Free-wheeling jigging strategies for early season success. In the early weeks of the open-water walleye season, post-spawn fish disperse onto flats and along breaklines, where they put the feedbag on before heading off to their summer haunts. Baitfish are at a low point in abundance for the year, so hungry ’eyes often gorge on a variety of insect life
and anything else they can scrounge up off bottom.
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With the fish looking down for food, a jig tipped with a nightcrawler, minnow or artificial softbait like Northland Fishing Tackle’s IMPULSE Smelt Minnow is a deadly presentation. Northland’s new Swivel-Head Jig is especially hard to beat. Borrowing from bass fishing’s swing-head craze, it uses a barrel swivel to couple a flat-bottom football head with a size 2 Crawler Hauler VMC hook. |
The result is a free-swinging leadhead that combines the unrestrained action of a live bait rig with the total control of a jig. It’s also easier for walleyes to inhale than standard fixed-hook designs, and the jig’s flat bottom resists snags and foulings better than round heads. The Swivel-Head excels for vertical jigging, particularly in light current. Thanks to the barrel swivel, you can hold the jig in place and let the flow impart action to the trailer. In still waters, you can animate the bait with subtler strokes than standard leadheads. Traditional vertical jigging is fine when walleyes are concentrated in one area, but horizontal tactics are best for covering water in search of fish. Trolling and drifting produce walleyes over sandgrass beds, along emerging weedlines and on large flats. |
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In fact, when you rig a minnow sideways on a Swivel-Head (going in the mouth, out the gill and back through the body, so the minnow lies on its side) the tipping twirls like a spinner blade, giving off a great natural silver flash. Water depth largely dictates the amount of letback. I long-line in clear shallows and shorten the tether in deeper water. A short leash gives you great control for following contours and edges. Fished in such a manner, the Swivel-Head allows you to easily adjust to depth changes, even with multiple lines. |
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Deep or shallow, a 7-foot, 2-inch, medium-light graphite spinning rod such as 13 Fishing’s Muse Gold MG S72ML, strung with 6- to 8-pound mono, offers the perfect combination of strength and sensitivity for detecting light bites and delivering rock-solid hooksets to early season walleyes. |
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Based in Walker, Minnesota, noted fishing authority and outdoor communicator Chip Leer operates Fishing the WildSide, which offers a full suite of promotional, product development and consultation services. For more information, call (218) 547-4714 or email Chip@fishingthewildside.net