Thought I'd start a new thread on some tackle/lures that seemed to work for me on my two previous Walleye trips to Lake Powell. Please post what worked for you on your previous trips.
On my first trip, I was primarily hopping a jig with a Gulp Alive minnow down any rocky (the more rip rap the better) shoreline I could find. I was using a 1/4 oz VMC Dominator Hammer Head jig in greens & reds. Probably should have went a little heavier but still had good success with it. Used a spinning rod/reel on light line so a swivel was a must to prevent line twist. I tipped it with a nose hooked 3" or 4" Gulp Alive Smelt or Shad colored minnow. All bites I got were a pressure bite, you felt for the extra weight. I'm going to try rigging up a stinger hook on my jigs this year which should help the hookup ratio. This jig head has an extra eye for this purpose.
Then there was the good old fashion Lindy Rig with either a Slow Death hook or small gold Aberdeen hook & nightcrawler. Was my first time using it so there was a learning curve. Did catch fish on it after missing many bites, again it was a pressure bite.
As for crawler rigs, only used them the afternoon of our last day there. Used them behind a 2 oz bottom bouncer. Certainly wasn't a pressure bite with these.
http://www.landbigfish.com/VMC-Hooks/VMC-Hooks-Dominator-Hammer-Head-Jig.cfm
http://www.basspro.com/Berkley-Gulp!-Alive-Minnows-in-Bucket/product/103793/
http://www.landbigfish.com/VMC-Hooks/VMC-Hooks-Quick-Strike-Trailer-Hook.cfm
http://www.mustad.no/www2010/products/product-news/a-perspective-on-perfection
Last year's trip with Sparkchaser, we primarily used 1 1/2 to 2 oz bottom bouncers with Mack's Lures Smile Blade Crawler or Slow Death rigs. Dave can tell you the colors which seemed to work the best for us. We had real good success with these & no pressure bite either. We trolled them around 1 mph or a bit slower.
Did do a little jig fishing, changed up my jig of choice to Fin-Tech's Nuckle Ball jigs in 1/4 oz size. Used the same 3" Gulp Alive minnows but this time, I threaded the minnow on the jig. Same spinning rod with light line & swivel. Definitely a pressure bite. Hopping/dragging it around chunk rock areas.
http://www.mackslure.com/index.php?c_ref=8
http://www.jigfish.com/nuckleballjig.htm
http://www.jigfish.com/cgi/commerce.cgi?listcategories
http://youtu.be/Icaw_SOFMUs
Bottom line, I probably don't need all this CRAP! There is something to just keeping it simple - a hook, a little lead & one fantastic Liars Corner nightcrawler.......... Done!
Received a call from whaler today - he wanted to share how he & Hairless have been making their own crawler harnesses. Seems really simple. For those the want to make your own crawler rigs, check out the video:
http://youtu.be/S1ZnAbAgfkQ
Thank's Jack - I'm thinking we need you to join us on this trip to class the place up a bit....... :notworthy:
cool vid learned that i dont have to tie a cinch knot for everything. thx. id tie a sinch knot to the actual frnot hook for my stinger hook which gravitates to the bottom of the hook and interferes with the crawler alignment. and my snell knots are always a mess. not no mo.
best succes for me last trip was a harness with a very darkgreen mixed with black spinner. and jigging but not the drop off but the flat area where if i found larry abd dave the first day. ill be back.
the guy that i talked to campin for a month catches all his eyes droppin jigs down riprap slides. he say ya gotta try and get the jig past the sunnies then past the bass then u get to the eyes. crawler tipped. matthew if ure riding with me expect to mostly go with the harness. good thing is there arent to many snags but u need to tie up some harnesses.
other than the dark green im going with some siolver/blue blades and chart or orange jigs robably naked but im might throw some spinners on them too.
when tiein the harness i use ten to fifteen lb. flouro. if i buy rigs i strip the gear off and retie with flouro. ive found their leaders to be chit amd break, especially lindys stuff. its crap but ill buy it for the color combo. and ive found that mylar blades add a significant additional flash. i also like the two tone blades with the hole in them then ill use a diff color bead to set off the top color.
i cant stand usin more than a qoarter ounce weight jig or bbouncer. but if the wind is up im probably foolish i just hate dragging too much extra fat.haha
the pressure bites are cool and somethin we dont get with the slab. all of a sudden its just different down there and ya give a tug and whoa u dont know how much of a chunk u have till that hook set. its a kick.
