Best for Ice Fishing: Lindy Slick Jig. That should make for a great bite, both Gilman and Neustrom agree. “You want to be able to cover everywhere from zero out to 10 feet, which you can with a No. Buy from Amazon. It’s been a hot walleye bait.
“That’s where the minnows are going to be,” he says. Year in, year out, the one bait all walleye anglers should tie on for the Fishing Opener is a Shad Rap. Here’s how Gilman snap-jigs Storm 360GT Searchbaits: • Make “a nice easy cast” about 15 yards behind the boat. Since then, I’ve been targeting walleye in May and early June by downsizing my offerings and fishing slow presentations instead of waiting until mid-June and using flashy, action-packed presentations. They stay close.” Gilman agrees. Dave is also an accomplished tournament angler, who also loves to travel to different parts of Canada to fish. “It’s more of a swimming motion.” On huge natural lakes like Leech and Mille Lacs, where “the shiners spawn up in the sand,” Gilman will snap-jig 360GT’s for a reaction bite while trolling at about 1.2 mph. Flipping jigs and slowly working them back to the boat is another option. Rapala’s new Shad Dancer crankbait is another multi-species star in the making. Having the planer boards also allows you to get your lines away from the boat so youShallow bays can carry huge numbers of walleyes this time of yearrankbaits away in these situations and pull some Lindy rigs with leeches to locate the fish. As the waters begin to warm up, the fish will start to transition to feeding on hordes of goldeye. “It really emulates a minnow and it’s got a little bit of rattle in the head,” he says. JackHammer 2.0’ Resonates with Selective Largemouths, Smallmouths By the time Upper Midwest states open their walleye seasons (most don’t allow fishing during the spawn) water temperatures will likely be in the high 40’s to low 50’s. In fact, one lake the spring tournament is won in one of these three areas almost every year. ROCKY SHOALS. Neon Moon Eye.” Neustrom’s other favorite features of Neon Moon Eye Jigs are their “really stout and sharp” VMC high-carbon steel hooks with a top-of-the-line black-nickel finish, and bait keepers that work equally well to lock on both live and soft-plastic minnows. Dave Shmyr lives in Grande Prairie, Alberta fishing and guiding on many of the lakes and rivers in that part of the world. They start, they stop, they start again. A weighted balsa lure that can be trolled or casted, a CountDown swims with a slow-rolling, classic Rapala action. 6 VMC Black Nickel Round Bend Hooks.
With shallow-running lures rigged a couple of feet above the weight and with the weight bouncing on the bottom, you know the lure is working just above the bottom. Outfitted with VMC black-nickel treble hooks, CountDowns are hand-tuned and tank-tested to swim perfectly right out of the box. You'll lose less bait than lip-hooking and will catch just as many fish. Those big hens are often right inside the pencil weeds on the creek mouths and having the ability to cast your bobber right in them is dynamite. 5 and a No. 7, you just have to have them.” If Gilman’s CountDown bites start coming deeper than shallower on the Opener, he’ll start exploring deeper weedlines.
And not just for walleye – they’re irresistible to bass and pike as well. In the clear and slightly stained water of the small to mid-size natural lakes in and around his home base of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Neustrom will mostly target main-lake points in four to 12 feet of water. Running a slip bobber with a leech on it can get even the most negative walleye to bite. Copyright © 2020 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by “The bite this year should be really, really good,” says Gilman, a central Minnesota resident who competes in top national walleye tournaments. “If you’re using a regular ball jig, it has a little bit more resistance. “GT” stands for “Go To” bait. The only exception is a very early spring causing the walleye to drift of into their summer time areas. “Stop it, start it, change your cadence. Everything will bite that.” Neustrom agrees.