Report: Willard walleyes and lead core line 07/29/05

[wiperhunter2]

Wiperslayer and I fished Willard today, we started sometime after 8:30am and fished until a little after 1pm.
We started off at the Feedlot by catching a few walleye, the first was caught on mono, using a deep diving crankbait but after that the lead core line was kicking butt using a Producer lure. The catching was steady all morning until the clouds left and the sun came out, there had also been a little chop on the water but that also left when the sun came out. We moved around for a while but only caught one more fish, so we left the area and tried a spot, North of the Island. We picked up two more eyes and then I noticed my kicker motor wasn't pumping any water. We decided to call it a day and as we reeled in we got a double, the third for the day. All in all a good day, we caught a total of 15 with two over twenty inches. WH2
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[Old_Coot]

[size 2][font "Comic Sans MS"][black]Nice report. You guys always make the best of a day at Willard.[/black][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black]Lead core and a Producer ... Hummmm. Yup, I gota see how it's done.[/black][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black]Sory to hear about your kicker. Hope it's just an impeller.[/black][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black]What kind fish and how many did your lead core setup catch and for how long did you use it?[/black][/font][/size]
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[utwalleye]

Hey Curt, sounds like you guys had one heck of a day, nice.
later chuck
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[wiperhunter2]

Here are a couple of pictures of our fish. We caught 8 wipers and 7 walleye, the lead core caught over half until the clouds left, then I switched over to mono for the last hour we were there. I mainly caught walleye with the lead core but I did catch a couple of wipers with it also. The picture with the stringer of walleye has me holding a 20 inch eye, I'm sure you can see how skinny it is. I sure hope something changes soon or we are going to see dead walleye floating at Willard. Not one of them had anything in their stomach.
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[Hellsangler69]

UMMM Walleye !! The eyes I caught earlier in the year were full of trout food . Midge lavae /worms . They do eat insects , I just hope they don't taste like trout for it . I always check the intake on fish I keep . Just don't bother with browns . They can have some disgusting[size 1] [/size]things in them like mice . Hope the food situation gets better for the eyes there .
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[Fishhound]

Hey there WH2,

I used lead line this week(Thursday) for a couple of wipers, walleyes and even a catfish as we drifted through the trough on the west side. As we were using the lead line, we had problems keeping it off the bottom unless we were going 3 + mph - I was wondering if we had too much line out, we were going too slow, or turning too much. It seemed like the line itself was on the bottom and depending on if the crankbait(producers,rapalas and walley divers) was a floater, suspender or diver. Anyway, we switched over to mono after a while and had about the same success as with the lead core.

When you guys were trolling, how many colors did you have out and how fast did you troll ? Were you using floating, suspending or diving baits ?

P.S. We tried drifting leadcore with a worm harness on the bottom and got some cats out of that method - have you ever tried that way ? If so, any suggestions to make it more productive ? We only got a couple of catfish from it, but I have heard that it can be very successfull if done appropriately - I am not sure if we did it right - it was "word of mouth" and I did not get any details before attempting it - I just "winged" it, cause it was a new method I hadn't tried before and sounded like it might work pretty well.
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[wiperhunter2]

Hey there Fishhound, how much line did you have out? Yesterday I had five colors out and we were trolling between 2.8 and 3mph in 21 foot of water. As soon as we would slow down to reel in a fish the lead core would start dragging but I never had a problem other wise. I was using a Producer lure but your right it does depend on the type of lure your using, a suspending or floating lure would be your best bet. I usually let out line until I start hitting bottom then I reel up until the rod tip stops bouncing. It would be a good idea to reel up another few cranks so the lure is a foot or so about the fish. I usually start by reeling up a crank at a time until I start catching fish, then all you have to do is remember the color your at. If the catching slows reel up a little or let out a little and see what happens. As far as catching catfish with a worm harness goes, it works the same way but you want to be closer to the bottom and remember you don't have to go slow to catch the cats they will chase the worm harness or lure if you put it in their face. You will need to keep a closer eye on the depth of the water because you will be fishing closer to the bottom. You might get a few snags if you don't keep a close watch on your rod tip and reel up when the rod tip starts hitting too hard. One other idea, don't try drifting with lead core unless the wind is blowing at a good clip, that is why trolling fast will work once you play around with it for a while. Good luck, I hope that helps. WH2
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[Fishhound]

Hey WH2,

Thanks for the response !

We were trolling with about 6 colors out at between 2.4 and 3.2 MPH in 20 + foot of water using Producers and other crankbaits. It seemed as though, while using the floaters and suspenders, the line dragged but the lures did not(especially when turning - which I probably do too much of while trolling). The divers on the other hand, did bounce along the bottom but we could only get about 3 colors out with them before they were hitting the bottom too hard for comfort. Interestingly however, the divers caught most of the fish - a couple, almost(in relative terms) right under the boat. Maybe it's my approach - I do the same kind of thing as you with my presentation, but, I kind of go the opposite way - I start trolling with one color out and then increase it as I go - to explore the different levels of the water column - depending on what I see on my fish finder. In other words, I start out on the top and then work my way down rather than go from bottom up. Sounds like your method might be more efficient during the summer months when lots of fish go deep.

With the worm rigs on lead core, we had only about one color out ( I have 27 pound lead core with a 6 + foot leader ) with the offering just tapping the bottom as we drifted - the lead core itself was not touching the bottom. There was only a slight breeze and we moving quite slowly. We did notice that the fish were caught after some waves(supplied by some "thoughtfull" and all too close water skiers) provided a distinct jigging action to our presentations. I am sure I don't quite have this technique down yet, and was wondering if you could maybe give me a little more insight ?
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[wiperhunter2]

I'm not sure what else I can tell you, it is just a matter of trial and error. I wouldn't use deep divers with lead core and I would reel up if you are dragging the bottom too hard. You should be able to catch fish with the deep divers on mono just by letting out more line. There is a chart that shows how deep a lure will run, when a certain amount of line is let out. Using lead core isn't magic but it is something that can work at times just don't expect it to work all the time. When you are drifting, I wouldn't use lead core, a bottom bouncer would be a better choice. If you have any specific questions I can answer let me know and good luck.
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