Quote from: menrats on February 15, 2013, 07:02 AMbest succes for me last trip was a harness with a very darkgreen mixed with black spinner. and jigging but not the drop off but the flat area where if i found larry abd dave the first day. ill be back.
Hey Counselor, don't poach my water! :greengrin: Yeah, two years ago with the lake level at 3611' that little cove in Hanson Canyon had a really cool beach & drop off in the corner. Wife & I did really good dragging or hopping jigs back to the boat after casting towards the beach.
Quote from: menrats on February 15, 2013, 07:02 AMthe guy that i talked to campin for a month catches all his eyes droppin jigs down riprap slides. he say ya gotta try and get the jig past the sunnies then past the bass then u get to the eyes. crawler tipped.
Yep, I've been told to concentrate on rocky shorelines. You'll either catch Smallies or Walleyes. I didn't have problems with Sunnies except for one little corner in Knowles Canyon. I like the idea of tipping the jig with a crawler!
I had the most success on Macks lures wally pop in green and either pink or red with a silver blade bottom bouncing. Once we found the fish and got the depth right, it was game on. As far as jigging, I'm going with 1/4 ounce smile blade jigs tipped with either minnows or crawlers. We found some great areas last year, and I hope they produce again.
i just scored a couple of jigs witht the smile blades on them green w silver and green with red blades. im thinking of using them tom on rosey?
We used mostly crawler harness's in deeper water. 1.5 oz bottom bouncers with 1/2 a crawler. Silver and Chartuse blades worked the best. In the back of the canyons crappie rigs rigged with bbc, junebug or white worked well on crappie and any eyes in the area. Chris did pretty good with some floating eye harness rigs with white gulp minnows worked just of the bottom.
TRITOON asked about the type of rods we use. Here are my thoughts but please add your suggestions & comments....
First of all, I'm leaving my long Crappie rods at home. I will, however, still have my shorter Crappie setups with me. As for the other rods, 1 rod spooled with 65lbs power pro braid for use with an 1 1/2 oz - 2 oz bottom bouncer. You'll need a rod w/ a little back bone to it for this. You'll need the heavy line to get you bottom bouncer back when it hangs up. Another trolling rod for dragging cranks or stick baits. I did buy a two pole stamp but actually only used the 1 rod 95% of the time as you'll be busy working the bottom bouncer along the bottom.
I'm going to have a couple spinning setups, 1 for casting jigs w/ probably 10 lbs fluorocarbon main line & the other will be - don't call me names - but yes it'll be my drop shot rod. You can effectively drop shot for Walleyes when you find a school.
But again, just keep it simple. Don't go out & buy a million dollars worth of new gear! Your current setups will probably work just might need to change your line out :dontknow: My two cents...
You mean my 4ft microlite rods with 4lb Fireline won't do the job. Thanks for the info Larry. I do have a couple rods that I can change the line on that should do the trick. Any other ideas will be appreciated.
I liked having one 12 footer for dipping jigs in the brush when working the trees for slabs. Everything else sounds about right.
I troll with a 7ft. BP Crankin' Stick ( % fiberglass not solid graphite) and a Okuma Convector 15D. Line counter. 40-65 PowerPro. 3oz. BB's on front rods. 2-2-1/2oz. stern rods. We go 1 mph w/ slow death rigs and 1.2-1.4mph w/ blades. We never use a double hook and whole crawler after being taught by the Walleye club how to modify and avoid short strikes that rob your worm. Best colors are hammered gold w/ blue, white,yellow-orange beads, think "bluegill pattern".
I remember you saying that you shortened up the pre made spinner crawler rigs, correct?
