Crank baits for walleye?

done alot on erie. I still troll hot n tots, rapalas, and reef runners for eyes over the tops of the weeds or weed edges but mostly in the fall when the eyes are chasing bait to fill up before winter and the weeds and beginning to die off. mostly in the evening and night though but, anywhere from .5 or 1.0 mph with jointed baits and up to 1.8 with hot n tots and reef runners. I think you see it done more often in erie do to alot of the fish being in open water schools making it much easier to present to the fish using boards. Anyone thats tried running boards in weedy areas knows it can get frustrating when weeds keep popping your lines off the boards or having to deal with dragging weeds and constantly having to pop your line loose and clear your baits. hint: have a rod handy thats tied up with a jighead and mr twister of some sort many times if I can find where the fish are by trolling and they just dont want the bodybaits ill stop and cast that area for a while with the jig... seems to be fairly productive and remember that time of year its not figureing out where the fish are its where the bait fish are that the eyes will be. sorry i didnt really answer your question as for trolling with boards this time of year but maybe that can help you as the season goes on and fall comes around. My guess in the heat of the summer you might find some fish on the egdes of the channel especially in the areas with adjacent weeds? anyone else agree with that as a start? usually this time of year i have enough eyes in the freezer from spring I just concentrate on other fish until the fall so id also be interested on knowing where they go all summer if anyone has input.

It wouldnt be a bad idea to try metro/400 club/mile roads or anchor bay in the evening on into the night witht he thundersticks and rapalas. best bet is to have the trolling guide and line counters so you can run your baits at the depths you want but if you dont have line counters or the book just play around with how much line your letting out and figure out where you can get them to run a foot off the top of the weeds. Im sure you would be able to put atleast an eye or two in the boat if not better if you can find some fish but one thing is you should catch a pretty decent mixed bag of bass, pike etc in the process so atleast you'll have action. trial and error as always thats how you find em. tip: use a snap swivel but to prevent line twist and easy changing of baits but i found using a rapala knot tied to the swivel adds even a little more action. also dont be afraid to add a little glow in the dark color to some of those baits and doctor them up it can make a hell of a difference at night.