MAKING OF WALLEYE LEADERS??? CAN USE THE HELP

[JERRY]

WHEN MAKING WALLEYE LEADERS WHATS THE BEST POUND TEST YOU SHOULD USE????WHAT COLORS BLADES SEEM TO BE THE HOT COLORS AS WELL AS BEADS???? AND DOES HOOK COLORS PLAY A PART???ALSO HOW SHORT OR LONG SHOULD THE LEADER BE FROM THE SINKER??AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD ANYTHING I MAY HAVE MISSED IN MAKING UP YOUR OWN WALLEYE LEADERS..WITH THE RIVER FROZEN AND THE BOAT AWAY FIGURE IT WOULD GIVE ME SOMETHING TO DO...THANKS TO ALL THAT HELPED....JERRY

[jwhite58502]

There is a nice illustrated article on this very subject at
Walleyes Inc. at their website

Good Luck

[s.f.]

there will countless opinions and variations. but there is a combination that usually will compete with any one of them. one constant might be using ten pound test line. no need to go lighter since this is a 'non finesse' presentation. silver, #3 hammered indiana blades, 4 millemeter red beads (enough to keep the bottem of the blade at least 3/16ths from the hook, start with at least ten foot in length and cut down if you are getting snagged alot until snagging slows, and just regular bronze hooks usually work fine. (some lakes, they ain't afraid of colored hooks such as red) generally, a #4 hook will do fine (octopus style) on crawler harnesses. (river fish, great lakes fish, and western reservoir fish will eat #2's and mille lacs fish will eat more #6's.) i use 10lb. silver thread line because it is very strong yet nice and thin. or even 12lb...less than 10lb. will cause breakage between the two hooks when you have a fish tangled in the net.
hope this get's you started!
keep a tight line...
#49

[Cyclone]

There are so many aspects to these rigs but i guess the first thing i would consider is where you would be fishing the rigs and under what types of conditions, for most of my fishing i use 6 foot snells, with # 3,4 colorado blades in assorted colors, over sandy and gravel bottoms. So in my case snags really aren't a problem so i don't need floats or a short leader, but if you fish them in alot of wood or boulders you might want to add floats or shorten the leaders. If you are using them mostly as a finesse rig over clear bottoms make the leaders longer, Also another good idea is have a few other blade types (other than colorado) and a few with northland rattle beads just for a change of pace that can make a big difference when other anglers are off with traditional presentations. I would have to say that 10 lb test XT in either Green or clear has to be my favorite line for spinners. I use quick change plastic cleveses, and 4 or 5 mm beads. