USING CRANKBAITS FOR NIGHT WALLEYE
By Mark Martin
I'd like to share a few of the tips on how to choose and use the proper crankbaits for changing conditions to catch those big walleye at night.
Walleye are versatile fish. You can use a wide variety of lures to catch them. My night trolling technique, however , is strictly a crankbait- type of fishing. There are dozens of crankbaits available and each one has its own time and place.
CHOOSING AND USING CRANKBAITS
1. Size of lure: Generally, the larger the lure used, the larger the walleye you will catch. I caught a ten puonder once with a 12 inch sucker minnow and several several shad in it's belly, yet the fish still struck a lure with a stuffed belly. Size selection depends on what …show more content…
I use an GPS that has a speed indicator that actually calculates speeds from sattelite signals. If you don't have a speed indicator on your boat it is a good investment. otherwise watch for debris floating by . One to two mph is about the speed of a man walking at a slow pace.
This should be the speed of your boat, not your lure. Why? Because you don't want to use a steady trolling speed. As you're trolling your crankbait, move your rod tip forward to speed the lure up, the let the weight of the lure pull the rod tip to the back of the boat. The end result will be a lure rushing through the water four to five miles per hour, then pausing, the rushing forward again. It's when the lure pauses that the walleye will usually take the bait. Be Ready!
3. Color: In clear water, under normal weather conditions a natural finish which resembles the food base (gizzard shad, alewife, smelt, perch, etc.) will work best. I would call normal conditrions, clear skies, a slight wind and waves under a foot. my choice for colors here would be blue/silver, black/silver, gold/silver, perch(bar pattern), rainbow and …show more content…
For muddy water, used pieces of flourescent tape to spice up your crankbaits. put a piece of chartreuse of both sides of the front, then a piece of green or red on each side of the tail. Experiment until you find which color or pattern combination catches the fish. Color effectiveness can change from day to day. What worked yesterday won't neccesarily work today.
Sound and Vibration: As the lure passes through the water it displaces water and creates vibrations which attract predators. The l;arger the lure, or the more violent the action of the lure, the more vibration it sends out. Vibration is'nt the same as sound, but it works the same. In very muddy water with low visibility, consider using lures with rattles to help the walleye zero in on the sound of the lure untill it can make visual contact and strike.
5. Lure Speed: This is critical. The best speed is S-L-O-W. as slow as you can troll and manitain lure action, generallyu between 1 and two mph. It it's very windy, choppy day you can fish faster. Walleye tend to be more active under these conditions and will move a little
By Mark Martin
I'd like to share a few of the tips on how to choose and use the proper crankbaits for changing conditions to catch those big walleye at night.
Walleye are versatile fish. You can use a wide variety of lures to catch them. My night trolling technique, however , is strictly a crankbait- type of fishing. There are dozens of crankbaits available and each one has its own time and place.
CHOOSING AND USING CRANKBAITS
1. Size of lure: Generally, the larger the lure used, the larger the walleye you will catch. I caught a ten puonder once with a 12 inch sucker minnow and several several shad in it's belly, yet the fish still struck a lure with a stuffed belly. Size selection depends on what …show more content…
I use an GPS that has a speed indicator that actually calculates speeds from sattelite signals. If you don't have a speed indicator on your boat it is a good investment. otherwise watch for debris floating by . One to two mph is about the speed of a man walking at a slow pace.
This should be the speed of your boat, not your lure. Why? Because you don't want to use a steady trolling speed. As you're trolling your crankbait, move your rod tip forward to speed the lure up, the let the weight of the lure pull the rod tip to the back of the boat. The end result will be a lure rushing through the water four to five miles per hour, then pausing, the rushing forward again. It's when the lure pauses that the walleye will usually take the bait. Be Ready!
3. Color: In clear water, under normal weather conditions a natural finish which resembles the food base (gizzard shad, alewife, smelt, perch, etc.) will work best. I would call normal conditrions, clear skies, a slight wind and waves under a foot. my choice for colors here would be blue/silver, black/silver, gold/silver, perch(bar pattern), rainbow and …show more content…
For muddy water, used pieces of flourescent tape to spice up your crankbaits. put a piece of chartreuse of both sides of the front, then a piece of green or red on each side of the tail. Experiment until you find which color or pattern combination catches the fish. Color effectiveness can change from day to day. What worked yesterday won't neccesarily work today.
Sound and Vibration: As the lure passes through the water it displaces water and creates vibrations which attract predators. The l;arger the lure, or the more violent the action of the lure, the more vibration it sends out. Vibration is'nt the same as sound, but it works the same. In very muddy water with low visibility, consider using lures with rattles to help the walleye zero in on the sound of the lure untill it can make visual contact and strike.
5. Lure Speed: This is critical. The best speed is S-L-O-W. as slow as you can troll and manitain lure action, generallyu between 1 and two mph. It it's very windy, choppy day you can fish faster. Walleye tend to be more active under these conditions and will move a little