Once we understand the basic form and function of the livebait rig, we can modify it to match specific fishing conditions. You may choose to rely on commercially tied spinner, floater, or miscellaneous attractor snells. Most walleye anglers, however, do at least a little customizing themselves, relying on a host of components.

Spinner Harnesses

Spinners undoubtedly are the most popular variation of livebait rigging, dating back many years as their own integral system, not simply as add-on enhancements to slipsinker rigs. In fact, most spinner fishing is accomplished with either a bottom bouncer or a three-way rig—systems ideal for quick movements to rotate blades, anchored by modest to heavy weights to keep livebait either near bottom or at a determined depth for suspended fish. Balancing components is key to achieving the desired results.

Blades

Spinner blades draw the most attention, perhaps because they receive attention from fish and fishermen. Spinning blades produce intermittent flashes of color or reflection, and they vibrate, alerting walleyes to their presence long before they actually see the lure. If the combination of components is correct, maximizing or minimizing attention, matching preyfish or simply arousing curiosity, walleyes may be triggered to strike. Blades don’t necessarily have to spin hard and thump; often, a side-to-side wobble is sufficient. Experiment through a range of options to determine which matches the walleyes’ aggressiveness and preference on any particular day.

Colorado blades—Carry sizes 00 through 8, though most often you’ll use 3, 4, and 5. Exceptions are larger 6 through 8 for open-water suspended Great Lakes giants and tiny sizes 00 or 0 as flikker attractors on slipsinker snells.

Colorados spin at a wide angle for lots of thump and vibration, even at slow speeds. They’re probably the most common blade style for spinner rigs. Popular colors include fluorescent orange, red, chartreuse, yellow, and lime; gold, nickel, copper, and brass. Hammered nickel (dimpled for more surface area and reflection) or silver-plated (more expensive and shiny) maximize flash. Northland’s Rainbow Baitfish, Bait Rigs’ Astro Brite, and Lindy-Little Joe’s LinFleck offer two-tone and three-tone colors, scale patterns, and other various effects. Cupped blades vibrate harder than flatter models. Most blades are metal, though plastic is growing in popularity.

Indiana blades—Similar in sizes and colors to Colorados. They’re a bit narrower than Colorados and rotate at a shallower angle, creating less vibration but more flash due to a faster rotation. Fish them a little faster than Colorados to keep them spinning.

Willow leaf blades—# 2, #3, and #4. Sized differently than other blades, willows leafs rotate tight to the line, creating subtle vibration but lots of flash. They must be fished at high speeds to rotate properly.

Custom blades—In-line blades rotate around a hub in the middle of the blade, rather than at the end, creating a more subtle vibration and action. They’re available as components or on spinner rigs from Ray’s Custom Tackle. French blades as found on the Mepps spinner are heavier and require speedy presentations. Swing (hammered) and rippled blades have elongated shapes to achieve an effect between Indianas and willow leafs. Presto blades have deeply cupped ends for more vibration. Fluted blades have long depressions for added flash and vibration. Lindy-Little Joe’s lopsided Hatchet Blade, available as a component or on pretied Hatchet Harnesses, creates a distinct thumping vibration.

Clevises

Folded metal clevises—#1 or #2, for attaching spinner blades to line. Metal, the traditional choice, spins easier than plastic to maximize blade rotation at slow speeds. Holes on stamped (stirrup) metal clevises often have rough edges that wear light line. Plastic snap clevises, originally available from Lindy-Little Joe (X-Change) and Quick Change, and now available from a growing number of tackle companies, allow for snapping blades in and out, to experiment without retying rigs. Quick Change offers two sizes—Quick Change (small) for blades and Weight-Change (larger) for detachable bottom bouncers and slipsinkers.

Beads

Plastic beads—Best choices come in metric sizes (2, 21⁄2, 3, 31⁄2, and 4 mm) or in 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, and 3/16 inches. Use small beads as attractors ahead of the hook on livebait snells, or for spacing between the hook and clevis on the tiniest spinner rigs. Larger beads add color, profile, and work best for spacing components on spinner rigs. Don’t let the blade overlap the hook, which inhibits a good hookset. (Spinning bright silver blades also reflect bead color.) Carry a wide selection of sizes and colors to match local preferences or to imitate forage types (orange and green to imitate perch, white and blue to resemble smelt). Northland’s new large-diameter Buck-Shot Rattle Beads add color, sound, vibration, and flotation to homemade or pretied snells. New Products Corporation packages beads in a handy plastic tube.

Snaps, Swivels, And Stops

Barrel swivels—#10 or #12, most often used to tie slipsinker livebait snells. A swivel prevents a sliding sinker from slipping down the line to the hook. It also creates slip three-way rigs or can be tied inline to reduce line twist.

Three-way swivels—#8, #7, or #6, for fishing three-way rigs with livebait snells, spinner snells, floater snells, crankbaits, or flutterspoons.

Snaps and snap swivels—#2 or #3 snaps. Use plain snaps for most applications; use snap swivels when line twist is a problem. Also use them for attaching and changing drop sinkers without retying. Snap swivels usually are designated by swivel size, not snap size. For example, a #2 snap and #10 snap swivel might have the same size snap, and sizes vary slightly by manufacturer. Berkley and Sampo probably dominate the upper end of the swivel market, though many imports are available, and a few specialized clips have their applications.

