If I’ve in a situation where I’ve got medium sized waves on the lake is back trolling better than drifting?

If you have medium sized waves on the lake, it is going to better to back troll than it will be to drift. By back trolling, you are leaving the bait in front of the fish that are following the current, which in this case is coming at you. By back trolling, you are dangling the bait right in front of the incoming walleye. If you were to allow yourself to drift, you will be moving in the same direction as the fish, and changes are, you will be ahead of them and not feel one bite.

The same story holds true for fishing the river during spawning season. So many anglers dock themselves right downstream by the spawning areas. Now if you were to back troll, the oncoming walleye are going to be presented with the bait in front of them. You do not want to have the bait sneak up behind them. This defeats the purpose of presentation.

You are better off back trolling when you have medium waves, anything higher than that, you probably should not be out fishing the waters. Walleye will fight the current to get where they need to, they will fight the current to stay in the deeper waters rather than being washed ashore. Therefore, back troll into the current to catch the fish coming your way. Drifting is going to have you drifting ashore where the walleye are not going to be located. They are fighting the current to stay deep in the water.