What is the best bait for fishing?  There is only two "best baits" for fishing, “PATIENCE” and the “one that catches the fish!”  There are two types of bait, Artificial, and Live or Natural baits. When learning to fish with bait, every fisherman you ask will have a different favourite bait. Some of the most popular baits while learning to fish with bait are found last minute or by accident. However, there are only a few that do produce over and over.  At the end of the day the best, bait, lure or person who uses them, and catches fish, then, that’s probably the best bait for fishing when learning to fish with bait.

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Artificial Bait:

These are man made baits and can be the lure or hook itself that is produced or made to imitate the real thing. If you look at Shad Rap, Husky Jerk Minnow, and the many Jointed Minnow hard baits or the Mimic Minnow Shad, Swim’n Grubs, Slurpies Minnow and the many Gulp! Minnow, Powerbait Finesse Worms, 5” Jumbo Leech, Alive Leech or Jumbo Leech, Pork Spin Frog, and Chigger Craws the thing they all have in common is they look like the real thing. Then there are the attractants such as PowerBait Attractant

 

Live Bait:
These are the real thing, the true living being but there are issues with all live bait and that is (Make sure you can use live bait and what type of live bait) where you will be fishing. Saskatchewan does not allow live minnows, has import restrictions on leeches and worms and some native species such as frogs and salamanders are protected. More issues arise when trying to keep live bait alive and finding a source or supply of bait.

Minnows – RULE ONE of fishing – Fish eat fish! The good hooks and lures all strive to imitate this food source. Why not just use the real thing Minnows.  Minnows have long been known as the greatest bait for fishing, and when it comes to walleye fishing, minnows are incredible bait. The downside of minnows is not all provinces, states or countries allow the use of live minnows and if they are allowed then keeping them alive is a problem. You will find only a few bait shop dealers who will keep shiner minnows during the summer months because they die quickly in the dealers tanks and in the fishermen’s minnow buckets.Two ways to overcome this are: 1) use commercially frozen minnows or 2) many anglers say that the Berkley Gulp minnows are as good as live minnows. Minnows are used for tipping jigs, best fished vertical, bottom fishing or fishing under a bobber.

Worms – Earthworm or Dew Worm are one of the most popular and readily available baits in spring, summer and fall but in northern climates when lakes and ground freezes they are hard to come by. They could very well be the most effective in summer when trolled using a harness or on a rig of gang hooks.  The worm spread out over a series of hooks enables the worm be presented in a natural manner. The biggest problem with worms, are short bites as worms stretch out really long when dead and keeping them alive in the hottest part of the day. In winter you can use meal worms but are hard to find in summer. Meal worms are used to tip jigs, straight J hook or small spoons.

Leeches – Leeches are a great bait for walleye. Ribbon leaches are an excellent bait because because they swim, and squirm constantly after they are placed on the hook when the temperature is above 50deg, but are poor choice below this. Used in the same time frame as worms but there are three big issues with leaches: availability, keeping alive and transportation. Leeches are hard to find most times of the year, they need constant fresh water to live and transporting into some areas is restricted. Leeches used on crawlers and harnesses in summer are very effective but the work to find and keep them may not be worth it.  Gulp does put out a great leech bait and you can buy artificial lures that look just like leeches.

The above 3 are the most used and probably the most successful of live baits to use but here are some other baits – beef heart, fish belly, fish eyes, fish eggs, insects, marsh mellow, corn, cheese balls, maggots and gummy bears.

Yes the gooey gummy bear in multi colors. One time out fishing for walleye we found a real nice spot with lots of perch chasing, following, stealing and being pains in the (&^%$*). We had a young child with us and he was eating gummy bears and accidently dropped one in the water, in seconds there was a school of hundreds mouthing then spitting it out and another taking then spitting it out constantly. We put a gummy bear on a straight J hook and caught fish after fish, what a thing to see. On this day the best bait was the gummy bear.

There have been many fishing surveys published that show fishing for walleye with live bait accounts for over 2/3ds of all walleye that are caught, and is still the preferred choice over artificial lures especially when walleye fishing gets slow.  If you can use live bait, make sure the live bait you choose to fish for walleye, is active and lively. When learning to fish with bait and walleye are agressive or feeding you can get by with a half dead minnow or chewed-up night crawler, but a fresh struggling leech or squirming worm will catch more, bigger or trophy walleye quicker.

 

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The jig should dance, do the shimmy, glide, twitch, thump bounce and the twist and shout to attract walleye. The jig is the most used lure from any tackle box. Yes, you can simply tie a jig on and throw it over the edge of the boat and you probably will catch fish.  Good job, you caught some, now if you only put that jig to it’s best use you can catch more and bigger fish.  In order to use the jig learn to make the jig dance. If done right and you are concentrating and have the touch you can expect to feel anything from a solid tug, sharp tap to the faintest of line movement. Active walleye will inhale the jig non agressive and non feeding walleye may just mouth the jig and quickly spit it back out. Walleye are notorius for laying just behind your jig and if it turns or twitches just a little they will hit it, mouth it, perhaps more than once giving you a second chance to hook one, or ignore it. Put on your Glades Explorer Hat, Bucket Hat, or Omni-Shade Cachalot Hat, and lets learn to dance.