Yes, shortened them up to 20-24 inches. Then just started tying my own up since I was changing colors anyway. No blades on the slow death hook, just a bead. Simple but the boat must slow down to .9-1.0mph.
time to start tiein harnesses. just ordered spinner blades form cabellas. they have a new brand of specalled that looked good. i ordered that in orange, one of my best producers last year and at mary for eyes is a dark teal and black blade offered at cabellas but made by fisher something. then i got a foil or mylar in silver and blue and red with a lime green that i couldnt resist. i find blue tint and orange to be best for eyes but brian was swearing by siver and blue or black last year. i also ordered some death hooks in red. cuz of champs suggestion which champ i still :dontknow: i saw a rig that had a spinner and beads before the death hook but cuz of the roll im thinkin a swivel needs to be just before the hook si or no? or does that defeat the efect? and id like yall to show me how to rig it. jigs im probably gunna use mostly bare. cheep1/4 oz and 3/8 oz soft wire jigs so they pull right out of snaags in chart and white predom.
matt the bottom bouncers now are the ones that are like a large L. invert that L and the long end bounces off the rocks and the little end has a snap swivel for a harness. getim in 1/2 oz and i like the longer the better. i like orange or chart.
Quote from: Halibut Warrior on February 23, 2013, 08:57 PM
3oz. BB's on front rods. 2-2-1/2oz. stern rods.
That's some hefty weight there. Was thinking 1 1/2oz bottom bouncer but perhaps you know something I don't? Is that extra weight just to allow you to go faster? Looks like I need to rig up a couple poles with some power pro line. Seems like trolling bottom bouncer with walleye harness or similar setup is what most of the fishing is? Remaining time use 1/4oz jigs for crappie or whatever?
I took some notes on colors to find the most common used in all of the posts and I think you guys listed every color making it pretty much a crap shoot on that.
Thanks for the youtube clip on walleye harnesses. I had same issue as menrats with some poor knot tying.
I noticed a few comments about using gulp alive. Why not real minnows?
I think minnows are illegal there...
Quote from: mrokusek on March 05, 2013, 09:53 PMWhy not real minnows?
Minnows are not allowed at Lake Powell
Quote from: mrokusek on March 05, 2013, 09:53 PMQuote from: Halibut Warrior on February 23, 2013, 08:57 PM3oz. BB's on front rods. 2-2-1/2oz. stern rods.
That's some hefty weight there. Was thinking 1 1/2oz bottom bouncer but perhaps you know something I don't? Is that extra weight just to allow you to go faster?
Heavier the BB the deeper & faster you can fish. You'll need to find what works best for the way your fishing. For me, I use 1.5 - 2 oz BB as we're fishing a bit slower & possibly not as deep as Joe is?
bbs precious wt is a bb? on the front of the rod? ill be usin my 8ft bps crappie max for jiggin its got enough back bone and the light tip will feal the bite. troliin the bottom touncer with a seven fter mh heavy. troliin harnesses with my crappie rods. i cant stand heavy weights dragging my rigs 1/2 to 1 oz bouncers max. harness will be only a 1/8 or 1/4 weight max. take notes brother one blade iffin ure ridin with me we should be in the same ballpark.
Tom, IF I make it up for the risk tournament this weekend, let's chat fishing gear, boats, transportation, etc. I went through the fishing tackle/gear thread and basically have list of things I need to bring but want to compare with what you think. I'm not experienced on the BB but want to expand my horizons on walleye fishing this trip.
Has anybody used down riggers with kokanee clips to hold the line. Kokanee bite lite and have a softer mouth than most crappie and we fish them down at 35 to 50 feet Just wondering that way I wouldn't need such heavy weights I have bottom bouncers and a couple of reels with lead core line. almost any way to get deep
Quote from: freshwater on March 06, 2013, 08:10 AMHas anybody used down riggers with kokanee clips to hold the line. Kokanee bite lite and have a softer mouth than most crappie and we fish them down at 35 to 50 feet Just wondering that way I wouldn't need such heavy weights I have bottom bouncers and a couple of reels with lead core line. almost any way to get deep
I've been reading on www.wayneswords.com that guys have used down riggers for deep Stripers with some success. That could be a good plan that time of year for schooling Stripers in deeper water along the Moki Wall & other popular deep water spots. Trolling bigger cranks & stick baits just might be the ticket!
