Night fishing on the bottom

[WBLJason]

Hi all-

New to Walleye fishing, but anyways I fish off a pier and generally just use a slip bobber with a jumbo leech for walleye, but it seems I don't always have the best luck getting the bobber set at the right depth (12" off the bottom).. So - I have decided this weekend that I will fish off the bottom from the pier and night. What sort of presentation is best for still bottom fishing? I have heard of floating jig heads / things that will hold the leech up right off the bottom. Will this be the best way to do it? What sort of set up will work best for me? Fishing 10' or so of water.

Thanks for all suggestions!!

[nofishfisherman]

What I would do is put a small split about 2 feet up your line and then put a slip sinker on just above the split shot. Then put a floating jig head on the end of your line with a leech, worm, or minnow.

This will set up with the slip sinker on the bottom with the floating jig head floating about a foot off the bottom. The weight of your bait will keep it from floating up to the max point of 2 feet above bottom. When the fish takes the bait it should be able to pull line off your reel without feeling any tension from the slip sinker (make sure it is free spooling). When it takes some line you should start reeling down slowly until you feel that all important taping of the fish then WHAMO you got it, set the hook and fry it up.

Depending on how light the bite is you may need to give it a good amount of line. And sometimes it will just start screaming off your reel before you can react to it. If it does that you probably got yourself a hammer handle.

Just watch the line and when it starts going out and tightening up you have a fish on the other end.

[Bruce Mosher]

The best thing I have ever used is the Foam Walker. I rig it in this order - Foam Walker, Red Bead, Snap swivel, 3' leader to a Red Gamagatzu Hook and I put a piece of my small Ice Buster bobber foam (cut approx 3/8ths inch) with a leech or minnow. The Foam Walker doesn't ever tip over , The Foam on the hook keeps my leech just off bottom and the leech fights against it and entices strikes. Works great!! Then you can cast it out a ways let it hit bottom, reel a few feet, let it sit awhile etc etc. Have fun, Bruce Mosher

[nofishfisherman]

I have heard of these foam walkers, I will have to give it a shot sometime.

Really there is probably 100 way sto rig something very similar to what we are all talking about. Play around with different methods and you will probably come up with the 101st idea that will work. Putting a red bead and or using red hooks can be a definte advantage as well.

[Borch]

Quote:

---

Hi all-

New to Walleye fishing, but anyways I fish off a pier and generally just use a slip bobber with a jumbo leech for walleye, but it seems I don't always have the best luck getting the bobber set at the right depth (12" off the bottom).. So - I have decided this weekend that I will fish off the bottom from the pier and night. What sort of presentation is best for still bottom fishing? I have heard of floating jig heads / things that will hold the leech up right off the bottom. Will this be the best way to do it? What sort of set up will work best for me? Fishing 10' or so of water.

Thanks for all suggestions!!

---

I generally set my slip bobber so that I'm off botton anywhere from 1-4 ft(sometimes more). Walleyes do like to feed up especially at night when they are more active. So don't get too hung up on the 12" off bottom. A lighted slip bobber is hard to beat presentation for the situation you're describing.

Another option is casting a jig tipped with a leech, half a crawler or a minnow. Swim it or jig it back. Also a great presentation for the situation you described.

Other than that, you have some good info on bottom presentation already.

Good Luck!

[WBLJason]

nofishfisherman,

Sounds good - but how is it set up so that the line goes through freely off the reel but at the same time keep only 2 feet of line out from the sinker? What I was going to do is use a 1 1/2 egg weight, swivel, 2 feet of line, northland floating jig either chartruece or pink. This setup sounds similar to yours, but with mine the line would be tight on the rod waiting for a bite. What would you recommend, yours or mine?

If yours, can you try and paint me a picture of how exactly it is set up?

Thanks again, im a little slow

[nofishfisherman]

Literally I will paint you a picture.

The line going from your reel to the slip sinker will be fairly loose but without alot of slack. The split shot will only allow your floating jig to float atmost 2 feet off the bottom and it will prevent your minnow from pulling line off your reel. The only resistance the fish should feel is the weight of the small split shot, which shouldn't be much.

When you cast out let the slip sinker fall to the bottom and then leave your reel open so that it will freely give line. I forgot to do this part once and a northern hit my bait and almost pulled my pole into the lake.

Your rig that you describe sounds very similar, and there are many variations on my choosen method. If you try a few things you should find something that works for you.

[BobT]

I would like to add one tidbit to this slip sinker rig. On many occasion I have found that when you cast this rig out, let it set for a while. If nothing happens take your rod and ever so slowly pull on the line so that you move your bait. Don't jig it, just move it slowley. It's amazing how many times I will get a hit just as the bait begins to move. Give it a try. You might be surprised at how often those eyes are just sitting there staring down your bait, waiting for a change to happen. I believe it is possible that the bait such as a minnow will play possum when a predator comes near hoping they won't be noticed and by this movement, you expose the bait.

Bob

[WBLJason]

Thanks, guys! Will let you know how the weekend fares. GL to all heading out, be safe & tight lines.

Jason

[Mike Walerak]

My method of choice would be to cast a jig and minnow, leech, or some sort of plastic. By fan casting the jig in all directions, you can fish much more water and pick up the active fish. You can also work different depths on every cast.

mw

[Team Otter]

I agree with Borch. Stick with your slip bobber set-up but just move your presentation higher up in the water column.

[WBLJason]

Team Otter,

What do you mean move the presentation up? Isn't the goal 6-12" off the bottom?

Jason

[Team Otter]

I would have my presentation ~12 - 18" off the bottom to start and possibly go higher than that if you don't get bit.

[Borch]

Quote:

---

Team Otter,

What do you mean move the presentation up? Isn't the goal 6-12" off the bottom?

Jason

---

The idea that walleyes feed closely to the bottom is not all that accurate. When trolling cranks I'm frequently using using baits that drive 3-4 ft in 6-8 ft of water.

When setting up slip bobber on an edge I set up the depth so that I'm about a ft off the bottom in the shallowest water I'll be casting to(i.e. if I'm fishing an edge that tops out at 10 ft, I'll set the slip bobber at 9 ft. Even if I cast into 15 ft of water and let it drift up to the top). That means I'll often be fishing 3 or more ft off bottom in the deeper areas I cast. Not a probelm as walleyes have no problem coming up to get the bait. If fact I've found that in some cases the walleys won't touch a bait close by but will chase a bait several feet away.

I'll give you an example. Last summer we were hammering eyes in 25-35 feet of water. The depth we had our slip bobber rigs set at was 18 feet. They wouldn't touch anything closer to the bottom. Some of those fish were suspended and others were hugging the bottom. Both would hit the high bait.

Good Luck!

[bgreen82]

with that setup in the illustration, couldnt you use a regular baitholder hook with a live minnow. they would stay off bottom by themself wouldnt they without the floating jig?

[nofishfisherman]

If you went without a float of some sort you leave the minnow the chance to swim down to the bottom which would take the bait out of that 12-24" window you are looking to stay in.

Also I always felt that using the floating jig gave the minnow something to fight against. It seems they still try to swim away but can't so they just struggle against the float. That action should intice a few fish now and again.