How To Do The 5 Step Jig Dance:
Step 1: Cast (Down or Out)
Vertical fishing a jig or jigging spoon does not require a cast or throw of the hook. You simply place the rod tip and lure over the side of the boat, open the bail or press the thumb and let the line spool out and your lure sink to the bottom.  TIP: let the lure fall a few feet and stop descent put a little tighten in the line, feel if any weight, then let lure fall some more, repeating the stop until lure hits bottom. Your line will go completely slack and no more will come off your reel. Walleye will take the hook as it falls so if you never stop the hook as it goes down how do you know if you did or did not have a bite already.  Simply reel line in until lure is 2 – 6 inches off bottom and when you drop the rod tip towards the water surface, the lure will rest on bottom. 

Horizontal fishing a jig does require casting or throwing your hook away from you.  Casting is used when you want to cover more water to find fish or to get your lure to a place into or past where the fish are and retrieve your lure through the school of fish.  This can be done by anchoring upwind from where you want to fish and letting the boat float back until it reaches the end of the anchor rope or letting the boat drift and you either fish vertical or cast as the boat floats over the underwater structure. Still when casting again don’t just let the lure sink without any control, you will miss fish strikes.  When you do cast, be safety aware careful of other people in the boat. NEVER make big sweeping casts where the lure swings throught the boat area. Hooks are sharp and hurt when you are caught on one.

Step 2: The Shimmy
You casted and started the dance, controlled the descent, now you need a few moves to attract the prey.  The first is the shimmy, using your rod tip, give 4 or 5 quick little 1 - 2 inch jerks of the line.  This will cause the curly tail or the bristles to move or shimmy, a subtle little move that fools fish into thinking the lure is moving it’s tail or fins and is about to dart away.  Bait fish and smaller fish will either remain motionless, hide or dart away so they do not become lunch, you are imitating this behavior.   

Step 3: The Sweep 
As you jig the lure or retreive your lure you need to move it throught the water. Same as when your dancing you need to glide to areas on the floor and keep moving, so does your lure.Think of the bottom of the lake as the dance floor when casting and the water between you and bottom as the floor when vertical jigging.  If vertical lift the rod two or three feet and let the lure flutter back down, check for weight then let it sit do the shimmy a few times then try another sweep.  Horizontal with the lure on bottom sweep rod forward a foot or two move rod tip back towards hook and wind in line as moving rod, give a shimmy and sweep again. If at any time you feel any resistance set the hook with a quick flick of the wrist, you just caught a walleye. 

Step 4: The Twitch
Almost the same as the shimmy except you are moving the lure 4 – 6 inches at a time. This is for two things to make the lure look like a bait fish that is darting away or a wounded baitfish.  As your doing the sweep you can do the twitch about 6 times then wind in line the same by keeping tension on line as you swing rod back towards lure. Make sure to do a shimmy or short twitch to check for resistance before doing sweep or twitch again.

Step 5: The Thump
You want to do the shout to the twist a few times during the retrieve.  This makes your lure look like a dying baitfish or a baitfish feeding on something on the bottom, plankten, insect or smaller fish.  When vertical jigging simply lift rod tip 4 inches from bottom and drop the rod tip quickly so the lure thumps off the bottom. Raise 4 – 6 inches and drop thump off the bottom. When horizontal you want to move rod tip more than a shimmy but less then the twitch. It is two or three, 2 – 4 inch quick jerks of the rod tip to move the lure about the same distance in quick jumps.

So lets do the dance. Everyone grab your partner and cast the dosey doe. Bow to your partner with a shimmy shake. Now lets move across the floor with a sweep and a twitch or two. Stand in place and thump the floor throw in a shimmy then change your partner with another sweep and a twitch. Repeat the process with the bow.  When you get directly below the boat DO NOT reel your line in quickly do a shimmy a twitch and a thump.  The walleye may have followed your lure all the way but hasn’t made up it’s mind to bite or not give the fish a second or two.   

Tips:
Do not just let the lure fall control the drop
Walleye bite on the fall or stop, not upward or forward
Reel in line as you move the rod back towards the lure
Concentrate on small line movements and slight line tightens
Set the hook if you feel anything different weight, tug or tick
If in doubt set the hook with a flick of the wrist, quicker jerk 

Other Articles:
What are Stinger Hooks
What are Jigs
Walleye Size Chart
Know the Walleye
Know the Sauger
How To Fillet Walleye
Putting On The Ritz Recipe

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What are Stinger hooks? These are a single, double or treble hook on 2 or 3 inches of line, or wire attached to the main lure’s head, eye, or hook.  The main reason to use a stinger is for light biting,  just mouthing or bait stealing fish that you cannot seem to catch on the main lure.  In early season walleye can steal minnows from the hook by a pull on the tail and when fish are less agressive they may just mouth and spit out the lure. A stinger will help you catch some of these. You can use Single Snelled Sting’R Hook, a Sting’r Double Barb or a Sting’r Treble Hook 

 

What Types and How Do I Use A Stinger Hook?

Slip OnSting’r

All three of the Sting’r Hooks above will slip on over the hook of any jig. However there are specifci Northland Fire-Ball Jigs that have an independent eye to hook the Sting’r hook onto.  In Saskatchewan we can not use live minnows but we can use commercially frozen minnows. Select a minnow and put on the main hook  by hooking just behind the head, then take the sting’r hook and stick the hook or one of the barbs, completely through the minnow just in front of the tail or as far back as you can without putting a bend in the minnow. Work the jig exactly as before only now you can set the jig sooner. You might also catch walleye on the sting’r hook without setting the hook. 

 

Trailer Hooks 

There are three styles of multi (trailer) hooks. The eye of a second hook slipped over the main lure hook, an attached wirelead second hook, or a hook tied directly to the shank of the main lure. All three of these are called a trailer hitch hooks.   

