Give me meat, lots and lots of meat. Hands down, if someone asks me what type of lure works the best after the second week of May until late fall, my answer is going to be crawler harnesses. Yes you will catch walleyes on spoons, yes you can even fill up your cooler on cranks during the hot summer months, but I will lay odds that the bigger fish, as well as more fish, will come on spinner rigs vs. the rest.
Now this year, was not a normal year, the spinner bite really didn’t take off until the last week of May, first week of June. Regardless, the majority of the 20 gallons of walleye fillets in the freezer came from using meat rigs. They really are that good of a lure to use for eyes.
So what worked, when did it work, and how did they work? I am going to take a look the colors, the sizes and types, as well as how well the presentations faired during this past season. Since I am your basic fishing type guy, this could really be old hat to several readers, but for guys getting started this type of piece could really take them to the next level of success for putting fish in their coolers.
Also, by no means are the methods being talked about, the only methods that work. Some may have presentations completely different that work for them, or perhaps this is only a refinement of the methods that people use. Either way, if you have a HOT way to fish for walleyes on Lake Erie, or any other body of water on the Great Lakes and its connecting waters, fire away. Fishing is a learning process, and the angler who gets stuck in a rut, is the fisherman whose catches start to slow down compared to years’ past.
First off, in this era of so called transparency, let me say this, I am on Northland’s pro staff, and actually quite proud of it. They make a great product, but I use a lot of brands and when I find ones that work, I have no problem telling folks what they are. Sidenote: If you did not fish the Jeff’s Bait and Tackle Walleye Tournament, you really did miss out. Everyone, and I do mean everyone who fished the event, really were open and very helpful with folks who were there. It was a great time learning and listening to other anglers.
To help understand the presentation and methods I use, let me set up the basic rigging I do with the rods and reels on the boat. Going from the bow back to the stern, and running the same rig on each side of the boat this is it. I start off with my heavy bottom bouncers, in the beginning of the season they were four ouncers. Then I found the 8 oz ones at www.bottombouncers.com. The advantage is really just greater line control, which lead to less tangles throughout the year. From there I ran my orange Church boards with 2 oz Bass Pro trolling keel weights. Why the orange ones over other brands, because the sliding lead weight that allows you to adjust for the lead you run beneath the board, making the boards run true. Off the back of the boat, I ran long lines with #30 Jet Divers at the other end with harnesses.
What worked early, dark colors seemed to shine at the beginning of the walleye trolling season with spinners. Both Northland’sblue and purple hex colorado blades were hot early. These were painted over silver blades, which I think from experience, helps in the transition from a minnow/crankbait early spring bite over to summer meat rig bite. Not that my silver theory completely held up though, besides Northland’s blades we did really well on old Fishlander’s Gold Mystic, Electric Koolaid and Voodoo patterns. Some were on silver blades, while gold and copper also caught there fair share of fish. Another great blade for me this spring was Pro Choice Fishing’s Purple Claw. Speeds were consistently right around 1 mph, give or take a few tenths.
Later as the temps warmed up slightly and we had the brief mayfly hatch this year, some colors were added into the mix, as well as some different styles of blades. Still did ok on some of the purple and blue mixes, Northland’s Golden Shiner did really well, as did DB Fishing’s Goby patterns. Silver Streak’s Purple Pirate and Purple Bubblegum caught a lot of fish, too. Although I have had some of Fishlander’s Hedgehog blades for years, this was really the first year I gave them an honest chance in the water, and the Happy Hooker pattern did really well behind the boat on the Jet Divers. This was also the first year I experimented with whiptail blades, and did really well on DB Fishing’s Goby and Reverse Muffin blades. Speeds got pumped up slightly running at 1.3 mph.
Later in the year, the bright colors started to shine. All year I had been tossing out a Fishlander Carter Casey, or Silver Streak Pink Panties with little luck to show for it. In late July and early August they started taking fish finally. Brighter the better it seemed. Silver Streak’s Purple and Erie descent blades were right up there for the blades with the white backgrounds. Northland’s Sunrise, new Pink Dace and DB Fishing’s new Antifreeze blades and Barbie took a lot of fish. Speeds really jumped up to 1.7 mph, and some guys I know were running their rigs at 2 or slightly higher.
This was just a great year for walleye fishing, and by the numbers of throwbacks we had, next year should be just as productive. You never really had to go pass the Ohio line to get your fill of nice eaters in the cooler. 24 to 25 fow and you were going to be in the mix.
One thing for sure, I had to build another blade rack! Even though I am thinking about the ice season already, I can’t wait for the boat show at the fairgrounds in Feburary!!!