CrappieKeith
11-13-2007, 12:50 PM
Growing up we always used live bait for walleyes.
My Dad would send my brother & I out to pick crawlers or catch frogs.
We had a leech trap and even went to the Ripple River to catch Redhorse chubs.
We seined minnows from our beach as well,so that's all I knew for decades was how to rig live bait.
30 years later I was introduced to plastics.
I'll never forget my 1st Mister Twister spinner with grub in tow experience.
They worked so well for walleyes and pike.
As I continued my quest to become a better fisherman my attitude towards live bait changed.
I found that having a variety of plastics which include shad style swimbaits,grubs,worms and in all different sizes and colors have helped me get more fish more often.
It's funny when I look back to see how many different ways I've caught walleyes for example.
Same fish ,but the baits have varied by a wide degree.
In selecting my bait of choice I'll 1st consider the structure I'll be working,then water temperature.The time of the year and depth of water that will be worked on that day.
Spring,summer,fall& winter will all require different presentations.
Once I've figured out the walleyes pattern for example ,catching them is as easy as pie.
If they are deep,say 15 FOW or deeper I'll be running lindy rigs with crawlers leeches or minnows.Working the gravel ,rocks or mud bottoms.
They are usually there once the weather gets hot which drives them into the deeper cooler water.
Spring time and early summer they are up shallower.
This is when I'm using a 1/4oz. jig with a sassy shad working 6-10 FOW looking for those males after the spawn.
The females are usually in their post spawn dulldrums,but the males are very active up shallow feeding .
Up in the shallows you'll also find weeds which are a problem for lindy rigs as the weights gather weeds and you continually have to reel up to remove them.
Ergo a jig tipped with a minnow or a swim-bait would be the way to go to pick off those tasty walleyes.
Casting & retrieving,verticle jigging or trolling are great ways to work a jig.
A jig works so well ,because it goes to the bottom of the lake which is where the walleyes are.
Making contact with the bottom or staying within 2 feet of the bottom of the lake is the key to boating walleyes.
Pike run up a bit higher and for the most part bass are surface feeders.
Knowing which species you are targeting,figuring out the pattern and making a plan to work any given body of water by studying topo maps
will help your success rate soar.
.I hope you have fun which above all is what we all are out there for.
Bring a kid fishing and make their day.
It'll last a lifetime.
CK
My Dad would send my brother & I out to pick crawlers or catch frogs.
We had a leech trap and even went to the Ripple River to catch Redhorse chubs.
We seined minnows from our beach as well,so that's all I knew for decades was how to rig live bait.
30 years later I was introduced to plastics.
I'll never forget my 1st Mister Twister spinner with grub in tow experience.
They worked so well for walleyes and pike.
As I continued my quest to become a better fisherman my attitude towards live bait changed.
I found that having a variety of plastics which include shad style swimbaits,grubs,worms and in all different sizes and colors have helped me get more fish more often.
It's funny when I look back to see how many different ways I've caught walleyes for example.
Same fish ,but the baits have varied by a wide degree.
In selecting my bait of choice I'll 1st consider the structure I'll be working,then water temperature.The time of the year and depth of water that will be worked on that day.
Spring,summer,fall& winter will all require different presentations.
Once I've figured out the walleyes pattern for example ,catching them is as easy as pie.
If they are deep,say 15 FOW or deeper I'll be running lindy rigs with crawlers leeches or minnows.Working the gravel ,rocks or mud bottoms.
They are usually there once the weather gets hot which drives them into the deeper cooler water.
Spring time and early summer they are up shallower.
This is when I'm using a 1/4oz. jig with a sassy shad working 6-10 FOW looking for those males after the spawn.
The females are usually in their post spawn dulldrums,but the males are very active up shallow feeding .
Up in the shallows you'll also find weeds which are a problem for lindy rigs as the weights gather weeds and you continually have to reel up to remove them.
Ergo a jig tipped with a minnow or a swim-bait would be the way to go to pick off those tasty walleyes.
Casting & retrieving,verticle jigging or trolling are great ways to work a jig.
A jig works so well ,because it goes to the bottom of the lake which is where the walleyes are.
Making contact with the bottom or staying within 2 feet of the bottom of the lake is the key to boating walleyes.
Pike run up a bit higher and for the most part bass are surface feeders.
Knowing which species you are targeting,figuring out the pattern and making a plan to work any given body of water by studying topo maps
will help your success rate soar.
.I hope you have fun which above all is what we all are out there for.
Bring a kid fishing and make their day.
It'll last a lifetime.
CK