Tom Bruce
12-12-2001, 07:19 AM
Being new to ice fishing for walleyes with tip ups
How much split shot (weight & size) as well as height from the hook is best for walleye tip up fishing? Or does it not matter?
The purpose of a splitshot is to act as an anchoring point for your bait. The split shot will act as a pivot point and the minnow will be able to swim above, below and all around the split short in a radious equal to the lead you leave.
If you want you bait to be restricted to limited movement you would only want to leave about a 6" lead but if you would like a more active minnow you should leave about 1ft.
What I like to do is leave about a 1 ft lead and set my slip bobber or tip-up so that the hook is about 6" off the bottom when using my lead depth finder.
Use enough shot to keep your minnow from pulling it around with him too much, and make sure that the rig sinks to the bottom in a timely matter, but no more than you need to accomplish those two things. I usually use something like 1/16 oz or so. With large chubs, sometimes you're better off using either a 1/8 oz jighead, or going to 1/8 oz or so of shot. Normally I try to keep the weight light enough that it does not turn the spool if the flag trips, but with big chubs you might have no choice if you want to keep them from swimming back up the hole. :)
Eyez