what was I doing wrong?

[adamr]

Listen to this one. Just fished the walleye masters tournament on traverse lake today. We caught fish sat and monday with 1/4 to 3/8 jig and minnow pitching to shore fish were in about 1 to 2 fow. Today fished seamed to be caught in 4 to 6 . But we only caught 1 fish. The guy that worked the same shoreline in another boat next to me caught over 10 walleyes. I trolled for 4 hours in his exact path 20 feet away for 4 hours. It didnt matter what color he put on or 1/8 or 1/4 once he realled slow and I tried to do the same. It seamed as if he was snagged way more than me? He had mono I had that new stealth braided in 6 pound which should cut the water better and run deaper. unless I had a 3/8 I could not feal bottom and the wind blew very had which wouldnt let me keep my line tight on the litter jiggs. The bit is very lite almost like there just sucking on it. Im not sure how the guy finished hopfully top ten. 1 guy came in with three fish for twenty some pounds one 9 and one 10 and one smaller. Said he picked them up pulling plugs Anybody have any idea what I did wrong? thanks in advance

[slovene]

You relied too much on one pattern and, when that didn't produce, you ate it. Next time do a little more homework and find backup patterns/plans to go to when Plan A doesn't pan out. Your biggest one mistake, judging from your post, was fishing in one spot for 4 hrs., and only catching one fish. No matter what the other guy was doing, I would've moved on. Remember that somedays the fish that were there yesterday may not be there today, i.e. moved, negative, etc. That is why backup spots/plans can sometimes save your day or tourney.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Agreed. If what you're doing isn't working, change what your doing. Fish move, go negative, want a different color, want a different size, etc. I've seen it time after time, anglers sit in the same spot doing the same thing and get frustrated that they arn't catching fish. If what you're doing isn't working, change what you're doing.

[JohnMickish]

One thing you didn't metnion what what kind of rod you where using vs what the other boat was using. I'm not saying it's th case here but there are some fishing rods that have a better feel for light jigs than other rods.

[gregg52]

Agree...fihing memories not a good idea I never fished out there But just for a example I live real close to Gull(brainerd lakes) I ve never been albe to duplicate a pattern out there in the same spot 2 days in row Winnie and Mille Lacs alittle more constancy but still nothing ever seems to stay the same very long in fishing

[adamr]

I was using to different rods a med heavy and a medium. The thing is the fish were there when we were there because the guy in the other boat caught them all day. But he was snagged way more so why was his lure getting deeper when mine wasn't. Or could it be that he had mono p-line vrs my stealth braided. I tied directly to the jig the water was very dirty, do you guys run a mono leader? Do you guys think that the braided 6 pound with a 1/8 jig was causing some float not letting my jig get low enough were the fish were. I also used some 3/8 that I know were hitting bottom but still no bites.

[goblueM]

color, presentation, feeling the bite - there's a million ways.

You keep saying you trolled for 4 hours... that's slightly different than jigging, so I dunno man. Sounds like you should have switched spots and tactics til you found something that worked, instead of trying to hijack someone else's spot

[Borch]

Sounds to me based on your description he was working his jig much slower. Thus it was working deeper. Also sounds like he was letting the bait "rest" of the bottom and at times he would get hung.

[BobT]

One thing you didn't metnion what what kind of rod you where using vs what the other boat was using. I'm not saying it's th case here but there are some fishing rods that have a better feel for light jigs than other rods.

I've often wondered too if the rod action can have a subtle affect on jig action. Two guys using the same line type, same jig color, same jig size, same presentation method but one has a softer more flexible rod tip than the other and one catches more fish. Softer tip may slow the acceleration on the lift compared to the stiffer rod tip and that makes the difference. The other way around could be the difference as well.

Also, were you using minnows? I've heard some guys claim to have better luck using female minnows over male.

[adamr]

yea jig and a minnow how do you tell what gender a minnow is? also trolling meant trolling along the shore and casting to shore.

[Sandmannd]

I would have moved around more. Just becuase someone around you is catching doesn't always mean you are going to. You have to move around a lot of you aren't catching.

[whitetips]

Sometimes braids are visible, and being a tourney I would guess his was fluorocarbon which sinks, someguys also at this time, use a real small silver crane swivel that adds flash. His bait may have been fresher or a piece of gulp added on. As a former tourney guy, that is up to to you to figure that out. Somedays its the little details. Could be red hooks and stingers. But following someone else means your fishing behind his success. Not to smart since he caught active fish before you. I would probably have jumped ahead or a different spot because tournaments are about mental awareness and because you were watching him ment your concentration was off of fishing correctly so he started to get at your head alittle and you got frustrated.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

White tips is onto something, that boat was ahead of you picking up the more active fish. Could be anything subtle, odor on your hands or carried over from wherever you got your bait from vs what the other guy was using. Speaking of for jigging I was always taught to seek out male minnows and for bobber or lindy rigging use females, that's what someone told me once

[JohnMickish]

Do you know the guy in the other boat to see what rod he was using? Can I ask what rods you have? Like you said, the fish where there so you did the right thing and stuck around and this isn't about what you should have done, it's what went wrong.

Bob T hit it. The other boater was snagged because he was on the bottom, fishing slower with more than likely a smaller jig, fishing where the fish where. I'm not going out on a limb here saying that jigging is the most important time to have the best, most sensitive rod you can afford. If you where trying to use 1/8 ounce jigs on a medium or medium heavy rod, the rods where to stiff.

You need a rod that has a light, sensitive tip that will allow you to both feel what the jig is doing but also allow you to visually monitor the light bites. The light tip will also help keep the trajectory low when casting those light jigs in the wind. The right rod will also have enough backbone to power a punishing hookset and control the fish.

The rod I use for that exact situation is a G. Loomis IMX SJR721. Check the specs on it, I think you'll like it. I also use 8 lb fireline crystal tied directly to the jig unless the water is gin clear,then I use a short leader.

[adamr]

thanks for advice guys. I will check on that rod your probably right my rod was to heavy and p-line is a flourcarbon which is what he was using. This is exactly why I even enter the tournament thou is to learn from better fisherman so I can improve my skills, plus it makes you fish and pre fish no matter what the weather conditions next year g-loomis rod and flourcarbon line. It never ends!

[JohnMickish]

A guy dosen't have to make the big jump to the quality of G. Loomis or the Legend series of St. Croix right away. There are many rod manufacturers that offer high quality rods at less of a cost. It's not such a bad idea to do it in steps, it's alot easier on the wallet or in these economic times find someone who is liquidating their good stuf and you can save a bundle!

[adamr]

you know in the morning I smeared sun screen on my face then washed my hands in the lake than touched some gulp which I thought should help get rid of the sun screen smell off my hands. What do you guys do? do you think sun screen adds a negative smeal im sure it doesn't help. Ive seen those neutral soap bars for sale before do they work?

[PerchJerker]

There could be a million things going on but here are my best guesses ......

You said it was a light bite. I would take copolymer or flouro or mono for a shallow bite and a light bite any day over braid.

I know you said it was windy but 3/8 sounds really heavy to me, I agree with the idea to stick with lighter jigs.

It's hard to say about your jigging technique vs. the other guy, or about the rods you were using. But it's obvious that he was doing something different than you, or doing it better than you, or both. Practice and experiment to get better at catching fish.

I don't necessarily agree with the idea that you were too tied to 1 spot or 1 technique. If you got fish there in practice and saw fish caught there during the tournament then the fish were there, you just didn't catch them. This is tournament fishing, where a few bites can make the difference between a great day and a bad day. There's also the saying that you don't leave fish to go find fish. If you ran all over the lake and blanked then you would have kicked yourself for leaving fish. It really depends on what else you had going in practice if anything, and/or the adjustments you make during the tournament based on what was happening out there. Your adjustments (if you made any) obviousely didn't work, but that doesn't automatically mean you should go find other fish.

[whitetips]

Sunscreen is a tourney guys worst nightmare, I've had a few Ams that were so loaded i almost wanted to throw them over.

My best advice on a type of sunscreen that works real good, I believe its 50 pwr too. Its a FLW sponsor too. That would be the Banana Boat. Orange tube. It has a Lindy Hand soap smell to it so it does not seem to bother the fish to much, A small bottle of Gulp spray would be a real good idea and rub your hand in it.

Probably was your killer for the day. Keep working it will pay off.

[cvanderweyst]

I recently read an article that said in some cases mono is better for jigging. It stated that with a super line or nonstretch braid that a fish that bit nuetral would feel you before you had a chance to realize it was a bite. This would cause the fish to spit the jig or short bite it. They went on to explain that with mono, a fish will pick up the jig nuetral, this is when the angler is fishing and the fish is "just there" without feeling the bite.

[itchmesir]

Personally.. you probably shouldn't be in tournaments if you have to follow in tow with other anglers to try and copy what they are doing to catch fish..

secondly.. if something doesn't work SWITCH.. its obviously not working for one reason or another..

[JohnMickish]

Don't get to hung up on the mono Vs. braid thing right now since it really depends alot on what rod you are using. You need a rod that is going to allow you to feel what is going on with the jig weights you are using.