MinnKota's i-Pilot is a precision boat control tool for catching walleye and sauger in rivers
Navigation:
As the waters of the upper Mississippi River cool while fall transitions into winter, our period of fishing for aggressive walleye and sauger is drawing to a close. Active fish can still be contacted throughout the cold-water period, although their aggressive bite windows become shorter and more focused during the "traditional" walleye times of first and last light. During the balance of the day, anglers must often resort to finesse presentations, involving either soft plastics or live bait, in order to tempt neutral or negative fish into striking. In my boat, these finesse presentations include vertical jigging, jig dragging, and 3-way rigging with large minnows. On a recent cold Sunday, I was joined by my friend Mark Steffes for some late fall walleye fishing on Pool 4 of the Mississippi River. Much of our day was spent with limited success; however, once we began fishing with a finess live bait presentation, facilitated by the powerful boat control tools provided by the MinnKota i-Pilot, we began to enjoy the bounty that fall walleye fishing on major rivers can provide.
Mark and I had identified a large pod of mixed sauger and walleye relating to the transition between a shallow, rocky feeding flat and the deeper basin of the main river channel. As you can see in this 2D (200/83 kHz dual beam) sonar screen capture from my Humminbird 1197, most of the fish were sitting a relatively confined area, at the transiton from the break to the basin, and spreading somewhat into the basin itself. Maintaining our baits within this limited area meant getting bit; drifting too high or too far away from the transition left us fishless.
Mark and I worked this area by slow-trolling (0.1-0.2 mph) 3-way rigs, with the business end comprised of a floating jighead (orange or chartreuse) tipped with a large fathead minnow. The basic rig is illustrated at right. From a three-way swivel, tie one short length of line (the "dropper") between 8 and 12" long, extending to a weight. We found 1 oz to be perfect for our conditions. Tie a second leader, 40-48" long, to a second connector on the 3-way swivel, with the jighead on the far end of the leader. Finally, tie the third connection on the 3-way swivel to your main line. Bait the hook and start fishing!
To saturate this fish-holding area with our presentations, and to maintain control of the boat while fighting fish or baiting hooks, we made use of two of i-Pilots GPS-enabled boat control functions: Cruise Control and Spot Lock. We used these two functions for two separate purposes. Cruise control was used to maintain a constant boat speed while moving our baits through the target zone, and Spot Lock was used to prevent the boat from drifting downstream (towards other boats or hazards, such as a nearby, downstream wingdam) while we fought fish or dealt with other issues.
With Cruise Control helping us with bait presentation, it didn't take long for Mark and I to start connecting with walleye and sauger using this area. Our bites were very non-aggressive. In order to convert bites into fish in the boat, we had to feed the fish a fair amount of slack line and wait for what seemed an eternity before setting the hook. As soon as one of us would get a bite, I would activate the i-Pilot's Spot Lock feature. Spot Lock automatically controls prop speed and motor direction to maintain the boat within a 5-foot circle around the GPS position established when the Spot Lock feature is activated. Activating Spot Lock when we would get bit would allow me to take my mind completely off of boat control, and focus all of my attention on getting a positive hookset. Spot Lock held my position such that the wind would not push me to shore, and the current would not run me downstream into another boat or to the nearby downstream wingdam.
Dr. Jason Halfen
Professional Walleye Angler
Navigation:
Cruise Control allowed us to control our presentation speed through the fish-holding area very precisely. By using the i-Pilot remote, I dialed in the prop speed setting necessary to keep us moving at approximately 0.2 mph. Then, I activated Cruise Control with one simple push of the Cruise Control button (highlighted in blue in the photo at right) on the i-Pilot remote. Cruise Control automatically adjusts prop speed to maintain the GPS speed that was established when the Cruise Control function was activated. This is a terrific tool for dealing with enviromnental issues, such as current, wind, or waves that can dramatically impact boat speed. When our boat would enter a region of slack water (lower current flow), Cruise Control would automatically decrease prop speed so that our desired boat speed would not be exceeded. When entering an area of higher flow, Cruise Control would automatically increase prop speed until the desired GPS speed was reestablished. With current swirling and a constant, cold November wind pushing us across the main current flow, Cruise Control proved to be fantastic tool for helping us present our baits at the precise speed that triggered the most bites.
I should note that the GPS speeds used by i-Pilot (measured in the head unit of my Terrova) are highly precise, when compared to the GPS speeds measured by the remainder of my Humminbird electronics. For example, take a look at this photo of the i-Pilot remote (with the GPS speed measured by i-Pilot displayed on the remote; 0.2 mph in this instance) next to my Humminbird 997, with its independently determined GPS displayed. The exact match shown here is not the exception; rather, it is the rule.
Our results from using i-Pilot's Cruise Control and Spot Lock features? Less worrying about boat control as part of our finesse live bait presentation, and as a result....more fish in the boat. Mark and I had a chance to land numerous fish from this very small area, by saturating it with live bait and keeping the boat over those fish that were willing to bite. A bunch of fish were released, but we also selectively harvested a few for a late November meal of fresh walleye and sauger.
i-Pilot helped us focus on fishing by dealing with many of the boat control tasks that would have otherwise occupied my attention, anbd it will do the same for you. Be sure to add an i-Pilot to your boat in 2010 to enjoy the same advantage that Mark and I had on this cold November day on the Mississippi River.
