Night Eyes

[AtticaFish]

I will take a picture tonight of the rigging if i remember. It is a light head for the size of the whole bait and actually works good for the majority of my fishing done at my local reservoir. The walleye tend to sit so close up in the rocks, the light weight head keeps me from getting hung up in the shallow rip-rap as often. The 1/8 premium heads i found i think have a BassPro label on them but i got them at a local shop. They have a flat eye and are nice sharp hooks. The 5" plastic bait itself is fairly heavy so pretty much just casting a big hunk of plastic. When i was on Erie, i was attempting to cast straight into 20MPH wind and the aerodynamics of that big bait were working against me. I had another pole rigged up with a smaller (3.8" i think) swimbait on the same size head and it casted much better into the wind. Felt like casting a rock compared to the bigger 5" version that felt like flinging a wet feather out. haha A heavier head would have done me good up there that night because there was a heck of a current pushing back at me as well and it was tough just keeping contact with the jig.

I actually dug through all my hooks before i left that night looking for any bigger heads. I do have some 1/4 and 3/8 weight heads, but none have the bigger/better hook. Just purchased a couple new styles of big swimbaits (big bubba brand maybe?) that are even bigger than the Kalins version. These new ones have a very wide shad shape body instead of the skinny profile. The new swimbaits did not rig up on any of the heads i had, so need a bigger head/hook combo for those.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Now that is one fat pig of a wally. Looks like your cleaning board is shrinking.

Once again innovative thinking is rewarded. Slow & deep while everyone else is flailing cranks shallow or mid depth.

All my best wallys were caught on 1/10 oz Boolies, but next year IF I decide to tuff out freezing nights, I'll upsize to 3/16 oz for longer casting and better handling down to 30'

 

[AtticaFish]

Bucho - I was letting it sink as best i could with the wind and current pushing the bait and line around. Depth of the end of the breakwall is only about 6 to 10 feet at most and i could tell when i did get to bottom because i could feel the bait getting hung up on rocks and had zebra muscles stuck on the hook quite a few times.

 

[AtticaFish]

Here is my favorite 5" Kalins Sizmic Shad (top swimbait) rigged on the heads i found.  They are listed as 1/8 oz and have a pretty good size Gamakatsu flat eye hook, not sure of the hook size.  They work really good for the Kalins swimbaits.  For comparison, the 3 bigger heads on the right are 1/4 oz with a 1/0 hook.

The wide flat body of the Kalins swimbaits make them ride up over the rip-rap pretty easily and the lighter weight heads help with that as well.

My next search is to see if i can find a few heads that will pair up better with the the tall body swimbaits on the bottom.  These are 5" baits as well, but the big flat head area makes the smaller 1/8th heads look kind of silly in them.

View attachment 5

 

[rich mc]

thanks for showing us. i think the bottom plastic is the big hammer baits. rich mc

 

[hookup]

For swim baits, I modified a DoIt SWM bait to fit EWG 30d hooks with a hitchhiker

Works real well dragging them across the bottom of mid-Atlantic rivers. I rarely loose any to a snag

Looking at your ball head jigs (which I also use rigged exposed when swimming jigs) VMC just came out with a long shank hook that I'm starting to like & have luck with

 

[Hawnjigs]

You could up 1 size to 4/0, maybe to a wide gap style for the Hammers. Perhaps painting the ball head a bright glow color would mimic eyes proportionate with the wide shad body.

Bass Pro offers a standard 4/0 1/4 oz. with VMC hooks.
http://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-premium-jighead-round-head

 

[Hawnjigs]

2 yrs down the road and night time is the right time. Previously fishing in more comfortable daylight never started catching wallys till late April. After last Fall's pre-sunrise success applying those tactics for a newly discovered early Spring bite. Last trip several days ago got 7 mostly short with only 2 keepers. This AM got only 3 but all keepers topping out at 26". All from shore in moving water air temp in the low 30s C&R except for a 19" first trip good for 3 meals.

At first light the bite wanes and finally quits as the sun rises. Not saying its the best choice, but 1/11 oz. 2/0 Boolie head with 3" PB pearl Ripple Shad seems to get bit fine. Like last fall wallys seem to be close to the bank in shallow rocky areas.

 

[AtticaFish]

I've been out a couple times now with no success yet. One of the upground reservoirs i fish pretty often has an excellent population of walleye right now but it gets pretty muddy each spring. They only fill it from a small creek and have to wait for high (muddy) water from a rain event to start running the pumps. They pumped in almost 6 feet of water since the last time i was there in the fall so it is gonna take a while before it clears up. I'm sure the fish are there and up shallow getting ancy for the spawn....... just would have to hit them on the nose to get a bite. Hopefully get out and try again in the next week or so and may start driving around to a few different lakes.

 

[Hawnjigs]

JiggerJohn sez his popping floats entice bites even in chocolate milk conditions.

 

[hookup]

JiggerJohn sez his popping floats entice bites even in chocolate milk conditions.

Work on salt water trout just as well

 

[Hawnjigs]

Using the same 3" pearl Powerbait Ripple Shad thumper tail having a best year ever targeting wallys at night. Alewives are spawning along the shoreline of Lake Mac and wallys have followed them. Rocky shorelines have been best for me and think I may have caught as many chunks this year than in my previous 6 years combined here in NE. Average size is mid 20s and well fed.

Anyone else noticing an uptick in wally action this year ?