Lead, Line, Leaders, Hooks, Components

Superlines also can be used for livebait rigging if you correctly adapt to their nonstretch characteristics. Their thin diameters and superb sense of feel enable you to feel every rock and pebble, and to anticipate snags before they grab and hold, minimize water resistance for fishing in deep water, and sense even light bites. Fussy walleyes, however, might also be able to feel your presence. Feed line instantly at the slightest hint of a bite.

When you’re slipsinker livebait rigging with superlines, the monofilament snell provides the only cushion between you and the fish, to help camouflage your presence, and to absorb shock during hooksets and fights. Gently sweepset hooks. Back off your drag and fight fish gingerly to avoid ripping hooks out of lips and gums. Since there’s no stretch to absorb when you lift the sinker up and down while backtrolling, minimize rod tip motion to avoid overworking livebaits in large up-down arcs.

Berkley FireLine and Spiderline Fusion dominate the fused superline market, and they easily accommodate most knots. Spiderwire superbraid is thinner but requires careful knot tying, typically with a palomar knot. The lighter versions of PowerPRO braid have walleye applications as well.

Numerous fluorocarbon lines have just hit the market, but are so new that few anglers have fished with them. Fluorocarbon’s main claims to fame are low visibility, abrasion resistance, UV resistance, and strength under a steady pull. They somewhat lack in shock resistance, and tying knots can be tricky; thoroughly wet the line and use a steady pull to cinch down knots. Expect to pop a few knots during tying.

Fluorocarbon candidates include Berkley Vanish, Stren Fluorocarbon, Fin-Nor Seaguar, and Sufix Invisiline.

Leaders—The Invisible but Durable Connection

Your snell should be as light, thin, and flexible as possible to avoid stifling the natural motion and attraction of livebait. Yet it also must absorb shock of hooksets and fights, especially if you elect to use one size lighter line on the snell than your main line, to avoid losing the sinker if the hook becomes snagged on brush or rocks. So durability and abrasion resistance, not just invisibility, are important as well.

Just like main lines, 6- and 8-pound abrasion-resistant mono makes great snells. For ultrafinesse in clear water or severe cold fronts, consider dropping down to 4-pound. If wood or rock snags are a problem, beef up both your main line and snell one size, and switch to light-wire hooks; 10-pound-test generally enables bending Aberdeens or other light-wire hooks, often getting your entire snell back. But it also has more water resistance due to its larger diameter, perhaps requiring increasing sinker weight one size as well. As always, balance tackle combinations to suit conditions.

Match snell length to the situation, too. Most commercially pretied walleye snells are about 30 to 40 inches long, comprised of 8- to 10-pound mono, a barrel swivel, and a #4, #6, or #8 hook to cover average conditions with minnows, crawlers, or leeches. Clear water or spooky fish, however, may require lengthening snells, downsizing hooks, and lightening line; 6- to 10- foot snells are en vogue with elite riggers. Long snells also allow floating jigheads to rise off bottom during extended pauses in boat movement.

At the other extreme, short snells tend to minimize snags in wood cover. Consider using weedless hooks as well. To fish three-ways in river current, use a short snell to keep your bait near the sinker, so it doesn’t flail around and snag.