 

Trailer Hook on Hook: take the Gamakatsu Trailer Hook and slip the eye of the second hook over the point of the main lure. If the hook is long enough it will turn so that it runs inline with the main lure, if it doesn’t, take the hook back off,  take pliers hold hook shank and use second pliers to twist eye of second hook slightly, place it back on the main lure check to see if second hook runs in line. To rig with bait take minnow and put main lure hook up through the minnow behind the head from belly to back of head.  Lift the minnow and push the second hook up througth minnow as far back as possible but do not bend minnow.

 

Wire Lead Hook: This lure requires a stiff wire leader and a Mustad Dressed Trebles hook. This will work for plain jigs or plastci body jigs.  First remove plastic body from jig, then take the stiff thin wire, put through eye of the main hook, attach by twisting end around rest of wire. Measure about 5" of wire and twist it around the hook shank at lease three times, thread the wire through the plastic body and put the plastic body back on the main hook, attach the XCalibur Dressed Trebles hook to the wire by running wire through treble hook eye, adjust so that  treble eye is about 1" behind main hook and twist wire. Cut off any extra wire.  Can now fish with or without bait.

 

Direct Tied Trailer: This requires tieing a second trailer hook like above directly to the line about 1 – 2" behind main lure or tieing a completely different second smaller lure behind the first, such as a panfish hook or snelled hock with a minnow or small bait on it. With the new flourocarbon leader line the connection is almost invisible and the second hook is intended to look like a smaller fish following the first hook.  the idea here is to catch the or attract the fish to stirke either lure. 

 

Multi-hooks:

When talking about these I mean Floating String’r, Spinner Harnesses, Secret Walleye Rigs, and Worm Crawler.   These have one or two hooks already tied as a stinger and are used mainly for fishing Walleye with a bottom bouncer or 3 way swivel system colse to bottom.  These are used by spreading the bait (worm or leach) over the multi hooks. These lures mean more hooks but if not used properly mean more hooks to get tangled up. 

 

Think of all of these lures and stinger or trailer hooks, the same as barb wire always catching your pant leg. They deliver the "Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee" or the "One-Two Knockout" of "Ali" and Tyson" in your corner.  Many times a stinger has saved the fishing trip simply because the minnow, leech or nightcrawler was bit off short of the main hook. 

 

Other Great Stinger Lures Or Kits:

Rainbow Spinner Walleye Kit

Live Bait Walleye Kit

Walleye Open Water Rigs

Bucktail Inline Spinnerbaits

Super-Glo Gamefish Kit

Baitfish Spinners

 

 

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Jigs are the most used lure in the tackle box. Jigging is the most used system to catch fish. Why Use jigs? What are the different Jigs? When someone says did you try jigging, the first thing that comes to mind is fishing for Walleye. This is by far the most preffered way to catch walleye but jigs work on panfish, northern pike, lake trout and all fish species.  Jigs come in all sizes from tiny 1/64oz all the way up to 4 and 5oz coastal fishing lures. But the most used sizes are 1/4 and 1/2 oz jigs.

When you first start fishing jigs it may be confusing, chosing the different types of jigs, figure out what jig works best in different water situations and what style and color body to use. Jigs usually have a molded weighted head on a j or Aberdeen Hook, with various type bodies. Most common is floaters, leadheads with plastic, hair or bristle, flyers and jigging spoons and just jig bait style bodies. If you add a blade to the jig it is called a roostertail. If you insert the entire jig into the plastic body it is called a tube jig. To start your jig collection you may want to consider purchasing a Holographic Bucktail Kit, Mimic Minnow Panfish Kit, a Walleye Jig Kit, a few Bucktail Jigs or Holographic Bucktail Jig or Tri-Color Tube Kit.

Why Use Jigs: 

Most fish especially walleye feed on or close to the bottom or they spend most of their life within 1 foot of the bottom. Jigs get the hook down to the bottom and keeps the jig in this vital area for you to catch fish. Most jig fishing means vertical straight down below the boat or casting into an area and retrieving the lure through the desired target zone, so that you do not scare the fish away. You can troll with jigs but you will need extra weights, Bottom Bouncer Sinkers and 3 way swivels to get and keep these light lures down.

 

Benefits of Jig Fishing: 

Quick change of styles and sizes
Quick change of plasyic bodies
Have grub, curly tail, twin tail, swim tail with one lure
Fish any situation
Fish with or without plastic body
Tip plain hook with bait
Imitate the minnow bait very closely

 

Types Of Jigs:  

Floater Jigs: Gum-Drop, Screw-Ball Floater  

These jigs float up in the water or on the top of the water. The most common is in a small minnow pattern. They work great with harness, crawlers or bottom fishing where you want your hook to float up off the bottom. Tip here is use a solid wire leader to get them farther out from your main line or use a 3 way swivel system with a wire lead and bottom weight when fishing floating jigs. 

 

Flyer Jigs and Jigging Spoons: Jigging Rap, Jigging Spoon

Jigging Lures are a weighted flyer wing style lure, usually with hooks on both ends and a treble hook underneath. Jigging Spoons usually have a treble hook at the bottom. Both are classified as a darter type. When falling they dart or fly in different directions. These are a good only for vertical style fishing as you tie or attach to them on the top of the lure.

 

Hair and Spinner Jigs: Marabou Tinsel Jigs, Thunder Jig  

These jigs instead of using a plastic body look more like a fly with hair or bristle tied or formed right onto the hook. You cannot change the body on these so to get different hooks you have to purchase each color as a seperate lure. These have the appearance of fins moving when the hair or bristles move in the water. A very good hook for light bites or finesse situations. They do work casting but the hair lays down and looks like a very thin bait. When jigged verticle the hair puffs up and works better.