Lindy-Little Joe Swivel Clip—Quick attachment for snells with looped ends.

Berkley Not-a-Knot Fastener—For easy attachment to monofilament without tying a knot, or as a dependable attachment for superlines requiring special knots. Available on barrel swivels and snap swivels, too.

Split rings—#0 or #1, sometimes substituted for barrel swivels in livebait rigs. Split ring pliers help detach rings.

Bobber stops—Neoprene or string bobber stops create adjustable-length livebait snells and position beads and spinners a set distance ahead of a trailing livebait hook. A spinner-leech rig, like the Gopher Tackle Joe Fellegy Mille Lacs Long-Line Spinner, works best with the single hook positioned about 23⁄4 inches behind the beads, rather than tight against them. Don’t know why, but the walleyes do.

Line

Extra spools of 4- through 12-pound-test monofilament line, typically thin diameter and limp like Stren Magnathin, permit livebait to move naturally on slipsinker rigging. If you retie lots of long livebait rigs during a day’s fishing, use line off the extra spools instead of off your reel, to prevent your reel spool from emptying quickly. For spinner rigs, use a tougher, more abrasion-resistant line like Trilene XT, perhaps as heavy as 12- to 17-pound test, unless subtlety and lighter line are required. If so, check line wear from the clevis and retie often.

Attractors

Attractors are available in many shapes and sizes, though they can be separated into several broad categories.

Floating jigheads—Originated with foam heads, moving on to cork, hollow soft plastic, and other variations. Northland Fishing Tackle’s Phelps Floater is a small soft-bodied floater. System Tackle’s Bandit and Rattling Bandit are larger. Lindy-Little Joe’s Floating Fuzz-E-Grub floats high, perhaps the largest common walleye float on the market. Stinger Tackle offers weedless Bohn Head floating heads.

Some floating jigheads ride hook up; others ride hook down. Put ‘em in the water and check before you hook.

Most floating jigheads lack significant floating ability. It’s necessary to move slowly, with pauses, to allow them to raise livebait, if they can. Many become just colored attractors, perhaps neutrally buoyant.

Sliding floats—Common with steelheaders, variations of Lil’ Corkies have been adapted to walleye fishing. Most walleye-oriented tackle companies offer sliding floats, and catalogs are loaded with options. Round sliding floats tend to be just over 1/4 inch in diameter and come in a rainbow of colors. Cigar-shaped floats are a variation on livebait rigs, in order to slide the float up the line ahead of the hook. Cigars are sometimes incorporated into spinner harnesses called floater spins, adding profile and color and a slowing sink rate if movement stops. String several together (interspersed with a bead) to increase flotation and profile, perhaps in color combos imitating predominant forage.

U. S. Tackle’s Speedo Beads weave onto a line without retying, to serve as fixed colored attractors or stops to prevent sinkers or floats from sliding down the line. Otherwise, add a bobber stop for adjustable rigging.

Spinning floats—Originating with salmon and trout anglers, they’re now available on some pretied rigs and as add-on components. Triple J’s Shake, Rattle & Roll is a spinning hollow plastic chamber with rattles. Mister Twister’s Walleye Prop is pointed on one end. Apex’s SpinBob has a cushy soft colorful body that spins.

Tiny spinners—#00 and teeny flikker spinners add a bit of flash on livebait rigs at low speed. The smallest versions of Lerass Leaderspins ahead of livebait and lures add flash and vibration, particularly on three-way rigs.

Tiny spoons—Bait Rigs Willospoons add a wobbling swimming action to livebait, casting, or trolling.

Plastic or mylar bodies—Squid bodies on spinners from Quick Change and other companies add profile and action. Insert a Zak Tackle #1033 mylar Twinkle Skirt (with a bead head) to the rearmost bead position of a spinner-nightcrawler harness. Let the reflective silver trailers drape over the crawler and hooks, adding flash and a lifelike movement.

Berkley’s Power Crawlers are specifically designed to replace live nightcrawlers on spinner rigs, providing an alternative when bait is unavailable or when panfish tear and steal nightcrawlers. Nearly any small plastic tail can be incorporated as an attractor by threading it on a hook.

Hook Enhancements—Northland Fishing Tackle’s Fire Eye hooks are painted fluorescent colors. Their Buck-Shot Rattle Hook Rings add rattles to hooks, much as their Rattle Jig Rings add sound to jigheads. System Tackle’s Rattling Hooker has a tiny bead in a colored hollow chamber along the hook shank. Soft phosphorescent attractors are basically enlarged silicone bobber stops that slip over the hook shank and glow.

Attractors create a variety of effects, though in the grand scheme, they’re icing on the cake. Active livebait, proper snell and spinner rig construction, proper sinker size and style, and size and sharpness of hooks are most important.

The Component Connection

Prepackaged component kits are available from major walleye tackle manufacturers like Lindy-Little Joe, Northland Fishing Tackle, Quick Change Tackle, and others. Catalog suppliers often have component parts and kits. Kits are a good way to go until you become familiar with sizes and types of parts. Then order specific sizes and models.