Livebait Rigs -- Hook, Line and Sinker

We’ve looked at components—hooks, lines, sinkers—myriad trinkets in shapes and sizes for specialized conditions. Now let’s put ‘em all together into productive combinations—popular livebait rigs with a track record for catching fish. In many cases, major manufacturers of walleye tackle have taken the fuss and muss out of buying and assembling individual components; they offer pretied rigs with the correct balance of materials—the right size hook tied to the right length of not-too-heavy not-too-light line, complete with swivel, snap, sinker, spinner and maybe more. Pretty good choices, most of the time.

At other times, however, you may prefer to tie your own rigs to personal specifications, to more closely match prevailing conditions, or to save money. Most anglers do a little of each. The more serious you are about fine-tuning rigs to match fishing situations, the more likely you’ll opt for assembling premium components and blending the individual ingredients into a recipe for success.

Livebait Rigs

Livebait rigging is a slow, careful, teasing process. Imagine a leech, minnow, or crawler dancing in a walleye’s face. Anyone can do it, too, so long as they’re in the right spot. You don’t have to be a skilled rigger if fish are biting fairly well. But when the fish are fussy, nibbling, or just holding onto the bait so the line barely feels heavy, finesse and skill pay off.

The sliding sinker carries your bait to the bottom, drifted or trolled, and feeds line to a biting fish. Let the baited rig fall on an open bail, then grab the line with your forefinger to detect sensitive bites. Lift-drop the rig along, backtrolling or drifting, occasionally touching but not dragging bottom. When you feel or suspect a bite, release the line with your finger, allowing the fish to take the bait while feeling no unnatural resistance. No need to give ‘em lots of line, just a little slipping through your fingers on slight tension. Then close the spinning reel, take up the slack, and set. Simple, yet effective.

When walleyes are tight to the bottom, go with about a 4-foot snell, probably with a plain single hook tipped with livebait. If the water’s really clear or the fish appear on electronics to be a bit farther off bottom, switch to a 7- to 9-foot snell, not just to minimize spooking, but to allow the bait to work naturally and to let walleyes see it working. Northland’s Roach Rig features an adjustable stop for instantly adjusting snell length without retying. Or make your own.

Six- or eight-pound mono should be sufficient; most commercially made snells are 6-, 8-, or 10-pound test, probably between 30 and 40 inches long. Match hook size to bait size—# 6 for crawlers; #8 for leeches; and # 1 through #4 for minnows, depending on bulk. On premade snells, choose those with the right balance of components for the conditions. When fish are really fussy, however, downsize to 4-pound test and smaller hooks, generally with a longer homemade snell.

Any of the walking-style slipsinker rigs work, unless snags are horrendous. If so, switch to something more snag resistant, like a bottom bouncer rig. If wood or weeds present snagging problems, change to a shorter snell, weedless hook, and bullet-style sinker to slither between stalks and sticks. Sliding egg sinkers are good for both backtrolling and casting presentations, while fixed-sinker rigs tend to be better casting options, providing they’re in castable lengths less than three feet long.