It wasn’t just that the line
paid out through the hole in the sinker, the shape of the unique sinker
allowed it to be dragged through obstructions with a much lower rate of
snagging than other lead sinkers. It has always been the adage, that if you
weren’t losing jigs or rigs in the snags, you probably weren’t fishing where
the fish are and to a large extent, that is very true. Well, I’m afraid the
day has come when we put that old adage to bed and need to find a new one. The
reason is because Lindy, the company that first invented the walking sinker
live bait rig, has now developed a walking sinker that is virtually snag free.
In fact it’s called the Lindy No-Snagg sinker. I have personally watched this
sinker in tanks and with underwater cameras as it was dragged into rock
crevices, through tree limbs, and every manner of snag filled area, only to
come through it without ever having to be popped off or snapped to free it.
The Lindy No-Snagg sinker is one of those devices that without a doubt is
going to put more fish in the boat because you’ll be able to fish areas that
hence had been unfishable and you won’t spend all that down time retying after
you had to break off.
Now that we covered that,
let’s talk some about how to properly fish a live bait rig and what its
applications are. Situations ideal to live bait fishing are typically when
fish are structure oriented in anywhere from 15 to 50 feet down. Don’t think
of these as limiting numbers, because I’ve caught fish on Lindy Rigs in 2 feet
and 70 feet, but generally, that’s where they shine. Shallower than 15 feet,
I’d generally be considering pitching crankbaits like Shad Raps and Husky
Jerks.
Now the Lindy Rig itself is
simply a snap swivel, leader and hook. The leader is typically 3 to 4 feet in
length, but some situations call for up to 10 feet. The hook is a matter of
personal preference and bait selection. My personal preference is to use
Gamakatsu live bait hooks in either size2, 4 or 6. I use Gamakatsu brand
because their the sharpest hooks made, and I’ve boated a ton of fish that are
barely hooked that I am confident that I would have never stuck with an
inferior hook. As to size, I use #6 for leeches, #4 for crawlers, and # 4 or
#2 for minnows, depending on the size of the minnow. Weights can vary anywhere
from .25 to 1 oz. Again, weight is dependent on depth fished, wind conditions
and size of bait. In short, if the bait is larger, the depth gets deeper or
the wind picks up to the point you can’t feel the sinker, you need to get
heavier.
One of the indicators that I
have found useful, is the line angle of my presentation. By maintaining a line
angle of about 15 degrees to vertical, I have good control of my bait and am
in proper position most times for a hookset. Once you get beyond that, you
begin to lose contact with your sinker and there is quite a bit more line to
take up on the hookset, thereby diminishing your chances of sticking the fish
that picks up your bait.
When I get on the water and
am confident it’s going to be a live bait bite, the first thing is to find the
fish. When I get over a potential structural element, I slow down my Mercury
225 Optimax so that my Ranger 620 is just barely on plane. Then I turn on
feature called revelation on my Bottom Line Champion NCC 6500 and watch for
fish. The revelation feature is a computer feature built in that will show me
fish that are sucked belly to the bottom that other depthfinders miss. Once
I’ve located some fish, then it’s time to shut down the big Mercury Optimax
and start my finesse presentation.
In order to present and fish
properly, we need to be geared properly. Shimano has just developed a new rod
series known as the V series of rods and the VSA66M in that series is by far
the best live bait rod I have ever had the privilege to pick up. It is a 6’6"
medium action spinning rod with an extra fast taper. I team this with a
Shimano Sustain reel with instant anti reverse and spool it with 8 lb. test
Stren Magnathin in Moss Green. The moss green is lo-vis but the Magnathin is
high strength.
Now I lower my Minnkota
Maxxum trolling motor and my Ranger 620 has transformed from a boat into a
fishing platform. With the trolling motor, I am actually going to be using the
action of my Ranger to present the bait to the fish. Choosing my bait is
usually a matter of season. Generally minnows are used in cold water
situations while crawlers and leeches are warm water baits. Having made my
bait decision, I’ll open the bales on my Sustain reels, (I am generally
fishing two rods, one in each hand off each side of the boat), and drop the
bait all the way to the bottom. Instead of closing the bales on the reels at
that point, I simply pick up the line in my index fingers.
Now I begin moving about the
structure with my Minnkota trolling motor while concentrating on my rod tips
and maintaining contact with the bottom and my Lindy No-Snagg sinker. A
Walleye hit at this point is usually just a tick or a sensation of weight. The
moment you sense this, drop the line from your finger and point your rod tip
at the fish.
There are a number of
different adages about how long to let a fish munch on the bait before setting
the hook and really what it boils down to is the experience you get on a daily
basis. Some days you need to hit them right away and others you need to time
them all the way out to 5 minutes. As a starting point, I generally let the
fish run as far as he wants until he stops. Once stopped, I’ll wait a bit and
if he hasn’t started to move off again, I’ll let him have it. If he has
started to move off after his pause, I’ll nail him right then. Setting the
hook when live bait rigging takes some feel also. Generally what I want to do
is move my boat toward the fish while taking up slack in the line. When I get
to a point where I can feel the weight of the fish, I’ll reel all the way down
until my rod tip is almost in the water and then sweep my rod up and away to
take up the remaining slack and set the hook.
Some things that can affect
how long you let the fish run are, how large is your bait, how heavy is the
fishing pressure, are you post cold front? All those scenarios would cause me
to allow the fish to have the bait a bit longer.
So, there’s some insight
into one of the deadliest Walleye tactics available still, Lindy Rigging. I
can’t urge you enough to get yourself some of the new Lindy No-Snagg sinkers,
simply because I know it’ll help you boat more fish and make your day on the
water more fun. I hope to see you on a lake somewhere, Lindy Rigging a point
or hump right next to me. Good Luck! I’ll see you on the water!
