Andrew Martinsen's Walleye Fishing Update Trolling for Trophies Why It’s Sometimes Good to be Shallow An extremely effective trolling strategy is to go shallow early, and to go shallow often. It’s against the popular notion, but that’s why it’s such a good idea to try it in the first place. In walleye fishing, a "90-10 rule" almost always applies. 10% of the anglers have 90% of the success out on the lake. So in order to get into the 10% range and above, it is necessary to think outside the box and do things that others aren’t doing. So try trolling shallow. Try it often. The shallower you can be, the better. This is especially true under windy conditions. You might go in to four, three, even TWO feet of water on a windy day when the waves are tumbling into the shore. To be sure, a lot of anglers are wary of going in that shallow. But they’re really missing out. If you can find a school of fish out in 10 feet of water near a windy shoreline, then you will likely find them right up against that shoreline too. Sure, you may hear some laughs across the water from the mediocre herd (the 90% that have 10% of the success). But you’ll feel pretty good when you get to shore... who’ll be laughing then?