My game plan is to target the 15' to maybe 25' water column so for me the BB or even your lead core line would be best for Walleye. But who knows what'll happen this year!
bb is bottom bouncer?
Yes it is... I like to use a bouncer with no more weight than I have to... Speed dictates weight... Any problems holding bottom, go to next size heavier... Don't know if this is right, but it's the way I have always done it...
Lite line folks, you are Crappie angler after all.
Picked up some nice eyes on crappie jigs in the back coves. Standard 2 jig rig on 12' pole.
A few of us will be bringing vacuum packers, I would suggest you bring some vacuum bags if you want you fish frozen that way.
Quote from: wadefisherman on April 13, 2013, 08:57 PMA few of us will be bringing vacuum packers, I would suggest you bring some vacuum bags if you want you fish frozen that way.
You read my mind Brian! I don't have one but since somebody "took" my vacuum packer from SCF :bootyshake: I was thinking about buying one. So what brands/models do you guys have that you can recommend? Features I'll need?
I have 2 of them, one that matches the appliances and never leaves the countertop and a small unit for travel. Both r food saver models & work just fine. Kohls can have decent deals on them as well as the bags. I've found decent deals on the bags on eBay as well. Precut bags work pretty well and r easier/faster to use. Bags aren't cheap but save a lot of space in the freezer.
Right now Costco has a great deal on a nice Food Saver model. Plus bags are priced right to buy in bulk.
Some good deals on Craigslist as well.
so was the theft comment a joke cuz roms nice boonie hat also disappeared? uhoh
Quote from: menrats on April 15, 2013, 08:04 AMso was the theft comment a joke cuz roms nice boonie hat also disappeared? uhoh
In reference to Piscolli winning the Food Saver....
thx man sorry I a liitle slow.
I have fished almost exclusivly for eyes at Powell since 1999. That was my target fish (as Joe says) when I lived back east. I have used all the m ethods you guys are asking about but have found most of them much more difficult to use in Powell. The big problem is the extreme depth cahnges that can occur in the lake from one minute to the next depending on where you fish. I have tried my down riggers but they were easily snagged if I was not dierctly over the main channel and fishing for suspended fish. The four best rigs I have used are jigs tipped with watermelon/blck fished either with a slow troll off the bottom or cast and retriefed off the shore over rock slides. The depth has varied anywhere from 10 ft to 50 ft depending on conditions. A back troll very slow with a lindy and 10 or 12 aberdeen hook tipped with crawler bumping off the bottom over the rocks ( a lot of snags) or straightlined once the fish are located is the second. The bottom bouncer works well with the harness at a fast roll but with enough weigth to keep the line almost verticle with the boat over 15 to 30 ft of water. Greater weight for deeper water. My best has been with the 3 oz weigth. At night I have used a shad type diving (floater type) trolled fairly fast along the canyon walls and rock slides. The lure is one that Bob Hirsch recommended to me back in 1978 and I have found them available only at liars corner. Cannot really remember the name of the lure. Next time I get in my boat I'll see if I can identify it.
In the 80's and 90's I used to catch limits of walley in lower Lake Mary all the time with the lindy back trolled slowely right on the bottom, but there were few few rocks on the dish pan lakebottom.
The lure I mentioned is a Heddon Bayou Boggie . I like the silver or the striper color the best. The are also a sure thing casting into surface feeding Stripers. Wait for a rise, cast into the wake and 90% chance of a strike if you are accurate and quick enough. As I said the only place I have found them in the last few years is Liars Corner..
Joe showed me those last year at lake plez, I picked up a few at Sportsmans warehouse. Pretty reasonably priced if I remember correctly.
Good to know that. I have caught a lot of srtipers on them in Powell and it was the only lure we used in 78 at powell for the walleye and they did work. I even cuaght a 6 lb'er in the middle if the day casting into the middle of the cahnnel in Ticaboo Canyon. Sun straight over head. They are a floating lure and probably only dive 5 or 6 feet when trolled or retrieved but the have worked. My favorite lure when the Stipers are boiling on the surface.
Quote from: cousinlll on April 13, 2013, 09:20 PM
Quote from: wadefisherman on April 13, 2013, 08:57 PMA few of us will be bringing vacuum packers, I would suggest you bring some vacuum bags if you want you fish frozen that way.
