how long do you let them run?

[beretta]

Heres a dumb question for you guys. I dont fish walleyes much, usually stick to crappies. I was out last night fishing walleyes. I was jigging a angel eye with a minnow head and then on my second line I had a shiner and a plain hook under a bobber. The shiner was getting hammered while the angel eye wasnt doing anything. I had over a dozen hits and only landed two. When I set the hook, they would be there for 3-5 seconds and then get off. I had little shiners and let them run for about 15 seconds. What was going wrong? Do you let them run longer than that? The only other thing I can think of is that my hook was dull?? Thanks for any help you can give me.

[riverrat56]

what size of hook were you using? if the bite was agressive ( which it doesnt sound like it was with the jig not getting hit ) you could try a bigger hook. try to make sure the bobber is still going down as you set the hook, the time you let them take it is plenty long but i have waited longer on really finiky fish. im thinking maybe they were just mouthing the bait or they were starting it spit it out when u set the hook? maybe try a smaller bobber so they feel less resistance? did you ever try setting the hook right away? that works sometimes. i dunno im just throwing out ideas but ill stop now.

[beretta]

Thanks for the reply. I was using #4 hooks. I will keep all of this in mind. I think it was a combination of these things, maybe a dull hook, and inexperience. thanks again

[MrSenarighi]

First of all, if you do not have a hook hone, get one. Sharp hooks are crucial when fishing anything. Even check the hooks when you buy new ones because some do not come sharp. Also, make sure you have a decent amount of hook and gap exposed when you hook your bait. And don't be afraid to set the hook hard. If you have them on for a little bit, this could be one other issue. You have done the hardest thing by locating the fish, now all you have to do is fine tune your approach. Good luck.

[Mike Walerak]

It may be how you are hooking your minnows. If I am hooking them ahead of dorsal fin, I hook them with the with the hook facing the head rather than hooking the minnow perpendicular.

mw

[korn_fish]

#4 kahle style hook, hooked like Mike indicated. I don't see a walleye really "run" with the bait. Rather they take it the 6"-12" down to the bottom and sit. Once they stop and start going again is when I set the hook. If the bobber is down and to the side of the hole, then it moves to a different side or around the edge of the hole, they are turning and a perfect time to set the hook.

I hardly ever set the hook when they first take the bobber down.

[beretta]

Thanks for the help guys. I was using #4 gamagatsu's (sp?). Korn_fish: it would be hard for me to do this because when they hit it, they would take it under the ice and off to the side so that I couldnt see it, so I couldnt tell if it was moving or not. Thanks guys, I am hoping to get out again tomorrow and I will report back to tell you if any of these tips helped.

[LocalGuide]

I would make sure the gap on the hook is turned to the side a little bit that will help your hook ups. One other thing is to take a pliers and open up the gap a little bit. That way on a deeper mouth hooked fish the hook will grab on the roof of its mouth instead of maybe sliding past it.

[Jumbolaya]

You positive they were all walleye hits?

[Riverratpete]

Normally I like to let them take the bobber all the way down the hole (during the day) and a 10,000 to 20,0000(at night) count then..CROSS THEIR EYES!

[bigbucks]

I guess I think pretty close to this post. I'm not opposed to kahle hooks, but I don't necessarily use them. If I'm fishing fatheads or crappie minnows under a bobber I take them any time they're holding the bobber under consistently or any time they're going down. With sucker or shiner minnows I generally will wait until they've taken the bobber under the bottom of the ice. If they stop I usually wait until they move off with it & then set the hook, hard. If they just keep going without stopping I usually take them fairly soon, when they do stop later on it seems like they spit it quite often.

[mrwalleye_13]

depending on bite/ minnow size i take it pretty much right away... and hardly ever loose them. But i cant usually tell they have actually inhaled it and not just nipped it to inhale it in a few more seconds. It all depends, but thats my 2 cents.. most of these guys know more about this topic than i do.

[Farley]

Pretty much always take them on the run.

This is why I like rattle reels, you can be lying there in the dark and tell excatly how fast the fish is moving, how far they are going, when they stop\start. A lot of my buddies dont like rattle reels because you have to do the hand over hand thing but rattle reels are the way to go.

[icehousebob]

An old timer taught me that Walleyes can clamp down on a bait and lure so hard that when you set the hook, it sometimes isn't penetrating the fish.They hold on a while and then let go. His suggestion was use a stiffer rod,SET the hook and sometimes set it twice.

[Jim Hudson]

I personally havent seen this, but a good friend of mine who fishes for a living, told me he has watched walleyes on an underwater camera actually come up to a minnow and just grab the thing by a fin or the tail. The walleye would hold onto it for awhile, where the minnow would be finning hard to get away and the fish would then drop it.

He told me this after I experienced a situation on Tuesday where I would watch my minnow under a bobber or on a deadstick really start to get agitated. The funny thing was the bobber or line was in one spot the whole time as the minnow was freaking out. A couple times, I gently lifted the rod tip and there was resistance on the line and then after a few seconds of this pressure the resistance was gone. I never did check the minnow after this happened to see if there was any marks or what have you.

But my point is, sometimes, I guess it doesnt matter how long you let them run. lol. Fish I tell you!!!

[icehousebob]

JKH, I haven't seen Walleyes do it on a camera, but I know it happens. Several times when the bite is light, I've jigged with a whole head-hooked minnow and only reeled in the front half after a hit. It happens a lot when throwing jigs in the summer. Now, in the winter, I almost always just use the minnow head, and sometimes add a trailer hook.

[Traxxx]

My biggest problem when I first started was not reeling up til I felt the fish. Now I rarely lose fish. I usually let it run just a few seconds for small to medium minnows and a couple more for bigger minnows. Reel, Feel and Seal the Deal.

[Farley]

Freakin' walleyes, always looking for a free meal.

let them take it, take it, take it, digest it, [PoorWordUsage] it out, then hook them in the buthole.

[Maximum12]

Beretta, great topic. I've been known to miss a lot of fish, & I think I know why now. A couple of weekends ago I managed to land one of the first SIX fish I hooked. It was ugly. I pick up a bad habit & it takes me a half-dozen misses to stop doing it.

[bigbucks]

Okay I'll bite... (bad pun) What's the bad habit?

[2dalake]

I'd echo the earlier post about where you hook them. Once through the back ahead of the dorsal works best for me but it's not the way my Dad taught me. Lotsa fisherman still hook through the tail.

[dsludge]

I usually check the line after the bobber is gone. I leave the bail open and "feel" with my fingers on the line for activity. If there's a tug, I set it quick. If I don't get a tug on the other end, I wait until the line moves through my fingers, then set it and reel.

Don't forget to set your drag loose for light biters, or at least twist it loose during the retrieve. An over-tightened drag can cost you fish.

Also, with crappies, a hard set will rip right through that "paper-mouth" - better to keep the line tight without a hook set.

dsludge