Erie
Walleyes Take Ice Spoons
By James Chamberlin
|
When
the Walleye Capital of the World gets safe ice, top-notch
ice anglers turn to spoons to entice hungry eyes. That doesn’t
mean they won’t use a jigging rap, a blade bait or
even a minnow on a tip-up, it’s just that they know
spoons will attract and catch more fish consistently.
On the many outings out onto Brest Bay and Kelly’s
Island the mass majority of successful anglers that I came
into contact with were equipped with a jigging rod and a
large percentage of the Walleye jiggers were using spoons.
To get good at jigging a spoon, you have to be committed
to mastering the technique and not give up. Success will
come, you just need to put your time in and if success comes
quickly it certainly makes it easier. On most waters coming
up empty does help eliminate water and narrow down your
search when looking for fish, but on Erie these fish move
and sometimes are not accessible due to little or no ice.
Remember, Erie has currents and warm water discharges from
power plants that all factor in when locating fish.
Spoons attract Walleye naturally putting flash and vibration
into the water. This has proved over my tenure on Erie to
grab the attention of fish a long way off and bring them
in for at least a look. Regardless of whether you hook up
or not you can use the spoon along with a flasher like the
Vector and an underwater camera to find out if there any
fish cruising an area, and what kind of mood they happen
to be in. In all my experiences, if I see more than one
fish in a school, then the fish seem to compete for the
bait and you are almost guaranteed a hook up. It’s
when you’re only seeing single roaming fish, that
they seem to be selective and not biting.
What you’re trying to accomplish with the spoon is
a presentation that resembles a school of dying minnows
or baitfish, a.k.a. an easy meal. Walleyes are known for
taking advantage of easy pickings, and this is why spoons
are so productive. The basic technique includes dropping
the lure to the bottom and reeling up the slack so the bait
suspends just off the bottom, and then giving it a quick
snap up with the rod tip and then letting it free fall back
while following and keeping the slack line out. From there
it is up to you to adjust your presentation to entice the
fish. As you watch your electronics, pay attention to the
Walleyes reaction when jigging the spoon. Every day is different
so, do not get into a rut by jigging the spoon the same
on every outing. If you don’t have any electronics,
pay attention to other anglers in the area.
There are a couple of different basic spoon styles that
are perfect for jigging. I prefer heavier lures like the
Northland Tackle Buck-shot Rattle Spoon, Little Cleo and
the Swedish Pimple; these spoons get down the hole quickly
and prove to be the go to bait and a steady producer all
season long. It is hard to beat a heavier spoon, especially
one with a rattle. The Buck-shot attracts fish just about
everyway possible, which makes it a terrific go to lure.
In almost every situation you’ll have to tip the spoon
with some meat. Erie requires more meat than most other
lakes. Most lakes, a small minnow or part of a larger one
works the best, but not in Erie. If you are using a spoon
with a treble hook, one minnow on each of the hooks produces
more fish than just a single minnow.
To give the spoon the desired action, use rods that have
stiffer tips that allow you to snap the bait instead of
just pulling it and that means medium or medium heavy actions.
My personal favorite is a thirty-six inch medium-action
spinning rod that’s loaded with eight-pound test monofilament
line. Good luck and we will see you on the water. |
|
|
