Swim baits however can also shine out over deeper water and in water deeper than eight to ten feet, slow dragging or trolling behind the boat can be deadly for reaching fish down to twenty- five feet of water. The stout single hook can be fished through weeds effectively and offer a good hook up percentage where more leverage or pressure can be applied to the larger single hook compared to the much smaller hook and gap found on the treble hooks of crankbaits or even traditional jig and live bait combinations. Swim baits can be fished a lot of different ways. Swim baits can be worked and twitched with a swim and stop cadence. Anglers cast and reel swim baits over emerging vegetation. Swim baits shine when fished through weeds or up into shallow water. Many anglers using swim baits are casting them. Swim baits have blown up in some regions and over time, we have become conditioned or engrained to fish them a certain way. One hot tactic we are seeing emerge across the Midwest is slow troll tactics that incorporate soft plastic swim baits. The right presentation matched up with the right location however can accomplish this task with more efficiency. The reality is that most days, a walleye will eat a live bait rig, jig, crankbait or anything else that lands in front of their face. This increases our efficiency dramatically. So often, catching more fish is all about adapting to the location and what the fish are doing. By straying away from tradition and by experimenting with what might be unorthodox uses for some presentations, we can make ourselves more efficient. What can become detrimental to our own growth as anglers is we quit thinking and quit experimenting with the potential of how some presentations can be used. We get locked into how a specific presentation should be fished. The leader length ranges from about 4 to 10 feet with the shortest leaders used in the strongest current.So often with walleye fishing, we get conditioned to think a certain way regarding a presentation. “Other times they want that bigger profile and you want the biggest minnow you can find.”ĭepending on the laws in the state where he is fishing, Schmidt might tie two or even three flies on his leader. “Sometimes they want a small profile and really prefer a fly with nothing else on it,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt also experiments with tipping bait, and if he is fishing with someone else, they typically begin with one angler fishing a plain fly and the other fishing one that is tipped with a minnow. Schmidt uses a variety of fly colors, and always likes to have several tied and handy so he can make regular changes until the walleyes start biting. Other important aspects include keeping the rig on the bottom and experimenting with specific offerings to find out what the fish want any given day. “Working right on the edges is very important,” he said. No hookset typically is needed with that presentation.Įither way, Schmidt looks for current breaks caused by wing dams and other obstructions and focuses presentations on the seams between currents and eddies. Often he’ll cast 90 degrees to the current, let the rig sink to the bottom, and work the rig with short snaps and drops until the rig is directly downstream. When a fish bites, he sets the hook with a gentle sweep.įor casting applications, he prefers spinning gear and monofilament. He seeks to keep the line at a 45-degree angle and the weight ticking bottom all the time, and moves the boat at a snail’s pace. Additionally, casting allows for more targeted presentations when the walleyes are in known locations.įor pulling flies, Schmidt uses a 6½-foot medium or medium light baitcasting rod, a reel with a flipping button so he can easily release line, and 10-pound-test braid, which allows Schmidt to feel everything. Pulling the fly rigs allows Schmidt to search for fish, but that is considered trolling, which isn’t legal in all states. Schmidt likes flies for river walleye fishing from March through the end of June, and targets fish moving upriver to spawn and downriver after the spawn. Typical presentations are very slow, especially during early spring.
Whether cast or pulled behind the boat, the flies offer subtle motion and mimic baitfish. “It’s an extremely effective way to catch fish during the spring,” said Schmidt, a Cabela’s Field Staff team member who lives in Oshkosh, Wis. 2 or 4 hooks, are instead cast or pulled with spinning or baitcasting tackle and delivered close to the bottom with three-way rigs. The flies, which are typically bucktail streamers tied on No. Walleye pro Dave Schmidt commonly uses fishing flies to get the attention of spring walleyes, but no fly rods factor into the equation. Cabela’s Field Staff team member Dave Schmidt shares his proven techniques.
0 kommentar(er)
