tip-up fishing for walleye

[walldoggie]

-Anybody have any good secrets or non-secrets to tip up fishing for walleyes? I Seem to keep missing them they grab then run for ever stop and run somemore, then thats when i set the hook, or atleast try . So obivously I am doing something wrong. So What is it? lol. Any help as alway is APPRECIATED. I do use a 3-5 foot floro leader, is that to much to little?

[Fishin Beast]

3-5 foot leader is fine. I would recommend a top quality tip-up.

I have about 8 tip-ups and after a year or 2 alot of those tip-ups go bad and dont release line very smooth off the reel. Any tension it seems the walleyes will drop the rig. I set aside tip-ups for just walleyes and some for northerns.

Another tip is to not give them a chance to feel you when you pick up the tip-up.

One method my friend used with the tip-up that I would not recommend but it worked for him. Was he would grab the tip-up piece that spun(so the spool stopped and wouldn't release anymore line. Then he would grab the tip-up with the other hand and set the hook that way. That was for small walleyes and crappies, because they were biting real picky.

Againt I wouldn't recommend that way but it was very interesting watching him catch fish that way.

[Wables]

I keep my flouro leaders to about 2-3' of 10#. One thing that I do is keep spare tipups hanging above the heater in my shack. A fresh, warm, tip-up goes back down the hole, especially on the really cold days. Why? That wet line on the spool freezes solid while you are bringing in the fish, taking out the hook, etc. The next fish that takes the bait is going to hit a dead end. Another thing is to grease your tipups regularly, and don't use hooks bigger than you need. I also hook the minnow so the two free hooks on the treble are kinda facing the tail. The fish will try to swallow the minnow head first. This keeps the hooks from catching while he/she is swallowing, and positions the hooks for a good hook set.

ETA: When to set the hook is a combination of personal preference and voodoo magic. I don't even pick up the tip-up until that initial run is over. If it has stopped, or it is barely moving (even better) I pull the tip-up out of the hole and SLOWLY start bringing back line until I can feel a tad of resistance. I then nail him like Babe Winkleman...

Another thing - before you pull the tipup out of the hole, spin the spool a few times in the direction that it is moving. This creates some slack so the fish can't feel you pulling up the tipup.

[walldoggie]

Thanks for the Info guys I will keep trying. Hopefully I wont lose to many this year

[Walleye Guy]

I agree with the post above regarding grabbing the spindle. I always grab the spindle and yank hard when lifting the tip-up out of the water to clear ice out of the hole. I also do this when the flag is tripped and my depth indicator has only moved an inch or two from the spool. Last year I iced an additional 9 walleyes by doing this. Four of them were in one night when the flag was not even tripped.

You hear of stories where guys have watched fish on their camera grab a minnow without the bobber moving. This happens on tip-ups as well. Granted most of the time there will be nothing there. However there are times where you will scare away fish by playing around with the tip-up when clearing ice etc.

Giving the whole tip-up a yank right out of the whole doesn't take much energy and you will be surpised by the fish that are mearing sucking on the minnow.

Give it a try and good luck.

WG

[FL SNIPER]

I agree about a tip up getting froze up and not working properly. After playing a fish I immediately put the spool back in the water while I take off the fish and go get the minnows and rebait, even when i'm putting the line back down the hole....just so the spindle does not freeze up. Then I always pull out some line before resetting it just to make sure it is working properly and spinning freely. If it does not....a warm tip up goes down. Makes a difference that's for sure.

I also agree about using the the least amount of weight possible to keep your minnow down....especially with the walleyes.

[coldmark]

I missed a nice walleye on a tipup this weekend. Got it to the hole and he cut the line. Tried to reach in and grab him but he was gone. Proably 24" or so. Using Seagaur 10# Fluorocarbon.

I was so ticked off I decided to switch to steel leaders or tie the treble hook directly to the black line. Now that I've calmed down, I don't know what to do. Any advice on leader line? What if I just use steel in darker water? BTW, the reb trebles (#6) were working this weekend. As usual, it didn't matter if it was a suckers or shinner. -Marko

[TeddyBoy]

Quote:

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Giving the whole tip-up a yank right out of the whole doesn't take much energy and you will be surpised by the fish that are mearing sucking on the minnow.

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I recently switched to the circle type hooks and was told that instead of giving the ol yank on the line, I should slowly pull and let the hook do all the work. Supposedly these hooks will have a tendency to hook the fish in the corner of the mouth instead of on the lip. Is this true?

My technique has always been to slowly bring in the line if the t-bar is not spinning. If it is spinning, I will just grab on and pull.

[markkstanley]

You can use a thin wire as a leader. I use 10lb Tyger which can be tied using your usual knots as a leader. You could also use Surflon-Micro Supreme Wire as a leader. It's available from Cabelas. Haven't noticed that the walleyes care and haven't had a breakoff using either of these. I use it for open water and tipups. As for setting circle hooks don't rip it but for the first bit pull steady and FAST to set the hook. If you do the hard jerk you are likely to rip the hook right out of the mouth. Almost all your fish will end up hooked in the corner.

[bobO]

I would recomend a clear mono 10-20 lbs line. Use the heaviest pound line you think you can get away with.