Coming Up With the Answers
By Gary RoachThe sportshow season has ended and the tournament season has begun. I did a bunch of seminars this year and as usual, I was asked some good questions by audience members. I always love getting questions because it helps me to realize what is on the minds of anglers as they begin to formulate their game plans for the coming open-water season. I thought I would share some of these insights with you.
Anglers are wondering what kind of impact the underwater viewing camera is going to have on their walleye fishing in open water. I believe the camera can be a tremendous factor when fish are on structure and here's an example to show why.
We spotted a school of fish on the sonar on the tip of a point. Down went a live-bait rig with a leech and two passes later we didn't have a good bite. Dropping down the camera we saw that the fish weren't walleyes, but suckers and sunfish. Better try a different spot. Without the camera we would have spent a lot more unproductive time on these fish and the results would have been less time finding and catching what we were after.
Another example that shows how a camera can put you onto fish is where you have a big sand bar and nothing showing up on the sonar. You drop the camera down and as the boat is drifting over the bar you suddenly spot a few walleyes here and there and they're spread out over the sand but holding tight to bottom. Mark that spot on the GPS. Now the fish are spread out so a bottom-bouncer and spinner with a nightcrawler harness will let you cover some ground, keep the bait near the bottom where the fish are, and even though you can't see the fish on the screen, you know they're there.
Another concern from anglers who I visited with was how to decide whether it was better to incorporate finesse techniques or triggering techniques when the walleye bite is tough. In this situation the rule for which technique to choose doesn't change. If walleyes are bunched up tightly on structure than use a finesse approach. If the fish are spread out or suspended use a presentation where you can cover water. The big difference when the bite is tough is how good your bait is or how you rig the lure to be more appealing to a fish in a negative feeding mood.
On a tough bite with a finesse approach the livelier the bait the better chance of a bite. Weak worms, or limp leeches won't do the trick. You need to feed those walleyes something that has some appeal to it. You can increase your chances with a finesse approach by using quality bait.
On a triggering approach where you want to move faster and cover some ground consider adding some meat to the lure. On a crankbait thread a half a nightcrawler on the front treble hook. On a spinner rig use a heavier bottom bouncer and a bigger blade. One of my tricks on a fast-moving spinner rig is to use a nightcrawler harness with three hooks and put a leech on each hook. This can really trigger bites.
My favorite question of them all was whether I ever get tired of chasing walleyes, bass, pike, panfish and salmon all over the country. That's a simple answer. Never.
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