 

Plastic Body Artificial Jigs:Beetle Grub, Single Tail Grubs, Double Tail, Weedless Tube, Slurpies Swim Shiner Kit, 

There are 4 styles of bodies a grub or bug like with or without a tail, single or double curly tail, double curly tail, swim blunt tail and worms or minnows plastic only. You either put the body over or onto the hook and slip the body up the hook shank to the head or you fish by putting a hook through the body at some point. You can rig these as a weedless hook by threading the hook point back into the plastic body.

 

Bait Body Imitator Jigs: Slurpies Holographic Worm Kit, Gulp! Minnow, Gulp! Leech,  

These type of jigs the weighted head and hook are fully inserted into the plastic body the hook can be exposed or fished in a weedless patern by keeping or rigging the hook point back into the plastic body.

 

How Do I Use A Jig:

See Article How To Use A Jig

 

Why Use A Jig: 

When fish are in shallow feeding you do not want to motor right in amongst them or you will scare them out of there and have to find a new area. Park your boat and anchor far enough away, but still able to cast into the area. Park upwind and let your boat back to the area.  If fish are all along a shore let the boat drift over them and vertical jig as you drift, when you get to the end start up the motor and go back to the beginning again. If you catch any fish simply toss out some kind of marker or buoy, fish until no more bites then move on. 

 

What Jig Do I Start With: 

You will develop what jig to use through trial and error, however I start with a 1/4oz round ball jig in chartreuse, hot pink or white, with a white or yellow curly tail. I will change the body several times before I change the hook. If you use a fishing journal *****see example**** write in it what lure you started with. What condition the water was, clear, stained, murky and weather clear and bright, overcast or cloudy. People swear that on bright days use dark colors and on dark days use bright colors but this does not always work. I will start here but switch after 10 or 15 minutes without a bite. 

 

Tips For Using A Jig:

Concentration and sensitive touch rule here. Walleye are light biting fish you may feel the slightest of tap to a sharp tug.
Aggressive walleye inhale jigs by sucking, and can spit your lure out faster than you can set the hook, be ready at all times.
If you lift your rod to jig the hook and you feel ANY resistance set the hook. Walleye take the hooks as it falls or sits still.
If you see the line move or tighten in any way, set the hook a walleye may be mouthing the lure.
Watch for the tap, tap, tap or slow bend in your rod, a walleye is nibbling. Not active but looking.
Some of those little pesky pecks may not be perch, but walleye, try a smaller or bigger jig with bait.  

 

Common Mistakes With A Jig:  
Missing The Bite:

New fisherman fail to set the hook and get frustrated, they see and feel the bite but cannot connect.  Many wait to long and what they see or feel is actually the fish spitting out the lure. Any resistance or movement set the hook right away. 

 

Waiting To Long To Set Hook:

Most beginners to walleye fishing expect a sharp tug or aggresive bite but walleye take a lure so softly that you may not feel or see the line move until they are spitting the jig back out.  99.9% of the time walleye bite as the jig is falling or sitting still durring the jig process. If at any time you see or feel even the slightest tap or resistance set the hook.

 

Not Sure If Actually Had A Bite:

Many fisherman see a slight twitch but put it off as a wind gust or small tick off a weed or something hitting your line (floaties). Some times you will notice an abnormal sinking like the hook is just hanging or it seems to take longer to get to the bottom or the line moves slightly sideways while sinking. These could be walleye mouthing your bait as it was falling, rule here is "If In Doubt Set The Hook". 

 

Was Sure It Was A Weed:

When fishing close to weeds or lily pads and you cast out, let it sink and when you start winding have a small bit of weight do not think it is weeds Set The Hook it could be a walleye. You can always take the weed off you cannot put the fish back on. 

 

Mistake Those Pesky Little Bites:

This is a common mistake when you Assume those little nibbles are Perch. They could and usually are Walleye that grabbed your bait as it was falling.  Try a stinger hook or keep tension on your line as it drops, never assume, you know the rule about (ASS-U-ME).  

 

When using a jig, You must concentrate SEE and FEEL the smallest peck, tap, or line movement. Never allow slack line when winding in and try to even keep the line tight as you let the jig sink. Do not lift the lure too high and just drop rod quickly, try to let it settle with slight tightness in line. When you bounce the jig off the bottom, try to keep line tight or lift right away don’t let it sit for long. Watch your rod tip and the water on calm days you may see a slight twitch, a small ripple or your line move slightly to the side, set the hook, FISH ON! 

  

Other Jigs:
Weedless Marabou Jig Baits
Dancin’ Marabou Jig
Marabou Crappie Jig
Enticer Rattling Jig
Finesse Jig
Bottom Bouncer Walleye Rig Kit
Whistler Jigs
Fire-Ball Jigs
Thumper Jigs
Neon Gum-Ball Jigs
Tournament Jig Kit
Plane Jig’n Spoons

 

 

 

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The best top water lures provide the visual aspect of fishing open water. Your lure is floating on, just at or just under the water surface. You get to see the fish take your bait and the sudden splash and line buzzing off your reel as the fish takes off will not be soon forgoten.  This works very well in spring for pike and walleye in the shallow water and I can see why Bass fishing has such a huge following.  It is the adrenaline rush that instantly brings every nerve and fibre in you to attention especially when you see the strike, feel the tug and hear your line singing. 

