I like watching the walleye tournaments more than any other type of show, because you actually pick up a tip here and there. One little trick that can make sitting there for an hour and listening to those insufferable announcers, well worth the time. Looking back, its just as true during the bass tourney shows produced by the FLW. If I knew anything at all about redfish fishing down south, I probably could pick up a lot of good information.
Regardless, there were a couple of things pointed out on this past Sunday’s show that can help make fishing easier, plus put more walleyes in the boat for all levels of walleye angling.
First up was the water temperatures. Of course this has been studied for years, and in most cases it will help you find fish during the different seasons on the water. This was all about lure presentations though, and a common theme leading up to the final day was the use of cranks. Up till that Sunday the water temps had been cool and many of the anglers had been using crankbaits to get their 5 fish limits. Its not like the Golden Rule or anything, some of the top anglers stuck with their harness rigs throughout the tourney and did quite well. Key here is, if one type of bait isn’t quite working, its time to change up.
Second observation, where were the spoons? Some may have been used in the elemination days prior to Sunday, but there wasn’t one mention of any of these top guys using spoons. To be honest, they are not my favorite lure of choice, but I have caught fish on them. They are THE lure of choice of a good friend of mine, who runs practically nothing else all season long. Matthew’s wouldn’t have so many varieties stocked on their shelves, if Captain Mike and his customers didn’t catch fish on his charters using these lures. Its not uncommon for the locals to be using a lure that the pro’s haven’t discovered yet. Usually its the case with a mom and pop made thing out of the garage, but not a lure where several large companies have already developed and been producing them for years.
Third tidbit of information dissected from the show was the use of glow blades and beads on some of the walleye harnesses. One of the anglers, and the name escapes me, used glow rigs in the beginning of an overcast day. They continued to produce for him thoughout the morning, so he stuck with what was working. Where can you find glow rigs? First off, if you want to buy the rigs, I would give the guys at Matthew’s a call, they just got a large selection of harnesses in. Secondly, if you are as addicted as I am, give the guys at Frank’s Great Outdoors a call and place an order. Right now I am sifting through my accumulated information, checking the website with my projected shopping list of blades. Brand names, the only one I can think of is Fishlander, although Wolverine Tackle (Silver Streak) may make some as well. The other option is to take glow tape from WTP and make your own glow blades like those I posted last week.
Finally, the last observation was seeing the use of keel weights primarily with the harnesses. With all the fancy things available, this was the primary item used to get the lures down deep. Some looked like they were using Bass Pro’s BPS Keel Weights, others looked like those you can make yourself or buy online like these on Bottom Bouncers.com .
That’s what I got out of the one hour show, next time you watch one, see what useful tips you can get.
