The walleyes are biting!!!!

[Stick in Mud]

I took the girlfriend and her 3 year old munchkin down to the river today for some sucker/carp fishing, and while we had our corn and crawlers out, I gave the little guy (who fishes with a zebco reel attached to an ice fishing rod) a sassy shad simply tied directly onto the line...no hook, no jighead, just a sinker a foot or so above the plastic to give it enough weight to cast. Well, sure enough he's down by the water, practicing his casting, when he says, "fishy! fishy! let go, fishy!" and sure enough, there was a dinky walleye flopping around on shore that had grabbed onto the sassy shad and didn't let go until the kid pulled it up on shore!!! Absolutely amazing...and so I'm being outfished this year by a kid who still isn't potty trained!

Anyone ever caught a fish on something that didn't actually have a hook?

[tacklejunkie]

 Originally Posted By: carmike

Absolutely amazing...and so I'm being outfished this year by a kid who still isn't potty trained!

That's the secret. youre not wetting your pants enough! ill have to try that next time i am walleye fishing and they aint biting. kidding aside, sounds like another kid who will be hooked on fishing hopefully

[BigGrassBass]

Props to you for getting the kid involved!

[Bigeye30"]

It's always amazing that we study, read and practice along with buy everything in the world to become a better walleye angler, and out of nowhere the simplest little technique will outfish us, that's great that you got the little one out there, he's going to be hooked for life.

[Fishing Junky]

That must have been priceless watchin' the little guy battle that monstor. Awesome. Junky........

[Team Otter]

"...hooked for life", no pun intended.

[Stick in Mud]

I think so. He was talking about it all day today. He'll have to learn to catch-and-release, too, though...he was also talking all day about having "fish chicken mcnuggets."

[Bassman55]

I just took my 7 year old cousin fishing for the first time. All he caught was 4 small bullheads, but his parents said he talked about it all night!

[Matt C]

In my experiences taking kids fishing, if they catch anything they are ecstatic.

Get em on the water or from shore. They LOVE it.! and hey, it aint to bad being the adult watching them and helping catch it either

Well done carmike. We will see that kid on the PWT in 20 years

[john.wells]

That's sweet! Back when I was about 17 years old, I was fishing with a friend of mine below the Blandin Dam in Grand Rapids. Now I know this is going to irk some folks, but remember I was 17 and times were a little different in '88. We weren't catching a daggone thing, but we noticed that every time we pitched our cigarette butts into the water, they would disappear! So, my buddy takes a plain hook and sticks a butt on it with no weight and lobs it out and just lets it float in the current. The thing drifted about 5 feet, and a fish takes it! He reels in 2 pound walleye! It worked time and time again, with walleyes ranging in size from 6 inches to 3 pounders! No lie. Back then the rocks all around under the dam there were covered in paper pulp, so it really doesn't surprise me that much.