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With open water, comes spawning time for walleye and pike, so they move into the shallow bays and running streams to produce future fish. These fish do not completely shut down eating but the period just before spawn is the best time for fishing and finding fish in larger numbers and congregated in smaller areas.  All fish eat large amounts of frogs, dead or dying fish and small mamals. Pike also eat ducklings and small birds so any good top water lures will closely imitate these food sources.  Let us look at the most popular top water lures and the most popular method for using them the "Walk the Dog" system. Poppers, jerkbaits, buss baits, and floating minnows.

Pencil Cigar: Zara Spook, Super Spook Hardbaits and Super Spook Jr. Hardbaits
The oldest of top water lures or surface-plug designs and still one of the best. Introduced in 1939, the Zara Spook’s legendary ”walk-the-dog” top water lure action has been written about more than any other fishing lure.  Check in your grandfathers box you will probably find one or two and they may be worth quite a bit of money as collectors quickly snap up the originals. These lures pull in everything from freshwater bass to pike and even work on saltwater fish. The original Zara is easier to make walk the dog`than smaller versions but with practice all will work.

Poppers: Hula Popper and Pop’n Image Hardbaits
These top water lures and plugs are shallow water classics, perfectly suited to lily pads and weeds. Toss out a frog-pattern popper and let it sit motionless. Pop once and sit still. Twitch very gently to wiggle the soft skirt. Wait a bit and do it again. It’s a slow game of nerves between you and the fish. Be patient, and the fish will lose.

Blades: Floating Buzzbait, Torpedo Hardbaits, and Buzzbaits 
Noisey top water lures have one or two blades that whirl and chop the water. The torpedo style are a slow and easy fishing top water lure. These surface plugs still work well on the weed strewn top water both in frog and minnow patterns. Cast, watch, and listen to the glub-glubs as you slowly and steadily reel it back. Spinner and blade baits, well, they make a lot of commotion when reeled in either fast or slow. The vibration, water churning action are deadly attractants to the fish.

Floaters: Original Minnow, Yum Frog Softbaits, Walkin’ Frog, Mouse, Popper Fly
These top water lures are the true floaters, they float on the surface. Not only does the original floating Rapala work for walleye and pike but for all kinds of fish. Various sizes, but in basic minnow of black and silver or clasic perch work best. Frogs and Mouse are all best to fish these with an slow then fast pace, one second slow the next quick to make them dart. Let them sit then twitch the rod tip or sweep it forward a few feet and let the lure settle and remain motionless for a slow count to 10 then start process again.

Shallow Runners: Swim’n Image, Jointed Minnow, Shallow Shad
These really are not a true floating top water lure, but they do run 0 – 18“ below the surface. Best lures are again minnow and perch colors. Fish with a steady retrieve, mix in a few quick jerks to look like dying fish and hang onto your rod for that explosive run.

How To Walk The Dog:
Cast the lure, after it hit’s the water do nothing wait till all the ripples have disappeared, then give it a few tiny twitches, use a rhythmic, slack-line retrieve that makes the Zara Spook walk from left to right, back and forth. Let the lure stop and sit, then a quick jerk of you rods tip and reel in the slack and repeat, twitch-pause, twitch-pause, you can alter your speeds to help increase its effectiveness The Zara Spook’s plump profile is a tantalizing target for walleye and pike.

Safety:
Two things you never do is give it a hard jerk to move it or jerk hard to set the hook. Both, can have the lure come out of the water and either hook yourself or someone else in the boat. A big mistake is jerking to fast and to hard when you see the fish strike, do not jerk until you feel the actual weight of the fish. Be prepared to duck these lures when not fished safely will fly and they catch trees and fisherman as well as fish.

Other Top Water Lures:
Heddon Lucky 13
Tiny Crazy Crawler
Zara Spook Puppy
Snag Proof Casting Frog
Cordell Crazy Shad
Storm Chug Bugs
Rapala X-Rap Topwater
Rebel Magnum Pop-R

 

 

 

 

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Tackle is everything you tie directly to your fishing line, put on a snap swivel or a leader. Commonly called hooks and lures and are mostly used in recreational fishing. Hooks are the objects hung at the end of the line and they are designed to look like the prey of the fish that you want to catch. 

What is the difference between lures and hooks?  Lure is defined as an action to attract attention to tempt or bring something closer to you from where it was. Hooks are defined as an object used to catch, place or hold something on.

So if we apply these definition to fishing then, the lure is the method and consists of using color, flash, shape, movement, noise and vibration to entice the fish to bite or come after your bait.  Hooks then would be the physical body, metal, wood,  plastic or combination of and the sharp pointed needle like hook ends used to capture and hold the fish.  The physical sharp hooks can be found at the front, the back end or under the body.

 

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Fishing lures are not an invention of our times, early caveman may have used sharpened sticks or rocks, but after getting soaked and skunked most of the time, somewhere in this period the first BONE hooks were crafted. A fish hook will pierce the mouthparts of a fish and may be barbed to make escape less likely. Another method is to use a gorge, which is buried in the bait such that it would be swallowed end first. The tightening of the line would fix it cross-wise in the quarry’s stomach or gullet and so the capture would be assured.

The Chinese and Egyptians used fishing rods, hooks, and lines as early as 2,000 B.C. though most of the first fishermen used handlines. The first metal hooks were made out of bronze which was strong but still very thin and less visible to the fish. Like everything else as technology changes, fisherman demands, new ideas and plans so do lures and hooks. Today most are artificial they are made of plastic, wood, metal, rubber, cork. or manufactured materials in some way.

Lures 100% of the time catch the fisherman before they catch a single fish.  You have to select, purchase or be given it from somewhere.  There are thousands of lures manufactured every year, The Latest and Greatest, but they are purchased by…..Yep the first (fish..erman). The fishing lure is either tied with a knot, such as the improved polomar or clinch knot or connected with a tiny safety pin-like device called a "snap" onto the fishing line which is in turn connected to the reel. The reel is attached to a rod.

