Rapala RSC Steel-trolling outfits ideal for catching Lake Erie Trout & Walleye.
Posted on October 5th, 2010[nggallery id=329]Our good friends Pat Pagano and Mike Atkins from Windsor, ON saw some of the TV shows we have produced trolling for a variety of fish (trout & walleye) using the Rapala RSC “wire†trolling rods with RSC Counter Reels and really wanted to try this technique in Lake Erie, ON. As many of you know, Pat and Mike are tournament anglers who specialize in catching bass and walleye in the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. They normally use conventional gear (spinning & baitcasting outfits), and either jig or bottom-bounce worm harnesses for walleye, and either fish jigs, crankbiats, spinnerbiats or soft-plastics for bass, so getting into deep-water trolling with metal lines was a little intimidating.
Well, Pat got his hands on a few Rapala RSC trolling outfits, a variety of steel line (44# Copper and 30# stranded stainless steel), which he was able to order from Pete’s Tackle in St. Catharines, ON, along with some Great Lakes trolling spoons. We were on the phone a few times and I went over how he should start by loading the reels with some 30 lb. Sufix Braid (about 100 yds), than make the right connection to the steel line, and than finish-off with a 20 lb. test, 50’ long Sufix fluorocarbon leader and than a snap-swivel. From his testimony and trout catches, Pat and Mike learned how to use the gear to catch trophy rainbows in Lake Erie in a matter of hours. Here is his comments when he send the fish images to me:
“Hi Italo, this was from our first Lake Erie trip using the Rapala trolling outfits in mid- August out of Wheatley, ON. We ended up fishing in 49 – 52 feet of water.. Mike & I caught 6 rainbows and countless of monsters sheepshead (no walleye). Still learning about this new trolling business and I think we did really good for our first time out. The only problem is that we found it tough trolling with a 90 hp, if you have any leads on a 9.9 engine please let me know. “
Well done Pat & Mike. I’ll keep my eyes out for a used kiker-outboard for you. I have a feeling you will become steel-line trolling experts by the end of next summer!
If you like the idea of catching a variety of fish species from deeper water, including Great Lakes Salmon, Rainbow, Brown & Lake Trout, walleye & pike, you should definitely check-out the Rapala line of RSC specialized trolling rods and counter reels.
