms. VMC’s new spinner lineup with built-in floats made a noticeable difference in preserving tackle and catching fish in challenging terrain.

To deliver the spinner rigs precisely to bottom-hugging walleyes, bottom bouncers were essential. A helpful rule of thumb: use one ounce of weight for every ten feet of water. Jeremy used a 3-ounce bouncer to keep his rig nearly vertical beneath the boat, while Ty opted for a 2-ounce setup. This variation in weight also helped minimize tangles when running multiple lines close together.

Gear Talk: Rods, Reels, and Line

For bottom bouncer trolling, baitcasting setups were the gear of choice—offering superior line control and easier depth adjustments. Jeremy used the St. Croix Avid Walleye Series rod, while Ty ran the Legend Tournament Walleye rod, both medium-heavy power with moderate-fast action. Paired with size 100 Daiwa line counter reels and 15-lb yellow braid for visibility, the setup was ideal for maintaining consistent bottom contact and detecting bites.

Mapping and Understanding Structure

Leveraging AutoChart Live proved invaluable, especially on lakes lacking detailed digital maps like the Cranberry Chain. Building custom maps allowed them to understand complex structures such as deep saddles, points, and drop-offs. Once fishy-looking areas were mapped, they could return to jig them or make additional trolling passes with confidence.

Unlocking the Secrets of Deep Water Lake Trout

In the warmer summer months, lake trout migrate to deeper basins seeking cooler water temperatures. Many prime lake trout lakes offer depths exceeding 100 feet, and the thermocline—often around 25 to 35 feet down—plays a vital role in their location.

Smith and Shadeen found success targeting a classic deep-water structure: a saddle between a gradually sloping point and a steep underwater rock. Fish were consistently biting at depths between 45 and 55 feet—right above the thermocline—where multiple structural edges converged. As fishing legend Dick Pearson often emphasized, edge convergence creates natural funnels where predator fish ambush prey.

Technique Matters: Fighting Deep-Water Giants

Hooking into a big lake trout is just the beginning of the challenge. Proper rod technique and drag settings become critical to success. The key: let the rod and drag system do the work. Avoid “pumping” the rod and let the fish wear itself out. Daiwa reels, with their ultra-smooth drags, shined in this scenario, and the fish were brought in successfully with a steady, controlled retrieve.

Building and Trusting the Program

As the day unfolded, the team dialed in their system—identifying productive depths, refining boat control, and maximizing electronics use. Rocks that rose 60 feet from the basin provided consistent action, and using screenshots from their sonar made structure identification straightforward. The result: numerous quality trout, each a testament to preparation, mapping, and the refined trolling approach.

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Stay tuned for the next section, where we’ll dive even deeper into this Manitoba adventure and reveal more of the tactics, technologies, and techniques that brought success in the remote wilderness of the Canadian north.

Fine-Tuning Your Electronics for Deep-Water Trout

Once your spread is dialed in, turn your attention to sonar. Deep water—100 to 150 feet—demands different settings than the standard “out-of-the-box” configuration most anglers run:

• Switch from MEGA to 455 kHz on Down Imaging.
  The lower frequency penetrates farther and returns a crisper image at extreme depths. If your screen looks empty in MEGA, drop to 455 kHz and watch the marks “light up.”
• Experiment on open water.
  Deep-basin trolling gives you plenty of time and room to tweak sensitivity, contrast, beam width, and palette without risking damage to gear or fish.

Systematic adjustments reveal not only trout, but the thermocline, bait clouds, and those subtle structure transitions where the biggest fish prowl.

Snap-Weight Systems: A Simple Alternative to Downriggers

Lake-trout lore often suggests expensive downriggers, but Smith and Shadeen proved you can reach 55–70 feet with nothing more than snap weights and planer boards:

Component	Practical Detail
Snap Weights	Offshore clips with an internal peg keep 8–10 oz leads from sliding.
Trolling Rod	St. Croix Icon Trolling, built to absorb surging strikes and heavy ballast.
Speed & Spread	2.5 mph is the sweet spot; long rods in the stern let the net person work freely.
Barbless Hooks	Manitoba regulations—and a reminder to maintain steady pressure.

When the bite was hot, even improvised “hodge-podge” lead balls produced, proving that technique outweighs appearances.

Spoons, Quick Fish, and the Power of the Turn

Deep-water trout trolling doesn’t require a tackle shop’s inventory—just a focused selection of high-action baits:

• Big Coyote-stylhttps://www.rapala.com/us_en/luhr-jensene spoons: Flash and thump draw strikes across long distances.
• Oversized flutter spoons: Originally for bass, they shine when trout want a slower roll.
• Kwikfish/Quick Fish: One of the few hard baits that track true alongside heavy spoons; indispensable when trout show a clear preference.

Boat handling completes the presentation. A sharp tiller turn accelerates the outside line and causes the inside snap-weight to plunge. Many of the team’s hookups came precisely as that inside bait “free-fell”—a vertical move crankbaits alone cannot replicate.

Boat Control Made Easy

Early in the outing, trolling too fast—or pausing with lines out—led to tangles and lost fish. The fix was elegant:

• Minn Kota micro-remote + AutoPilot at 1 mph kept headings true while preventing slack in the spread.
• Light, continuous forward motion allowed quick net work and minimized bottom snags.

The payoff? Yet another mammoth trout rolling at boatside, emerald flanks gleaming as it “burped” trapped air—a fish of a lifetime released to the depths.

Takeaways for Your Next Northern Expedition

1. Map as you go. AutoChart Live can turn blank basins into fully featured charts in a single outing.
2. Match weight to depth—but stagger sizes to minimize tangles and keep lines vertical.
3. Tweak sonar frequencies when probing over 100 feet; 455 kHz down imaging is your friend.
4. Use snap weights and planer boards for a cost-effective, versatile deep-trolling system.
5. Trigger strikes with boat turns. Inside lines drop, outside lines speed up, and trout react.
6. Respect others on the water. Courtesy is the foundation of our shared sport.

From walleyes on rocky points to prehistoric giants roaming cold, clear basins, trolling remains the fastest path to figuring out new water—and making memories that last a lifetime. Rig smart, fish hard, stay humble, and, as the Angling Edge crew reminds us, have a safe and fruitful season wherever your adventures lead.