We mentioned this hush-hush technique last year, and most folks are still trying to keep it under wraps…but NWT pro Drake Herd just haaaad to spill the beans!

Lots of different variations of swimbait trolling — can be as simple or as complicated as you wanna make it — here’s one unique program Drake uses to catch big ol’ basin-dwellers…

Drake likes using the big 4.75″ Rage Swimmer in lighter colors (purple backs, silver sides, etc) to match the hatch. Runs it on 10-lb mono with a 3/4-oz Squadron Swimbait Jig Head or Tour Grade Spin Head:

Get this: He uses custom-made 10-oz [!] Cannonball Weights that come with Off Shore Tackle Pro Snap Weight Clips so he can cover huge amounts of water looking for those basin roamers:

That massive weight means he doesn’t need to mess with downriggers, leadcore, etc to get his bait to depth, and stay there. Can also cover water at 2.2-2.5 mph while staying mostly vertical.

Yo Drake, how are you gonna use a 10-oz snap weight and NOT nickname this technique “bowling” or “Kingpinning” lol?

The full video (below) is sure to get your creative juices flowing:

Of course you don’t need 10-oz snap weights to troll swimbaits…can pull ’em on leadcore or use lighter weights with more line out, especially when fishing shallower water.

TG Gabriel posted a pic of this toothpick last week. Rumor has it’s an epidemic caused by the catch-photo-release tourney folks trying to squeeze every inch outta their measurements:

My brain can’t even comprehend this insanely skinny 22-incher Randy Hummel caught and released on Lake Sakakawea:

Someone get that thing a bacon smelt burger before it turns to dust! Even the half-digested ones in a cormorant’s belly weigh more than that. #SkyCarp

Dude took a big risk for an even bigger reward….

Peter Schaefer was making an 86-mile run [!] south of Sault Ste. Marie — actually had to stop for gas on the way back each day! His day-2 round trip totaled 4.5 hours of drive time…had to plow through 3- and 4-footers on his way back, so could “only” manage top speeds of 36-37 mph.

But don’t feel bad for him (lol) ‘cuz his 2-day bag for 45.03 lbs paid off to the tune of $80,380! #ChaChing

Few of Peter’s winning deets in this NWT Insider Report:

> My main spot down there was like 38-48′ deep. I was trolling crankbaits [1-5′ off bottom at 1.7-2.0 mph] — mainly Bandits and Smithwick Top 20s with 2-oz snap weights. Chrome bases were key — purples and blues with orange bellies.”

The wind picked up on day 2 and blew the bait — eventually pushing some walleyes — to his secondary area = an adjacent shoreline piece of structure:

> “My 2nd area was…17-24′. [Day 2] it accounted for my biggest one and a 4-lber.”

On the shallower spot, he’d have his cranks ticking the tops of the rocks — trolling ’em 100-120′ from his Off Shore Tackle Planer Boards.

That ^ late cull sealed the deal on his first national win.

Huge props, man!

Can hit up Peter on his FB here where he also posted his own recap of how things went down.

Guess they do when it’s a Salmo Hornet…. What’s your next move?

No thanks.