How to catch fish

This is for Millhouse.........

First off let me acknowledge that there are many fine anglers here on QJ. I have no doubt that I could learn a great deal from many members here and in fact often do. But here is my advice......

I am no expert when it comes to August fishing in the Canadian shield. But what I have come to conclude there are two important aspects, the fish tend to be concentrated and they tend to be deeper . I believe the best bet is trolling and careful use of your electronics. You might get by earlier in the year without a finder as fish tend to be shallower and spread out a bit more.

Here is what I feel is the best strategy. I'm going to get specific. I like mono when trolling and 8lb green trilene xt is my choice for deep diving crankbaits.

Lure selection is a banana shaped lure such as a deep taildancer or a reefrunner or bomber long A. Don't be afraid to go big. Little lures seldom travel deep and big fish often disregard them.

Remove the split rings (where you tie to)  and replace them with fas snaps in the large size (not X-lg).
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The reason being is that the 8lb test will not tie with 100% holding power to the oval shaped split ring. The physics are poor IMO.

I am very particular about my knots. I use a tie fast knot tying tool to secure the 8lb line to the fas snap. Tie the gryp knot according to the instructions and your knot will be 100%.
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This tool will make your knots better. It was introduced to me by the best snapper fisherman I ever met.

You might consider removing the front hook but that is up to you. The lure seldom snags but it is safer if just the rear hook is in play.

Your rod holder should be such that the rod is angled slightly to the rear. The drag must be set correctly........to loose and the hooks will not set, to tight and the line might break.

Now just paddle around wherever it is your going but keep the boat in 25ft to 30ft of water. With a rapala deep taildancer in the large size you should be just a few feet off the bottom or bouncing once in a while.

And there you have it! You will catch them if you stay with it. The fish are likely to be concentrated and once you catch one ease around in the general vicinity and you are liable to catch some more. Be sure to have a set of plastic fish grips (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)
to handle the fish and a pair of pliers are nice.

Anyway, this is exactly what I do along with some other things but this will get you into the ballgame. Earlier in the year the fish are shallower and casting has its place.

Good luck Millhouse, enjoy your time with your son, I hope this helps you out. Be aggressive in obtaining what I have suggested and you will be hard pressed to go wrong. Or you can be like my overnight boat guests who, after much detailed instruction, omit particulars and run into all sorts of "issues". I just smile and shake my head (but I digress).

More ways to skin the cat.......lets see who else chimes in for you.

Millhouse wrote on Aug 31^st, 2012 at 7:18pm:

Without answering the question specifically, I will say that a #7 Shad Rap (Rapala) in red pattern jointed crayfish is a killer bait for walleye on rocky points and shorelines where you would expect to find crayfish. I have not had as much success with the other color crayfish patterns like green and brown.