High water, good for the fish?

[rps]

Excellent rigs and advice Bill! Lighter weights are great. The only difference is a longer line from the bait to the rod. With braid, the makes zero difference.

[Smithvillesteve]

Thanks Bill for sharing. And thanks Randy for your input also. I'm 73 and too old to try and get dialed in on ffs. Its all i can do to text and take pics with my phone! I will share a story about ffs though. On our annual trip to Canada this year the walleye fishing was a little slow. By that i mean we were catching 30 apiece per day instead of around 100. There was 90 degree weather up there for a week 2 weeks prior then it went to 20 degrees the week before we went. Blue bird days for us. I got a younger buddy that goes and he had ffs. We ususally just toss a jig and minnow combination out. My buddy went to a slip bobber technique. He would watch those walleyes on his screen come up to the jig and minnow and swim off. He was killing them on his slip bobber. Those suckers wanted that minnow suspended up off the bottom! He outfished us 3 to 1!! 

[rps]

On 6/30/2025 at 8:50 PM, Bill Babler said:

I’m using three quarter oz.  At times I’ll use an ounce but really never go above that. 
At 26’ depth, trolling under 1 mph the 3/4 has no problem staying on the bottom. 

12# main line 15# on the harness as they have sharp Chompers. 

 

Not saying I’m fishing 26’ right now. I’ll let y’all figure out the depth 

If they are deeper than 30’ I pretty much fish vertically with either a drop shot or spoon  

Not a guide anymore or for that matter an expert.  The LiveScope has really educated me in the last 3 years on walleye.  It seems that for crappie and walleye the FFS has opened windows we thought were nailed shut.

Extremely educational.  

 

 

I always used a smaller than traditional bottom bounce. It meant I had a little more line out, but my feel was more sensitive, and I hung up less. Bill, good harnesses!

[Bill Babler]

Took my Minnesota buddies again yesterday. We did really well, not the stupid numbers from last week, but way bigger fish. 

Walleye were totally set up different, and when I hooked my first two on a spoon I told the guys I had bass. Totally wrong. 

Walleye were more grouped and suspended 5’ off the bottom. Not the typical head to tail line, but just like a school of spotted bass. 

Catch one or two at a location and then that was it.  You had no more than 10 minutes on a location and it was over. 

Fished 4/5 locations the entire morning last week and fished 2 dozen yesterday. 

They proved yesterday that I know squat. 

Nothing on a harness but bass and gills. All the walleye cane on spoons and drop shot. 

Pretty sure we were fishing under them with the bottom bouncers. 






 

[rps]

9 hours ago, Bill Babler said:

Pretty sure we were fishing under them with the bottom bouncers. 

I have never written about it, but uncommon techniques may help.

Let out less than enough line for the usual speed and up your speed. The harness will be above bottom. An alternative is to stay at regular speed, but periodically raise your arm and rod to the vertical then let it drop back. The drop looks like a killed spinnerbait. The lift changes the speed and puts 4 or 5 feet above bottom. Just as in crank fishing, change in speed can and will trigger strikes.

Note, speed is relative to the type and size of blade on your harness.

[Ron Burgundy]

We did well yesterday trolling flicker shads on Lead Core , done by 10 am. Biggest was 25.6”……Midlake 

[Bill Babler]

Buddy went yesterday. He had just returned from Door Co.  They were fishing for SM but caught a lot of Eyes on hair jigs. 

He caught 5 eyes and over 40 bass on a hair jig yesterday on just a few locations. Hair is something we don’t do here much.  I’ve watched them fish it on the Tennessee River ledges but that’s not how they fish it up North. 

I’ve tried both methods here and the Northern method is how they like it on the Rock. 

Really fun. Something I’m sure Phil Lilley would enjoy as he loves to straight line jig fish. 

Nice walleye, glad y’all caught em. Lots of ways to skin a cat or for that matter fillet a fish. 😁



 

[Quillback]

48 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

Buddy went yesterday. He had just returned from Door Co.  They were fishing for SM but caught a lot of Eyes on hair jigs. 

He caught 5 eyes and over 40 bass on a hair jig yesterday on just a few locations. Hair is something we don’t do here much.  I’ve watched them fish it on the Tennessee River ledges but that’s not how they fish it up North. 

I’ve tried both methods here and the Northern method is how they like it on the Rock. 

Really fun. Something I’m sure Phil Lilley would enjoy as he loves to straight line jig fish. 


 

I've got a bunch of marabou jigs, I need to start fishing them.  What weight do you recommend?  How about retrieval, like a slow swim right off the bottom?

[Bill Babler]

Exactly, totally do nothing. Throw it let it sink and reel or pull it slowly.  1/4 to 3/8. 

White, black or olive. 

Tennessee ledge you throw it let it sink to the bottom then either crank the reel hard several times or pop it and let it drop. Of course they catch it on the fall. 

Northern method let it sink to the bottom or to suspended fish and slowly reel it home. 

Table Rock fish prefer this 99% of the time. 

Nice call Quill. 




 

[Dutch]

When we used to do that on Stockton, 1/4 and 3/8 bucktail purple/orange was the best (never really used maribou because it is a pain to tie) in the middle of Hartley at about 40’ was generally a good producer.