09/15/2000
- Article
Jigging
up late season walleyes
by Norb Wallock
One
of the most endearing aspects of late season walleye angling is
it’s simplicity. In
this complicated, fast paced world we’re living in, it’s nice to get back to
the basics. Successful
fall fishing requires a minimal amount of gear, and thought. With a handful of jigs, a few minnows and a good depth
finder, you’re in
business. Before fall
gives way to the onslaught of winter, anglers have the opportunity
to cash in on some fantastic fishing.
The
ravages of the fall turnover can turn a walleyes world upside down,
and make for some awful tough fishing conditions.
Even shallow lakes that don’t “officially” turnover,
still go through a cooling off process. It can
take a little time for a fish’s body to adjust to the new, colder
water temps. But
soon after, things start to settle down, and walleye anglers can
expect to see definite
improvements in walleye activity.
After
the fall adjustment, walleyes go on a feeding binge that can last
right through the early season ice fishing season.
One of the shortcuts to finding fall walleyes is knowing
where walleyes are historically caught, through the ice.
Instead of waiting for hard water, open water anglers can beat the
ice brigade to the punch, and cash in on peak fishing conditions.
Early
season ice action can center on drop offs,
deeper hard bottom areas,
as well as transition lines, where hard bottom meets soft.
And those are the very same spots, that late fall walleye
anglers should begin their search.
Fish
that are holding on, or near, any of the aforementioned
spots, can be readily scanned
with good electronics, like the Raytheon L750 liquid crystal graph.
The L750 has a dual frequency transducer that utilizes both a
wide and narrow cone. The
narrow cone allows the user to pick out fish holding tight to a drop
off, or at the base of break. Wide
cone angles are able to scan a
wider area, but because of their of their physical limitations, they
will often overlook walleyes hanging tight to
areas considered classic.
Because
late fall ’eyes are easily marked, they can be relatively easy to
find. Instead of
wasting a lot of time fishing where they’re not, anglers can key
on classic spots that are definitely holding fish.
The best plan of action is to slowly cruise over the best
looking spots, and keep going until you start to mark fish. Once
you’ve marked a few fish, it’s time to turn around and wet a
line. Late fall
walleyes tend to bunch up, and if you’re making one here and one
there, you’d probably do better by
keeping on the move, until you’ve marked at least a few
fish, holding close together.
Once
you’ve located a
potential hangout, you
may elect to drop a marker to help keep your bearings. It’s easy
to get a little confused, especially if your concentrating on your
electronics. If
you’re worried about other anglers moving in on your marker, try
dropping a black one. They’re
almost impossible to see, unless you get real close.
One
of the most consistent producers come late fall, is a jig and
minnow. Vertical
jigging is a slow, methodical method, that allows an angler to
really work over an area.
The technique is simply
a lift and drop of a jig, and you can actually walk the bait along
the bottom. Although
they may be active, late fall walleyes are not usually aggressive
enough to chase down a fast moving bait. The lift and drop of a jig, tipped with a minnow, can
be just the ticket for triggering
cold water ’eyes.
Medium
sized minnows, like fatheads, rainbow
chubs, or shiners, are perfect for tipping a jig.
All will do the job, but the shiner has the edge when faced
with dark water conditions.
The extra flash a shiner can provide seems to get more
attention from deeper, dark water walleyes.
Plain
round headed jigs, in the 3/8 oz to ½ oz size, are the way to go.
To tip the jig, run the hook through the mouth and out the
top of the minnow as far behind the head as you can.
This method will help hold the minnow in place, especially
when it’s exposed to the rigors of vertical jigging.
A
little twist on vertical jigging, includes replacing the jig with a
Jigging Rapala, the very same bait you would use for ice fishing.
Instead of the rhythmic lift and drop, the Jigging Rap
requires more of a sweeping motion, to be effective.
On the sweep, the bait darts out, and turns back in, before
coming to rest.
The
bait comes with a front, back, and bottom hook.
To help reduce snags, and picking up unwanted debris,
you can remove
the bottom treble hook. The
front and back hooks will still get the job done, and the result is
more trouble free fishing.
To tip the bait, hook the back hook through the same minnows
you’d use on a round head.
If
you can legally fish with another line, you may want to deploy a
live bait rig on a “dead rod”.
A dead rod is nothing more than a rod, rigged up and in the
water, but resting in a
holder, instead of your hand.
It’s
difficult to concentrate on more than one jigging rod, and the dead
rod let’s you effectively
fish two baits at the same time.
Longer, softer action rods,
in the seven to eight foot range,
are recommended.
In
most cases, you’ll know when the dead rod has been hit, when it
doubles over. Instead
of letting a fish run, you’re usually better off setting the hook
immediately. The long
rod can buy you some valuable time, time that may allow a fish to
fully engulf the bait, before it feels an unnatural resistance and
rejects the bait.
All
of the aforementioned minnows can be effective when used with a live
bait rig; But if they’re available, you can’t beat a red tail
chub. Red
tails elicit viscous strikes, from every species of top of the line
predators. I
don’t know if it’s love, or hate, but whatever the reason, they
really hit red tails hard. They will also let you know if there’s a predator close by. When
you’re in the
presence of hungry ’eyes, red
tails really start pumping, trying to swim to safety.
You can see the action in the tip of your rod.
If the rod tip starts throbbing, hang on.
If you don’t get hit, you may want to spend a little
more time working the area over.
Look
for late fall walleye fishing to become more and more consistent,
the closer you get to ice-up. Some
of my best days have occurred when the lake I was fishing
had a thin layer of ice starting to develop in the shallower
bays. Another
attractive aspect of late season angling, is the fact that you can
easily have an entire lake to yourself.
Norb
Wallock
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