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By John Peterson with Noel Vick Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, nature pulls a fast one. The deck gets reshuffled. What was patent and understood now barely resembles itself. Take the walleye. As ice anglers, we’ve come to recognize the moods, customs, and characteristics of winter’s premium fare. We understand, for example, that these predacious creatures are highly carnivorous. We also know that walleyes are sharply aggressive and bottom-hugging, not to mention opportunistic, favoring twilight feeding forays. And most of all, we know that they’ll buttonhole a jigging spoon in a New York minute. That’s the province of the known…or what we thought we knew. Upon recollection of recent seasons and exchanges with a certain ice fishing sage, though, it seems that the last part might be only partially true. Bro, a Northland Tackle Pro, is that guru. And in a recent conversation,
he elucidated on the subject of finicky winter walleyes and subsequent
modification of lure selection.
Well, let’s first explain that the “baleen” is the straining mouthpart
of a whale. It filters little foodstuffs into a big mouth. So we can surmise
that Bro, on fresh and frozen water, is ratchets down lure size as well
as mellows out the stroke.
Clarity and cold can be added to the list of negative catalysts too. Ice’s calming effect fosters clarity, and this lucidity begets scrutiny. Walleyes can and do inspect lures more closely, which bodes better for small and subtle than large and brazen. Cold translates to lethargy. Walleyes, despite their typecast as cold water fishes, are impeded by iciness, preferring temps in the 50’s and 60’s. Bitter cold slows them down physically, slackening metabolism, as well as spiritually, or so says Bro. So to offset the negativism, Bro summons the baby baits. Some outright miniatures and other apparatuses constructed of both big and small lures. “My first response to sniffing walleyes is a full downsize,” said Bro. “Say a walleye comes smoking in a Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon but doesn’t hit, instead pauses and stares at it, and then scoots away. I’m going right back down the same hole with another prerigged outfit, but this time with a smaller spoon, like 1/16th ounce Forage Minnow Spoon.” Bro isn’t merely speculating about the fish’s reaction to his presentations either. He first saw the walleye approach on a Vexilar flasher and then stole a bird’s-eye peek with an Aqua-Vu underwater camera. And most times, Bro doesn’t change lure pattern or style during the conversion, but only size, and maybe the garnishment. “It’s not unusual for me to open with a whole live minnow. That sort of sets the tone. I’ll know right away if there are hostile fish about. I next go to minnow parts, maybe even on the same spoon. I’ll try a head, and then a tail. Tail sections are under utilized. They give a presentation a whole new look and action.” Bro’s next line of offense wiggles. “Sounds weird, but I’ve been catching a lot of neutral to negative walleyes on maggots and wax worms. They must like the smell or something. I’ve actually watched walleyes swim up, nose the bait, and then casually take a little nip. There’s probably some correlation with naturally occurring invertebrates too, a grub to grub thing.” The first downsize isn’t necessarily a panacea either. Sometimes, Bro must page deeper into the mental archive, and in such events he usually lands on an entry titled, “Droppers.” Bro says, “The idea is to separate the bait from the attractor but at the same time not lose the weight needed to deliver the message.”
Adaptations of the dropper are as varied as your imagination, or Bro’s. He’s constantly experimenting with assorted spoons, weights, and small jigs. And one package he’s become particularly fond of involves the new Northland Hot-Spot Split Shot. “Colored shot opens the door to whole new sphere of presentations. Now the weight doubles as an attractor, a subtle attractor too. For light biting walleyes, I build a Hot-Spot dropper rig.” He first threads on a bobber-stop and secures it 4 to 6 inches up the main line; its purpose is to prevent the shot from slipping. Next, Bro ties in a plain, #8 or #10 wide-gap minnow hook. He then pinches 2 or 3 shot – usually size 2 – on the line, just above the knot. The device is capped off with a thinly hooked crappie minnow or a small shiner, a modest amount of meat. “Hot-Shots offer enough mass to send the bait wherever it needs to go and the pizzazz to invite walleyes in. And in regards to weight and color, that’s a matter of trial and error. Try florescent and then glow. See what the fish want. And keep adding or subtracting shot until your rig has enough oomph to reach the bottom and load the rod properly, but not burden it.” Well, by now, your slant of the walleye has likely been altered. Gone are the paper-shredder ivories, menacing glances, and quicksilver assaults. Instead, those notions have been supplanted by an image of a paltry and defenseless fish that sips its food through a straw. Truth is, winter walleyes are both… NEW PRODUCT RELEASE Hot-Spot Split Shot Northland Fishing Tackle®, an industry leader in cutting edge lure
innovations, introduces to the fishing world the next generation
of colored attractants; the “neon” Hot-Spot Split Shot.
The Hot-Spot Split Shot is available in three sizes and four “neon” fish attracting colors. For more information and a 2003 product catalog, contact Northland Fishing Tackle, Inc., 1001 Naylor Dr. SE, Bemidji, Mn. 56601. Phone is 218-751-6723 or E-Mail us at norfish@northlandtackle.com. Website is www.northlandtackle.com.
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