floating jigs?

[bgreen82]

hey guys. just wondering when you guys are using floating jigs below a slip sinker/splitshot setup for walleye, what size and color do you prefer. and are there any specific brands that work best cuz i was thinking about getting some cabelas brand in lime/chartreuse and black/white for $3.99 per dozen. sound good or any others.

[Northlander]

I really like the Phelps floaters. Can be found almost anywhere. Other than that I have gone to spin n glows more than a floater now. More atraction power and does the same thing.

[PerchJerker]

I also like Phelps floaters when I want a floating jighead. But more often I go with colored foam floats, or Northland Rattle Beads which also float.

One thing you can do is peg the foam float a few inches ahead of the bait, at times it seems to make a difference.

[Matt Johnson]

Floats jigs are great for walleye. I use them with leeches and worms with a split-shot or crimp-on bullet weight about 18-24 inches above the jig. Great for drifting or a slow retrieve. Smallies seem to like them up on LOW too

[eyepatrol]

I've been having most of my success this year fishing with floating jigs & rigs. I however have been using a 6'-8' snell (make my own) to get it up above that bottom mat of weed growth just outside the edge of the tall weedline, then slowly troll with a leech on.

[TMan]

Basscatcher has it right for using floats for Walleye (Wow, how about the irony there?). Snell length should be determined by the height or distance of the fish off the bottom. If you are marking fish 2-3 feet off the bottom for example, you need to consider your troll or drift speed and snell length to predict if the floater will be in their strike zone. Again, for example, a 6-7 foot snell will not be in the strike zone of a fish 6-12 inches off the bottom if you are in a very slow drift. Now if you are trolling fast it may be so. There is an art to it...

Good luck, and try the hook up floaters; the original teardrop shapes float hook down. Something else to consider when hooking your bait with the original teardrop style! Make sure they're hooked so they float in a lifelike presentation, i.e., down through the head and out the lips for minnows.

Tackleman

[Team Otter]

Yeah, what Eric and Matt said.

[Bruce Mosher]

My favorite set up is the Foam Walker (self standing slip sinker) - Plastic Bead - Snap Swivel - 3 feet of florocarbon - Red Gamagatzu hook with a small piece of Ice Buster Bobber Foam on the hook for a floater. It's yellow in color (attractor) Floats, and the fish don't feel it when they bite. Oh yeah, did I forget to say that I like a leech on the hook. When you stop your presentation the Foam Walker stand straight up keeping your line off the bottom and the floater hook helps keep your bait up. The Bait fights against the float and entices strikes! Set the HOOK!!! Bruce Mosher

[bgreen82]

a friend of mine actually made up his own float. he cut apart a floating chair for little kids that they didnt use anymore into little circle floats and poked holes through them. he puts it on the line just above the hook and secures it there with a very small split shot just to keep it from running up. he says he has caught some sheephead on it so i dont know if anything about that would stop a walleye.