Trip With Buster Yesterday

[bfishn]

Of my last 25 yrs of monster quest, I think my summed average falls in a bit below Buster's. As I recall, at least one of 3 trips were biteless skunks, and another third with one lone walleye to show. Dozens of icy all-nighters. One has to question the motive on the way home from a frostbiting skunk.

But I'm really glad I did it. I figured out a successful strategy the hard way (after years wasted trying what the magazines touted). Eight biguns from 10-15, and many 5-10s. About half on creek baits and half on sticks. I can sit for hours with some big chubs towing their bobbers around, but my head would explode if I had to let a piece of plastic just sit still...

[lonkm]

I assume that you have the boat going upstream with this slow down method. What do you do when you have to go downstream? run or drift with a sack out back? thanks lonnie

[Ron Burgundy]

I assume that you have the boat going upstream with this slow down method. What do you do when you have to go downstream? run or drift with a sack out back? thanks lonnie

anyone??...good question.

[Ron Burgundy]

This is a really good point, Upper Bull, Winter and late Winter fishing is not nor has it ever been for either Buster or myself a numbers fishery. That is why it is so hard to guide on. You just do not catch many fish on a daily basis. Folks read of these fantastic catches or see the huge walleye and for some reason presume you are catching and releasing fish on a regular basis.

Most often a very good rule of thumb, and I believe I posted this last year is 2 maybe 3 walleye per day, and throw in a 1/2 dozen bass a white or two and a crappie or two. You have 2 guys fishing and it is about 1 fish to the boat per hour. May not be keeper size fish or what you want either.

You do that 5 days a week, and it looks huge, especially when you throw in several walleye over 6 pounds. Which may have been the only fish you caught in 8 hrs. one day. ( I can hear several of you saying I'd be happy with that. Would you really?) 1 fish in 6 or 8 hrs. in 30 degree weather. happens a lot over there even to Buster, and if he nabs a keeper he is happy as a lark.

Just really hard for folks to fish with those types of results with the concentration and patients you must display this time of the year.

On the presentations, when fishing the stickbait over there. We position the boat usually about 30' into the river channel, usually sitting in about 25' to 35' We throw to the top of the mudchannel roll off, usually landing our bait in perhaps 6' to 10'. The bait starts out just directly to the bank if you were fishing a shore line.

You either reel the bait or jerk it down pick up the slack and just turn or twitch its head back to the boat. You never under any circumstances move the bait with the reel, it is always moved with the rod and the slack picked up with the reel. Very slow.

Very long cast are preferred as it lets the bait get to its maximum depth and remain very still in the strike zone for as long as possible. Usually by the time for the next cast the bait is well behind the boat, even if you are just moving the boat ever so slightly.

Where DD and his brother were fishing, was on the old river channel, just off the mud roll offs, You would have had a hard time hitting a billboard on the shoreline with a rifle from there locations. You have to keep the river channel in play al all times if you are to be successful. The fish will 99% of the time be either on the edge of the channel, suspended on the edge of the channel, or on the bottom just along the edge of the channel.

Good Luck

I've did very little jerk bait fishing , when u first jerk the bait down to u give it 5 or 6 aggressive jerks to get the bait down then start the slow process of fishing it back to boat?

[duckydoty]

The boat can be going up stream or down stream ever so slowly working the edge of the roll off. Also, after 5-6 jerks to get the bait down, the slow retrieve part starts. This retrieve is even slower than I thought possible. Because of this slow retrieve, the bait ends up behind the boat.

[Ron Burgundy]

Thanks duck that's how I envisioned it.