kjackson

For any of you who like to see what is coming up for new tackle, FLW will be posting "live" updates from the ICAST show. This is the largest, trade-only tackle show in the world--seriously--and this year may be the largest ever held. There are over 475 exhibitors on the conventional side and 115 (I think that is correct) on the fly-fishing side--the IFTD show. This is the second year the shows have been held together. The show starts Wednesday the 16th, and FLW coverage will be posted on the site starting around 10 am, CDT. The coverage is designed to highlight specific products that the reporters think is unique enough to be of interest to bass fishermen, whether it's a new design or a twist on an old one.

Nice! Good report, Nathan.

F & F: "What I do see as potential problems to the fish are the limb, jug and trot lines in the lake. They are indiscriminate killers! I cannot tell you how many times I have seen the lines floating unattended during the day which is ILLEGAL and seen ( J ) style hooks on them which are great gut-hookers which kills sub-legal fish. I wish AGFC would get on these guys and also change the law to require circle hooks on them. Same for Limb and Trot lines, make them use circle hooks. If you are going to do this type of fishing that's fine but use hooks that are more friendly on sub legal fish. My Jugs are all set with Circle Hooks and its common to catch undersized fish and they are not gut hooked because of the Circle and can be released." Would these work?

Thanks-- I'll look for you. I like what you've done with the boat.

Good report. Thanks. What boat are you driving, in case I see you out there?

The mudline I saw develop on HI yesterday screamed "walleyes" at me. There were a few boats on the water...

Basically, I think it comes down to what works best for the way you fish and the water you work. I've fished in waters (east side of Washington state) where you really needed a "wedding ring"--a jeweled bezel usually incorporated in kokanee spinners-- in the middle to do the best. On Green Bay, the guide I fished with up there swore by #7 and larger blades and using double spinner blades on huge harnesses. On Mille Lacs, the guys I fished with use six-foot leaders (and don't use floats on the spinners) and blades that are smaller--#4. The Columbia is, or was, a floating spinner river, not that the spinners really floated as such. Here's a bit of history-- which you may not be interested in, but... I started walleye fishing in '81 and was introduced to snelled spinners in '82 or '83 when Lindy-Little Joe brought out the Fuzz-E-Spin. That spinner used a lozenge float similar to what Scott has that was flocked with a fuzzy material and a single, long-shanked Tru-Turn hook. That was the year that adding scent became a big part of the tackle business, and the Fuzz-E-Spin float was designed to hold scent better than a slick finish. You threaded a crawler up a ways on the hook and didn't use a trailer. That was the time when walleye fishing in the Northwest took off after Dan Nelson from South Dakota (North Dakota?) caught the Oregon record walleye of 15-pounds. The big river was loaded with hogs--lots of fish over 10. That catch and the Lindy promotion kicked off the fishing, and local companies--Luhr Jensen and Yakima Bait-- developed their own line of spinners using floats that were already in the lines. Luhr Jensen used the Okie Drifter, a salmon-egg cluster representation of foam, and Yakima Bait used the Winner and Li'l Corky floats (plus the Spin-N-Glo). Yakima still has some of its spinners in the catalog and does have a big selection of Li'l Corkies and limited Winner floats. It is offering a variation of the egg cluster float as well. The good thing about using floats on spinners, besides the reduced snags which RPS talks about, is that a float adds a very solid spot of color, and at times color is the difference between catching and not. Color may not be a big issue on Beaver, though. It may be more about the blade's motion and the bait (and the speed and location and presentation). I've been pulling spinners that are on the small side using chrome floats and a silver blade and catching fish. My thought was to match the hatch. However, when I lost one rig, I pulled out a Northland floating spinner that was yellow-chartreuse with a small blade (on a two-hook harness) and caught fish. It would be easier to pin down what works and what doesn't if there were more walleyes to work on. When you're fishing in a lake where it's possible to have 100-fish days, you can evaluate things in a hurry. It may not be possible on Beaver and Table Rock without a lot of work and sharing of information. Fortunately, it is intriguing, for me anyway, and fun.

Interesting spinners, Scott. One observation, or maybe two: if you're using a true slow-death hook or some clone, you will probably find that the 10-pound fluoro is going to twist badly (your mileage may vary depending upon the brand you're using). Fifteen may be a better choice. I've been using 12-pound, but I'm still getting a bit of twist. The second thing is you need a really good ball-bearing swivel for the same reason or a bead-chain swivel. The good thing is that from my experience fishing in very clear water in eastern Washington, 'eyes don't really care about the visibly of leaders. The action of the bait is more important. Two things worth checking out: Northland has a new (last year) Crawler Hauler hook (and a couple of lures using it) that does seem to do the slow-death dance well. Also, VMC is coming out with a "Spindrift" hook that incorporates a swivel as part of the eye. I hope to come back from ICAST with samples of both, and if so, I'll pass them along.