You read my mind Brian! I don't have one but since somebody "took" my vacuum packer from SCF :bootyshake:
You can rent mine for $25 and 25 lbs of walleye :bootyshake:
Rom's hat was in his tent the whole time. :violent1:
thanks for the info.
Heck Bill, at that fine rate, we should probably get 2... :violent-smiley-007:
Hey on these UV jigs or smile blade jigs, do you put a plastic grub on there or is it just fake minnow and that's it?
iv got some three inch grubs. but mostly ill be usin 1/2 a crawler. a swivel in front of a simple jig eh? never thought of that did we precious, no we hadn't, good idee though thanks sensai.
Bump! Any new folks be sure to look at the first post on this topic. Some great suggestions on tackle. Seemed like lots used Lindy Rig type setups with bottom bouncer. Brian cleaned house one night jigging and sounds like he may put some more focus on that. What's that setup look like? 1/4oz jig but what type grub and anything else on?
Quote from: OneBlade on April 08, 2014, 07:38 AMBrian cleaned house one night jigging and sounds like he may put some more focus on that. What's that setup look like? 1/4oz jig but what type grub and anything else on?
Unlike the previous two years, I didn't have much luck with jigs last year. Probably should have put a little more effort into it though.
My jig weight choice depends on how much wind there is to push the boat around & the depth I'm fishing. More wind & deeper the water the heavier the jig. 1/4 oz might be a little light for me as I like to start around a 3/8 oz jig head, and certainlly not saying you can't use a 1/4 oz jig.
One year I did really good with a 3/8 oz jig tipped with a Gulp Alive 3" Minnow. Many have said a jig tipped either wacky style or straight on with a half of a live crawler does really well. Another option is a curly tailed grubs.
Key might be the retrieve - sometimes they want it dragged across the bottom. Other times it's a long slow hop or maybe a snap jigging technique is the ticket.
Quote from: cousinlll on April 08, 2014, 08:04 AM
Quote from: OneBlade on April 08, 2014, 07:38 AMBrian cleaned house one night jigging and sounds like he may put some more focus on that. What's that setup look like? 1/4oz jig but what type grub and anything else on?
Unlike the previous two years, I didn't have much luck with jigs last year. Probably should have put a little more effort into it though.
My jig weight choice depends on how much wind there is to push the boat around & the depth I'm fishing. More wind & deeper the water the heavier the jig. 1/4 oz might be a little light for me as I like to start around a 3/8 oz jig head, and certainlly not saying you can't use a 1/4 oz jig.
One year I did really good with a 3/8 oz jig tipped with a Gulp Alive 3" Minnow. Many have said a jig tipped either wacky style or straight on with a half of a live crawler does really well. Another option is a curly tailed grubs.
Key might be the retrieve - sometimes they want it dragged across the bottom. Other times it's a long slow hop or maybe a snap jigging technique is the ticket.
after reading through these posts looks like you guys are on the right track , I have fished walleyes all over the us for 50 plus years something's I would like to share 1. I use 3 once BB the allow you to fish water down to 40 ft ,keep the line at a 45degree angle (using line length and speed ) to the water anymore and you may not feel the bite 2 use a stiff action pole for BB but one you can still feel the bait and be prepared to give a bit of line on a light bite before you set the hook. 3. match the beads to the bite try and mimic what they are feeding on with your bead colors . 4 what we call safety spin spinners ( similar to spinner baits) allow you to have a sound and flash effect using smaller baits (2 and 3 inch Kalin type grubs on 1/8 jigs smaller if they are shallow),yellow ,white, orange and occasionally Black work well in the south end of Powell for walleyes.5. it is important to feel comfortable with what ever you fish but a quality reel a sensitive fast action 7 ft rod and 4 lb fireline crystal is what I have use consistently all over the Midwest , Canada and southern lake Powell (up to and including the San Jaun arm) for jigs and for depths less than 20 ft seldom more than 1/8-1/4. ( stripers on Powell are and exception 3/8 to 1/2 oz with a chunk of anchovy ) I will give some of this stuff to Brian to use so he will have it . ^ as to BB line length we use 72 inches t begin with remember the longer the line the higher the spinner will cause it to rise off the bottom , start with 72 you can shorten it much easier thatb trying to grow a 36 incher , also Colorado blades 2-7 cause the bait to rise higher willow leave do not lift as high,. 