02-01-2008, 01:41 AM
When I was a young man I used to fish all night long with my Fenwick Lunker Stik and my Ambas
eur reel. I knew of a shoal that would be frequented by big walleyes (7 to 12 pounders). I would quietly paddle into casting range and toss out my 7" floating Rapala with all hooks removed save for the tail hook. Every big walleye that I caught was hooked on that tail hook. With the other hooks removed it eliminated fouling on the cast. The front hook would often tangle with the middle hook so it was the first to go. after catching a couple of brutes in 3 feet of water I would have to leave to troll for awhile. This would give the fish an opportunity to settle and re-enter the area. I would often take a good fish on the troll and these were all hooked on the tail hook as well.
When i fished this general area in the daytime I would put the middle hook back on because the pike liked to slam the lure from the side. The length of the rapala minnow was definitely a factor in eliminating bite-offs. I still have one of those 7 inch Rapalas that is full of teeth marks.
I have some thin flexible piano wire and being a musician I also have old thin wire strings from my guitar. A swivel on one end and a snap swivel on the front could transform a 6 inch piece into a leader. Think I'll give that a try.
TubeN2,
Do you have bluefish and barracuda on the California side? Have you used any of that knottable wire that they sell for toothy saltwater fish? (name escapes me at the moment)
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eur reel. I knew of a shoal that would be frequented by big walleyes (7 to 12 pounders). I would quietly paddle into casting range and toss out my 7" floating Rapala with all hooks removed save for the tail hook. Every big walleye that I caught was hooked on that tail hook. With the other hooks removed it eliminated fouling on the cast. The front hook would often tangle with the middle hook so it was the first to go. after catching a couple of brutes in 3 feet of water I would have to leave to troll for awhile. This would give the fish an opportunity to settle and re-enter the area. I would often take a good fish on the troll and these were all hooked on the tail hook as well. When i fished this general area in the daytime I would put the middle hook back on because the pike liked to slam the lure from the side. The length of the rapala minnow was definitely a factor in eliminating bite-offs. I still have one of those 7 inch Rapalas that is full of teeth marks.
I have some thin flexible piano wire and being a musician I also have old thin wire strings from my guitar. A swivel on one end and a snap swivel on the front could transform a 6 inch piece into a leader. Think I'll give that a try.
TubeN2,
Do you have bluefish and barracuda on the California side? Have you used any of that knottable wire that they sell for toothy saltwater fish? (name escapes me at the moment)
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