The walleye fishing industry has gone “troll crazy” the past 5-10 years. It’s hard to pickup a walleye fishing publication and not find at least one article focusing on the art of trolling. This is not to say people haven’t been trolling for walleyes for decades, it’s only come to the forefront in recent years.

The Pro Walleye Tour (PWT) has a lot to do with the fishing industry and where walleye fishing is headed. It’s no secret that trollers such as Tom Backer out of Fargo, ND are making a living doing just that, trolling. And I remember a big event on Mille Lacs Lake in MN the other year where the top prize went on a complete trolling game plan. This raised a lot of eyebrows as traditional long-rigging has ruled that lake for what seems like forever.

So with that being said, I jumped head first into the trolling game about 3-4 years ago and haven’t regretted the journey one bit. Trolling is an easy way to cover a lot of ground in search of active fish as well as a great BIG fish tool. Last year my biggest fish came on a Reef Runner trolled at 35 foot of water. With a 29″ walleye already recorded this year with a jig, my trolling game is going to have to step it up to repeat again this year.

After a lot of research on trolling fishing reels, I ended up purchasing:

• 2 Daiwa Sealine SG17LCA fishing reels
• 2 Daiwa Sealine SG27LCA fishing reels
• 2 Daiwa Sealine SG47LCA fishing reels

I have been blown away by the reliability of these reels, especially in all trolling applications. I’ve seen other fishing reels get blown by even medium sized fish, where the Sealines haven’t missed a beat since the day I pulled them out the box. The drag is smooth and I haven’t had to do any real maintenance to any of them.

I use planer boards a lot with them as well and there hasn’t been any issues. I can manage the drag just right to allow plenty of give without any pull on the spool while trolling heavy chop.

I would recommend the Daiwa Sealine fishing reels to anyone who’s looking into a good trolling reel. They aren’t the cheapest out there, with an average retail price of $94.95/each, but like most things in life you get what you pay for. Keep your eyes out on classifieds and online auctions, I was able to get mine for around $55 so there is good deals out there if you look for them.

I will give the Daiwa Sealines an A Rating.

I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to new fishing tackle, well almost always. Every year the market is flooded with new products and at times it’s hard to see through the marketing and hype. I guess whether or not you think something will work is up to each angler, and it’s usually based on experience or an interest of trying something new.

The soft plastic industry is no different when it comes to changes. It reminds me of the days when I used to collect baseball cards. There is extended, platinum, special edition, etc. versions when there used to be just one card by one maker. Like baseball cards, there is so many variations of the traditional worm or grub it’s crazy. But I will admit, Berkley Fishing has hit a chord with me and their line of Gulp® baits.

I wanted to have something that gave me the confidence of livebait, but without the hassle. I wasn’t raised on using soft plastics for walleyes. I grew up fishing Minnesota where big shiners reign supreme. I started using Berkley Gulp® about 2-3 years ago and was instantly hooked, and for obvious reasons. My first ever cast was with a 3/8″ oz. chartreuse jig and a 4 inch chartreuse Gulp grub. I wanted a fast drop as there was an 11 foot dropoff I was targeting. Would you believe me if I told you my first cast with Gulp raised a 28.5″ walleye? No joke! Here is that picture.

Fast forward a few years and now we have Berkley Gulp! Alive! baits. These come in a container that is basically a soaking bath for your soft plastics. At a first look, the caution flag was thrown up as the retail price of the small container is $19.99 and the larger version is $39.99. That is pretty expensive for soft plastics. Luckily, I was able to try them out first.

My first time using it I was fishing with Bill and Jon Mitzel from Dakota Country Magazine on the Missouri River south of Bismarck. We had a scoop of fatheads and a container of 3″ Minnow Gulp Alive in Emerald Shiner. After the Gulp Alive caught 6 to 1 over minnows, I gave it a shot. It didn’t take long to land a 23″ walleye and I knew it could catch fish.

Now to be fair, there are times when it probably doesn’t matter what you’re using; simply put the bait in front of the active fish and the result will be the same. But lately I’m flat out confident using the bait and to me confidence matters. My last 5 times out fishing this week we didn’t purchase any minnows and we’ve been pounding walleyes without missing a beat. Yesterday wasn’t any different as we had over 25 walleyes in the boat in the first hour, all on Berkley Gulp Alive!

So I guess you can say I’m a believer in the new line of Berkley soft plastics. And while the price tag has caught a lot of slack, to be fair my $19.99 container of baits is still going strong after going through over 100 walleyes. Consider how much I would’ve paid for bait over the same timeframe and it’s probably a wash.

So I will give Berkely Gulp Alive an A- Rating.

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