A Lively Option For Fussy Walleyes

Of the many ways to catch walleyes, livebait rigging is perhaps the simplest to understand in principle but the most underappreciated in precise execution. Why? Because the common misconception is that you need only hook livebait on and drag it across the bottom. Sure, you’ll catch walleyes that way, but with refinements and skill, you’ll catch more.

To achieve this additional level of efficiency and effectiveness, veteran anglers carry an assortment of components and match them according to prevailing conditions, further enhancing the natural attractiveness of livebait like minnows, leeches, and nightcrawlers.

Sinkers—The walking slipsinker is livebait rigging’s claim to fame. Your main line passes through a hole in the sinker, then is commonly tied to a barrel swivel. From the barrel swivel, a snell of indeterminate length extends to a hooked livebait. The basic concept is to slowly troll or drift along with your bail open, index finger on the line, lifting the sinker on and off bottom, feeling and probing until a fish bites. Then release the line, letting the fish pull line through the sinker without feeling any resistance until it ingests the bait sufficiently for you to tighten up slack and set the hook.

Walking sinkers were developed to be fished in and around rocks, minimizing snags. Actually, egg sinkers also do a pretty good job in most conditions. When you get near weeds and wood, however, these sinker types tend to foul. Better choices are bullet sinkers (commonly used while Texas rigging plastic worms for bass), or a recent form of snagless or weedless sinker, like the Lindy-Little Joe No-Snagg.

In recent years, a wealth of fluorescent and phosphorescent sinkers have appeared, adding visibility and, theoretically, attractiveness to livebait rigging in dark or dingy water. The rest of the time, plain old lead sinkers are great.

Hooks—Depending on individual manufacturer’s descriptions, livebait, Octopus, or salmon egg hooks are the dominant choices for livebait rigging. They’re small, strong, sharp, lightweight, geared to deliver livebait without stifling its natural attraction. Other traditional choices include lightwire round bend (popular with fixed split shot rigs), and widebend or kahle hooks (often employed with slipbobbers).

Rules of thumb: #8 for leeches hooked through or near the suction cup, #6 for nose-hooked nightcrawlers, and anywhere from #4 up to 1/0 for minnows hooked up through both lips (or just the top lip for big 7- or 8-inch minnows), depending on their bulk. You need sufficient hook gap to hook walleyes without overweighting the livebait and stifling its natural action.

Newest on the scene are circle and modified circle hooks, touted to liphook fish rather than leading to a deeper penetration. Don’t set the hook with a circle; a simple tightening of the line as a fish turns and swims away or as a boat drifts along with a rod in a holder, should theoretically do the trick. For walleyes, however, the jury is still out on circles. They appear to work wonders on certain species like tarpon, catfish, and other fish that hold a bait and turn away under pressure, hooking themselves. But fussy walleyes often tend to drop a bait when they feel initial resistance.