Rapalas are by far the top lure to use in The Key River area of The Georgian Bay for trolling for yellow pickerel or for anything else as far as that goes.
The Big Rapala closely resembles the Cisco which is the number one bait fish that pike, muskie & yellow pickerel eat in The Georgian Bay & perch & each other come next & also the Alewife that resembles a shad.
Anything that swims in The Georgian Bay will hit Rapalas trolling & you can also cast them but they are much better for trolling than casting.
If you know how to jerk or kick them on the surface they also are top surface lures. Use a split ring & tie your line to the ring. No wire leader or wire works best.
The two lures in the above photo are the only two sizes you need in the Key River area & silver & black are favored by most. The smaller ones are better for kicking or jerking on surface. Floaters are best.
Both are floaters & the larger one is used more often than the smaller one because it goes down deeper & is the lure Georgian Bay fishermen use to catch large pickerel trolling at night.
Deep divers get more weeds than fish in Georgian Bay Back Bays but they are good in deep weed free water at times especially along steep rock cliffs.
I always use twenty pound test with the bigger Rapala for trolling or casting.
The large one goes deeper than the smaller one.
Use the small one in shallow water weed areas or shoals but it will not cast well with twenty pound line as it is much lighter than the big seven inch one.
Always use a wire leader or a solid s.s. .020 wire like I explained under Zara Spook in the day time.
The length does not matter but I prefer six inch long.
You do not have to use a wire leader for night time trolling for yellow pickerel & the action of the lure will be much better without one.
Pike & muskie very seldom hit after dark where I fish but I have caught a few at night.
I always jam the knot down on the eye & put a split shot eighteen inches ahead of the lure to keep the nose down for yellow pickerel trolling at at night. This is very important so experiment with it to get the nose down action right.
Big Yellow Pickerel knock the hell out of this lure at night & will do that in three feet of water right on the bank or shoal. You can cast them on shallow shoals & get big pickerel that way if they are feeding there.
Find out where they feed at night & you will be rewarded.
