by Mike Barkley 

I was first introduced to Detroit River walleye fishing by DWF member Butch Chinchak.  He taught me the method that has been very productive for him over the years  – “Backtrolling” with a 3-way rig, a simple but very effective method of catching walleyes (and the occasional musky & smallie) on the Detroit River.

It’s sort of a combination of handlining (1 ½ oz instead of 1 ½ lbs.) and bottom bouncing.  It’s a very flexible method and can be easily adjusted/modified to your likes/needs. 

Backtrolling with the current generally provides much better boat control for following weedlines, channel edges, etc.  By trolling backward with your motor or transom mount electric, course changes are immediate, giving you much better boat control. I usually go just a little faster than the current so that my leader/bait stays stretched out.  This method also makes it very easy to adjust/vary your speed quickly. 

Any 3-way rig will work, but here is a home-made rig that Butch came up with and I have found it to be very effective.  It is made from a piece of wire, a swivel, a couple of snap locks and beads. The rig is fished pretty much like a typical bottom bouncer or handline set-up.  That is, by keeping your line at a 30-45 degree angle and just tapping the bottom with your sinker ( a nice thing about this rig is that the sinker distance from the leader is easily adjusted, raising/lowering your bait)  I generally have the sinker about 6” below the leader connector and use about a  4’ leader with a single hook harness, quick change clevis (I use quick change clevises on all of my harnesses/spinners to make blade changes quick and easy)  and a small float on the harness.

Although I mostly use a crawler with maybe a twister tail, there is no reason you couldn’t use your favorite lure or spoon (you might want to speed up just a little) 

The rig is made with a neat little tool called a Tack-L-Tool available from Jann’s Netcraft for $19.95.  This thing is great!  It comes with a 60 page book showing how to make everything from spreaders, spinner baits, trolling rigs, wire snelled hooks and a ton of other neat things.  Originally, before the wire tools, these rigs were made exactly the same although with 20 lb mono instead of wire.

Give it a try!  It adds another weapon to your arsenal!!

Click on pix to Enlarge!!