Lures still cannot catch fish until the fisherman finds a way to get the offer to the fish.  Fish live in water, they can breath in water, fisherman cannot. Enter the rod, reel and line. However, anglers still have to move the fishing lures,with motions that make the plastic or fiber material look like swimming fish food. The movement of the lure will also make light reflect and cause sound or vibrationsand attract the attention of the fish. The fisherman casts the line and the motion is created by winding the line back onto the reel. As well motion is made by sweeping the fishing rod, jigging movements with the fishing rod, stop winding and let sink or float, or by being pulled behind a moving boat (trolling). 

Types Of Lures:

Top Water: floaters they float on water looking very much like surface prey. Flies, basa wood plugs, hollow plastic baits, floater jigs

 

Spoons: Usually a metal and have treble hooks on bottom end, for under water surface but not on bottom, high flash.

 

Plugs or crank-baits: between surface and bottom, mostly trolling but retrieved faster to get swimming action, resemble bait fish

 

Jigs: a weight headed hook, designed to bounce off or near the bottom or in water area, usually baited with minnows or live bait.

 

Spinner baits: wire bent at about a 60 degree angle with a hook on the lower end and a spinner blade on the upper end

 

Swim baits:  minnow- like soft plastic bait that is reeled like a plug. Some of these have a swimming tail

 

Crawlers: and Harness: rigs with one or two hooks, beads, and blades, used to hold worms, minnows, leeches etc

 

J  Straight hooks: fish on the bottom using bait balls or in water using live or artificial bait.  

 

Advantages Of Todays Lures:

Manufactured in great quantities making them cheaper to purchase

Better materials and paint for closer to life imitations

New hook styles allow for better releases and less fish death

Fish faster and cover more water

Change color, shape, and size of the lure at a moment’s notice

 

More Information On:

Top Water Lures

Spoon Type Lures

Plug and Crank Bait Lures

Jigging Type Lures

Spinner Bait Lures

Swim Bait Lures

Crawler Type Lures

Bottom Use Lures

 

 

 

 

 

 

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WALLEY SIZE CHART
	AVGERAGE LENGTH		AVERAGE
AGE	Inches	cm	WEIGHT
1	5	14	0.2
2	8	20	0.4
3	10	26	0.6
4	12.3	31	0.9
5	14.2	36	1
6	15.5	39	1.3
7	16.3	41	1.6
8	17	43	1.8
9	18.7	47	2.3
10	19.1	49	2.6
11	19.8	50	2.9
12	20.4	53	3.1
13	21	54	3.4
14	21.5	55	3.7
15	23	58	4.5
16	24.2	62	5.2
17	25	64	5.7
18	25.6	65	6.2
19	26	66	6.4
20	26.2	66.5	6.6
21	26.5	67	6.8
22	27	69	7.2
23	27.8	71	8.2
24	28.5	72	9
25	29	74	9.5
26	29.5	76	10
27	30	76	10.5
28	30.5	77	11
29	31	78	11.5
30	31.5	79	12
30+	32+	80+	13+

 

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Help to Plan Your Next Fishing Trip

 

 

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Take a Kid Fishing, get them involved in an activity that is thousands of years old, and teaches them about tradition and respect for the space of others. Take a kid fishing and they will learn to be successful in life. You know your kids love to try new things they have been blessed with the same adventurous spirit as you. Fishing offers you a great way to spend time with your children and to create memories that will last a lifetime. There is an old Chinese proverb that states: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime". My slant on this proverb is “Teach a kid to hunt and fish, and make memories that last lifetimes.” Fishing is not just a summer sport, during winter kids and adults cannot get outside for the most part but you can take them ice fishing.

 

Teaching a kid to fish does not have to be difficult, if you follow the right steps:

 

PLAN Your Fishing TRIP:

Check the forecast for weather conditions now and for the afternoon.

 

Look for a vacation, lakes, fishing spots that have easily accessible rest rooms and a nearby playground.

 

Kids have short attention spans; bring some toys, kids will be happy fishing for 15 minutes and then playing for an hour along the beach.

 

Check on local by-laws for a fire, can you have a fire, can it be open or must it be in a pit."YAAHOOO"  Hot dogs and smores! You’ll be the "bestest dad, mom, etc." when you supply the foods and snacks they love, and a hot dog just does not taste as good from the stove as one cooked over flames. Just be saftey wise around fire.  

 

Make it a point to find some spots that will quickly reward you with fish, make a quick call to a nearby bait and tackle store, resort, lodge or outfitter to learn where they’re biting and what they are biting on. If you say you are planning a trip with (# of this many kids) all will be more than willing to help and you never know, you might even score a local guide for the kids. 

 

Target fish that once found will provide plenty of action and know the species you will be after. PERCH Tips. Don’t worry about technique and don’t be concerned about catching lots of big, trophy fish. A small perch or crappie is a major thing ("and like") a walleye or pike are monsters that legendary fishing stories are born from.

 

Don’t keep them out there all day, kids prefer to stay active, if the fish aren’t biting try skipping some rocks, water activities such as swimming, tubing, exploring the lake, stream or beach, digging for worms, making a picnic lunch, catching frogs, picking berries, playing pirates with hidden treasure to find or looking for or at various wildlife and plants.

 

You may also consider hiring a fishing guide; they get paid to catch fish!

 

Think safety first, water needs to be respected. Show your child how to act safely around water, in a boat or on a dock.