7 Line for bb rigs 10-14 lb to reel slightly lighter for the rig ( seems to me 9x out of10 if you hang up you loose the whole rig anyway ) I use the same rigs for BB as I do for what we call long line crank bait trolling 100 to 300 ft back .8 for those of you who are going to try lead core use a floro leader 15 -50 ft ,on 18 lb lead core and remember the leader will allow the plug to attain its normal depth the lead core adds to it gen 5-10 per color depending on how fast you troll , lead core will follow the boat course exactly it will mimic what ever the boat does ,increasing boat speed will cause the bait to rise ,Damn I wish I was going with you guys if you guys have any questions about feel free to ask o site or PM me as I said earlier I will give brian some of his stuff to use and he can share , cell 320-291-4567
Quote from: OneBlade on April 08, 2014, 07:38 AM
Bump! Any new folks be sure to look at the first post on this topic. Some great suggestions on tackle. Seemed like lots used Lindy Rig type setups with bottom bouncer. Brian cleaned house one night jigging and sounds like he may put some more focus on that. What's that setup look like? 1/4oz jig but what type grub and anything else on?
I fished the last day with a 1/2 oz 4/0 sickle hook jig head, 12 lb flourocarbon leader. Color was smoke with red flake 3' kalin tipped with a 1" piece of crawler. You can cast it far and feel it bounce the bottom. This worked well in 15-20', I picked up some 1/4, 3/4 & 1oz jig heads for this trip. We did locate a lot of deep water fish last year and I want to be ready for anything. The jig bite was the most fun for me so I do plan on trying it everyday but my bottom bouncer rigs are locked and loaded as well. Also, whenever I saw stripers suspended along the walls I dropped a 1.5 oz up to 3 oz spoon thought the school to pull up some fish. Always a blast on spoons, white, silver & blue/silver were my best colors.
Sounds Right on!!
Wish I could make the trip.
Not in the cards this year.
I'll be wanting a report.
Wally G
All right guys thanks for the tips. I'm setup to jig now as well as bottom bounce various depths. Need to spend some time making more lindy rigs.
I've got everything ordered, but the gulp minnows. I'm going with the 3 inch bucket, but need suggestions on color. I like the assorted one, which has 4 colors, but if anyone has had more success with any one color, please inform.
The doctor made my decision for me,,, no Powell this year,, wife has Dr. apt April 28,,, by the way,, if your hooking up on rocks,,, or only getting bites in one tight area,,, vertical jigging works great for walleyes,,, with all the stumps in Wisconsin waters I do this a LOT!!!. Quick lift (18 inches) and let it drop to bottom. Most fish will hit it on the drop so watch your line! Sometimes just vibrate the rod tip 1 or 2 inches with bait just off bottom then hold it still. If the fish are holding at say 25 feet,,, or around a certain smaller structure,,, you can keep your bait in the fish zone longer than casting or trolling. I would not use slip bobbers unless I was fishing a big flat area. Remember walleyes are bottom huggers. Have fun!!!
Rebate on almost all Berkley items.
http://www.fishusa.com/assets/Product_PDF_Files/1BerkleyBYORebate.pdf
matt and I expect to do a lot of jigging this year. got that oneblade? remember what cuzin scott told me... with eyes its three on a jig to one on a spinner.
Quote from: menrats on April 14, 2014, 07:06 AM
matt and I expect to do a lot of jigging this year. got that oneblade? remember what cuzin scott told me... with eyes its three on a jig to one on a spinner.
You find the spot, I'm there. I have various sizes of jigs in hand ready to be used. Or we just follow wadefisherman and let him find the spot like last year. I'm o.k. with our numbers last year though so if jigging not cutting it let's go find that rock rubble and make it easy on ourselves.
I was watching the history channel and saw the us navy effectively use a smoke screen to keep the enemy confused so I have added one to my rig to keep the poachers at bay 😜 just listen for the train whistle as Tommy plans on tootin away!