Rigging Tricks of the Swimbait Trade

There’s a story about a preacher who had a parishioner named Bubba who wasn’t exactly a cash-contributing member of the congregation, once walleye season set in. And the rest of the year, well, when he did wander into his favorite pew two stalls from the front, he promptly fell asleep during the sermon. That in concert with an occasional snort and snore made the preacher powerfully mad.

So one Sunday when Bubba had been sleeping just long enough, the pastor addressed the congregation: “Ladies and gentlemen, children and friends,” he said, “if you’re a wantin’ to go to heaven, stand up.” Well, of course, everyone stood up except Bubba who, for all we know, was off catching walleyes somewhere in Manitoba.

Then, as the congregation settled back into their seats, the pastor approached Bubba’s pew. “And if you’re a wantin’ to go to hell,” he roared, “stand up!” Well, Bubba stood right up as if he were accepting the trophy for big walleye at a club tournament.

Looking around at the rest of the congregation staring at him, Bubba didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Preacher,” he said, “I don’t know what it is we’re voting on, but it looks like we’re the only two in favor of it.”

And that, friends, is as lonely as I’ve felt the last few years as I’ve tried to get walleye anglers to fish with swimbaits.

Last issue I said that swimbaits like the Storm WildEye Swim Shad and the Berkley PowerBait Swim Shad are among the most remarkable tools to arrive on the fishing scene in all my years in the business. But it seems that picking up a 5- or 6-inch swimbait is for most walleye anglers a step across a great divide—like stepping into an alternative reality. They’ve been brainwashed by the walleye world the way it is—and long has been—mostly dependent on livebait, always choosing smaller instead of larger, and usually fishing slowly.

Fish can only respond to what you show them. That is, walleyes like what they tell us they like in response to our presentation picks—and they don’t have a chance to tell us they like aggressive options if we rely incessantly on tiptoe tactics. My suggestion has always been to start fishing more aggressively and then temper back if necessary.

What usually happens, though, is that anglers start off fishing tiny things slowly, and when they don’t get bit, they further assume the fish are really off and temper back even more. Often as not you have to do the exact opposite of what most anglers think is logical. In many situations you have to pick up something much bigger and bolder and fish it much more aggressively. And if you do that, walleyes often—yes, often—respond like the aggressive predators they can be.

Select Swimbaits

Berkley Saltwater PowerBait Swim Shad Hand Pour—This is the classic 5-inch swimbait body I’ve been fishing successfully for the last 8 years. I’ve caught thousands of walleyes on it, several dozen from 10 to 12 pounds and one about 13. I’ve fished it from the Bay of Quinte and Henderson Harbor in the East to the Columbia River out West; all across Canada—Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario; and on at least 30 different waters in the U.S., ranging from Devils Lake, North Dakota, to Red Willow, Nebraska, to lakes Erie and Ontario; as well as on other natural lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, large and small.

Cabela’s and Bass Pro offer this swimbait in their saltwater catalogs, although Cabela’s doesn’t have my two favorite colors, Pearl Blue/Green Back and Senorita. You can do well on many waters with Herring or Rainbow Smelt. Purchase the other colors from the Berkley website at berkley-fishing.com.

The jighead I’ve long used is the Owner Ultra Head Saltwater Bullet. You need 1/2-, 3/4-, and a few 1-ounce heads. You’ll never bend this jig hook on a fish. Cabela’s has them in their saltwater catalog, but this past season they couldn’t keep up with orders. I often order them online from Owner at ownerhooks.com.

Other jigheads work so long as they have a longer hook shank and the hook isn’t so soft that it bends under pressure with no-stretch superlines. The 3/8-ounce Northland Slurp Jig looks like it should work with 4-inch and smaller profile 5-inch swimbaits like the Northland Slurpies Rock-R-Minnow. Big Hammer also makes a good head for plastic bodies like their own and the Berkley Swim Shad.