 

 

Use proper and reliable equipment:

Quality fishing equipment when you take a kid fishing is important to ensure that everyone has a positive trip. I recommend a Zebco 33 Rod and Reel Combo or a closed faced spin cast reel for new kid fisherman, it’s very dependable and nearly indestructible. Most kids can learn to push in button, hold as you swing and lift thumb when get all the way forward so line can go out. Similar to x-key makes jump, y-key makes run, ab-key makes fire.

 

Be patient with your kids as they learn to cast for the first time, if you do not let them practice expect to spend lots of time un-tangling, un-hooking, and un-fishing. Let them practice casting in the back yard with a rubber sinker attached. Make a game of it set out boxes at different lengths and assign points to putting it in box and closest to it.

 

Use a light rod not more than 5′6" long; any longer than that and they start struggling with control and hit everything with it including you, they sting. Remember, everyone has fun until someone gets poked with the stick.

 

If your reel did not come with line already on it, I would buy monofilament 8 – 10lb test, heavier line is difficult to cast, and I believe lighter line catches more fish.

 

A small tackle box of their own is a must have for every junior angler, after all they will want to trade hooks at least 700 times! Show them how to properly tie a fishing knot, tie on a snap swivel, makes those 700 hook change times easier.

 

Try to stick to single hook jigs and such try to stay away from treble hooks! There are way too many points to stick into too many different places, and too many different fishermen, THEY HURT! Taking YOU or Johnny to the emergency room instead of fishing is not good, and try loading up kids, tackle, equipment, toys, food and catch the "Dog" with a hook stuck in you. Funniest Home Videos, Here I Am!

 

You don’t need fancy equipment or a boat; fishing from a pier, dock or shore will do just fine.

 

 

Catch Some Fish:

Know A few tricks on how to catch the target fish, bring all tackle and multiple quantities needed for each technique. Each kid will want to try a different way, and if one catches a fish, of course expect ALL OF THEM to want a hook just like the one that caught the fish. 

 

When you catch any fish, STOP all fishing and show and teach the ways to identify and what that fish is.

Tips, Stratagies and Techniques:

Yellow Perch Information

Walleye Information

Sauger and Saugeye

Northern Pike Information

 

 

Handle, Keep or Release, Cleaning:
“Ewww, that`s gross,“ famous words from kids, when it comes to putting on bait, or taking off fish.

 

Don’t force kids to put on bait, to take off fish or touch the fish. Do it for them often this is the best teacher.  

 

Don’t worry about catch and release, but let them make the decision to keep the fish or not. Let them take their catch home to show friends, relatives and brag about. If releasing the fish show your child how to safely handle it and release it back into the water. Whatever the decision, praise them for learning a new skill.

 

Explain to them why they should let the big one go, use "These are the fish that make more fish, You want to catch more another time don’t you? Well if everyone keeps big fish like this eventually there won’t be any fish like this for anyone to catch.  It takes a lot of years to get this big, but you know what we can take a picture of you and your fish BEFORE we let it go, and we can also measure the fish quickly and look up how old and how much it weighs when we get home. How does that sound to you?"

Walleye Size Chart

Northern Pike Size Chart

 

Perch make a great fish to tteach how to clean. Of course you’re not going to let them use a razor sharp filleting knife, but Perch can be cleaned whole. See instructions on Cleaning Perch

 

 

Teach Them To Respect The Environment:

Teach them about conservation, keep only what you will eat,

don’t throw your excess bait into the lake,

pick up old discarded line,

don`t throw your pop can into the lake,

put litter in trash cans or take it home with you,

don`t leave a fire unattended and make sure the fire is out before leaving.

listen to nature around you and identify all sounds made by insects, birds, animals

try to spot and identify plants and animals not seen before

 

Capture the Memory:

No matter what size the first fish is get a PICTURE, it is worth a thousand words, and will establish the memory for decades to come. This is my first fish, when I went fishing with dad, this is what I caught with grandpa, your great grandpa taught me how to fish I have the proof and so on.  For proof just look at the picture with this article. Guess what that picture is the background for the computer he uses and of course a copy went to great grandma and grandpa to put on the digital picture frame. 

 

It’s never too early to show your love and appreciation for the outdoors, take this time to observe other creatures such as birds, deer flora and fauna, take pictures and talk about them. Whether the kid sticks with fishing or not, what matters, is capturing the memories to share with their friends, family, and with their kids. So take plenty of photos.  
 
Finally, fishing is an excellent opportunity to teach your kids, children imitate the adults, they love and respect.  Show them your best and make a good impression. Share in their excitement, taking a kid fishing will give you the chance to spend quality time with them, and this is worth more than all of the fun had.

 

 

 

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Walleye, one of the most sought after game fish in Saskatchewan. The word walleye brings up images of gold and green with a white tip, coming out of the quiet waters of a clear blue Canadian lake, with a loon sounding off in the distance. The second image is of a shore lunch with this mild and tasty fish, especially when caught and cooked up fresh.  The walleye is plentiful and found in lakes, rivers and streams across Saskatchewan and offers an exciting time catching them.

 

Walleye are also creatures of habit, once you know when and where they are in a specific spot or time, you can easily land several. In the spring, when walleye are spawning, and at night, these fish will head towards shallow areas, around rocks, fallen timber, sunken islands, slow current, backs of islands, choppy water near deep drop offs or along weed beds or along wind, swept shores. But walleye do not just allow an angler to reel them in without a fight. When they are feeding they may strike aggressively but most of the time they just suck in the lure and if you are not quick enough they can spit the lure back out faster than you think and if you have a dull hook you can loose your prize right at the boat or even before you get to fight them.  So what is the best way to catch these watery inhabitants. I personally recommend jigging for walleye as it is one of the most effective methods no matter what water body you are on.