I did a piece on some of the new stuff at ICAST this year, so I've seen some of what is out there. Some is still embargoed until the show start--July 15--so I won't talk about that, but the rest is fair game. FWIW-- I have the Rapala BX Wake Bait sitting on my desk--it arrived yesterday, and I've not put it to the test. However, if it's like the rest of the BX line, it will run right out of the box. I got the pre-ICAST press flash drive from Rapala as well. They do have some cool stuff coming out in the Storm line. As an edit--the new version Wart made with the old, original molds has been out for several years--this year's intro is for four, new "craw" colors. I've been told that the major difference between the old Wart and the new "old" Wart is the plastic; the new plastic allows sonic welding, I've been told, while the old was glued. I do hope the price on the originals stays high until I can sell mine... The SK Rage Blade is a favorite of mine as I did fairly well on it early this year before I diverted onto walleyes. I hadn't seen the Naked Rage Blade, but there is a smaller version that has no trailer at all; it's just the blade and a short, feathered treble. That one really interests me as I think it will work as a new kind of spoon. SK is also coming out with a shad-style crankbait that has been "eight years in getting it to run the way we wanted." This year will see some new lines with a focus on eight-carrier (or more) braids and coated braids. Another popular introduction will be wobble-head jigs. Mustad has one coming that allows you to change the hook, and undoubtedly there will be many more. There were several at the show last year, and there have been mid-year intros. Strike King has one, which isn't hard to figure after Davis did well at TR. I'll try to post more after the show starts.

Thanks for the report. I could almost see you breaking ice to get out this morning. Nicely done, considering the weather. On the flip side, the bass in my pond are now cruising on the surface and taking whatever they find on top.

Maybe the bass are not in your area, but down at the dam end of Beaver, they can be a plague--especially dink smallmouth. There are enough of them to keep a pair of pliers busy. On just about an given day, the ratio would be reversed--15 smallies to one walleye. The spots and largemouth, for me anyway, are back in the creeks...where I've yet to find a walleye.

FWIW--not that my experience says a lot, but-- I've been cutting the Gulp crawlers in two and using the tail 60% on a two-hook harness set-up. The front chunk goes on a slow-death rig, whether it's RPS's Owner hook, Mustad Slow Death hook or a Tru-Turn hook.

I'm probably done using crawlers, at least after I finish the box I have in the fridge. I picked up Berkley's Gulp! Spinner Crawlers and caught fish and didn't feel that I was missing fish because they weren't the real thing. While the Gulp crawlers look expensive, I've found that they stay on better than the real thing, especially around spots as those nasty bass seem unable to resist a crawler. On two trips I've used maybe six or so and caught around 20 fish (but only three walleyes). The Gulp version attracts fish even when not moving, so it's not just a matter of the movement. And the best thing is that I don't have to make a special trip to get crawlers on the night before an early trip as the bottle stays in the boat.

YAK-- Leadcore works well in both trees and brush from my limited experience. The trick is finding the lure that won't hang up. I've been fishing it a bit specifically in timber, and have had no hangups with it at all. However, I've not caught any fish, either. Tournament walleye guys in South Dakota use it on the Missouri system (there were a couple of big PWT wins). They were pulling one-ounce bass spinnerbaits. I imagine a minnow or crawler was in there somewhere... I've been using a 3/8-ounce spinnerbait, but I've not added any kind of scent. That will be the next thing. I'll post results if anyone is interested.

I'm currently using a Rapala that has a slick coating (sort of like Teflon) on the blade, and it does quite well. I also have an old Buck fillet knife somewhere that was/is great. While either of these fit the bill now, I've also learned to follow the lead of the Alaskan guides who use several knives during the course of filleting. If I were to clean a bunch of white bass, for instance, I'd use one knife for most of the filleting, and one for cutting the ribs. I might also use just one for the first cuts on the skin. But if all I'm doing is walleyes or a bunch of crappies/bluegills, then one knife is fine. I have both the Work Sharp system and the Chef's Choice. The Ken Onion WS is great and does the better job for a truly sharp edge. However, the three-stage Chef's Choice is the one I use most because it does a very good job and it's very quick. I also like the fact that it has guides for both American/European and Asian edges. That makes a difference on some knives.

Well done and good report. I've often thought that fishing out of a small boat can make you a better fisherman. You have to concentrate on a given area and think through the location and presentation.

Very nice--that is one of the best walleyes I've seen this year.

Again, thanks.

Interesting--thanks. I had the impression you were running the spinner suspended instead of close to the deck, but this is something I understand from back in my Washington/Oregon fishing days. The guys in Erie and elsewhere often run spinners at mid-depths, and this is why I asked about your set up. There they use in-line weights, drop weights, leadcore and whatnot to get the depth. I'm now thinking Tuesday will be my chance to do some testing, and I'll probably run a couple of things by the fish to see who salutes. That is one thing I really love about fishing here--you can run more than one rod, and that makes experimenting a lot simpler. I can fish working crankbaits off the sides of the boat and the X product off the stern.

Doc says that you only let him use one rod, and that's why you, with the six rods out, catch more than he does. Interested in the crawler harness rig. How do you control depth with that? Leadcore? Diver? Planer? Downrigger? I was going to head west tomorrow, but with a forecast of 17 mph winds, I may opt out. I wanted to do some research on depth, and your end of the lake is the best I've seen for that. I may have to work instead...sigh.

Very good--thanks for the report. I'm wondering if down lake may be better than above the island now. Is that the summer pattern--the walleyes heading back down lake?

I'm not the Zen Master of Trolling like some, and I've not been as scientific about it as Scott. I definitely follow the lead there. My perception is that the 7 Smash Shad runs as deep as the 7 Flicker Shad. But maybe it doesn't. I do know that I've had good luck catching fish with both, and perhaps better luck with the SS--especially the UV purple tiger. Dunno, y'know. It will be interesting to find out...

Thanks for the report...

Hmmm...maybe your fluorocarbon is larger diameter than what I'm using. I can hit the same depth as the 7 Flicker Shad or maybe a foot plus or minus. I tend to run 120 to 130 feet back.

You can't get the Smash Shad down? The 7 size hits 15-16 feet for me with the same let-out as the Flicker...