 

There are several different types of jigging and each method is successful. Below are some of the ways with a brief explanation of each.

 

Vertical Jigging:

This method is best used if you are fishing over the edge of the boat straight down. Usually this is used once you have found the fish concentrated on specific structure or location.  This is a very good system, I use a slatter or bare jig tipped with minnows. I also use a plastic grub body on a 1/4oz jig tipped with beef heart or leech. Big thing is you want to use a longer hook shank, this is harder for fish to spit out before you set the hook and the smaller the better, easier for them to suck in. Remember if fishing in deep water around 30 feet you can not release these fish, reason usually fish from this deep the air sac bursts inside them from the pressure and the fish will die.

 

Pitching or Casting:

This method you can use, either from a boat or from shore. As the name implies you cast or pitch your jig out from the boat or shore into the water body. You want to let the lure sink to the bottom then slowly retrieve it. While reeling in the line you want to jerk or twitch it in about 6 inch pulls. This imitates a wounded or dying bait fish on the bottom giving last attempts to swim. Remember fish eat smaller fish, so the closer you can imitate that smaller fish the more likely you will catch the bigger one.

 

Trolling:

When on unfamiliar water or when fish just are not where you found them before, trolling is a good method to find walleye or feeding fish. A boat gives you mobility and flexibility to find that area where the fish are. Troll slowly, walleye are a close to bottom feeder most of the time so the closer you are to bottom the better.  To get your jig down use a heavier jig, use a weight about 6 inches in front of lure, or use a bottom bouncer rig.

 

TIP: On hot summer days, or when the sun is bright, walleye will head for deeper waters or for weed beds, cooler and overcast, find fish in open water, windy days or slight chop find fish along the blown shore where the waves break. Baitfish will get swept along or follow these drifts and some are disoriented or wounded by the pounding waves. Fish eat fish rule.

 

Drifting:

This is a modified version of trolling just that your boat is drifting with the wind pushing it no motor running. I like this technique especially if the wind is going along a nice long shoreline. I position boat about 15 feet from shore and let the wind move you down the length of the shore, then when get to end or very deep water start boat and head back to the beginning again.

 

Bottom Bouncing:

This method requires the use of a weighted bottom bouncing rig.  Most consist of a weighted wire rig and usually a floater jig or worm harness.  The wire keeps the the hook a specific height from bottom which the heavier weight gets you down to. Most use a ¾ or 1 oz weight.  But I have used and seen upto 3 oz weighted rigs. This rig works great in open water with sandy or pebbled bottoms but can get tangled up in weeds, timber and large rock bottoms.

 

Whatever jigging for walleye method you want to use, remember to keep your line tight at all times or use braided non stretch line. Remember, walleye don’t usually strike aggressively, preferring to inhale or suck in their food, if your line is too loose, you may not be able to feel a walleye strike.  Always keep your hooks sharp a dull hook is harder to set and either one is the main reason anglers miss a potential strike or loose fish right at the boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How To Fillet Walleye

Ahh-ha you followed some advice, went fishing and you caught some walleye, now you are wondering on how do I clean this fish? If you follow the steps below you will not only learn how to fillet a walleye, but you will also learn how to take all the bones out of walleye. So if you are ready, get your fish, a filleting knife and let’s go.

Step 1 Place walleye on cleaning surface with back towards you. Using fillet knife, lift fin and place knife on skin behind gill plate at same angle as gill opening. Cut straight down to back bone, be careful not to cut through the back bone.

 

 

Step 2 At backbone turn your knife so blade is facing towards tail and using sawing motion fallow back bone to about ¾ inch from tail. Be careful not to cut through back bone and all the way through the skin by tail.

  

Step 3 Turn fish carcass so that skin on fillet is skin side down on cleaning surface. Place filleting knife blade down on fillet about ½ inch from end and cut down through meat to skin. Be careful not to cut through skin. Turn knife and hold at 45 degree angle, now while keeping downward pressure on knife, slowly pull fillet toward you and wiggle back and forth at same time. Meat will separate from fillet. Place skinless fillet to side for time being .  

 

 Step 4

Place fish back on cleaning surface with belly towards you. Now follow steps 1 – 3 for this side of the fish. Congratulations you have just filleted a walleye. You can simply wash it thoroughly to get rid of blood and debris, but wouldn’t you like to have no bones in the fillet.

REMOVING THE BONES, when you look at the fillet you can see the row of bones just above the belly cavity. You could take a sharp knife and slowly follow the bones down and around the belly but for the little extra bit of meat the time to do so is not justified. Below is the way I remove all the bones. This works for Perch as well.

 

Step 5a

Get both fillets, now take one of them and place it in front of you, with the inside fish side up. Now, look at the belly you will see where the belly cavity ends and the bones begin. Take your knife and place on meat behind and on the meat side of the row of bones at the tail end of fish. Now, move knife to where the vent is and belly cavity begins, cut all the way through meat and cut and follow along the bones to where the head was.

 

Step 5b

Get other fillet and repeat above step5a when you get done both pieces you will have 4 pieces of fish 2 fillets and 2 scrap pieces with the bones in it. Throw the two scrap pieces out with the carcass and place the 2 boneless fillets in the sink to wash. Repeat all steps for all remaining walleye. When finished wash the boneless fillets, I roll them in my hands to get rid of all the blood, your fillets will be pure white when all blood is out.

 

 

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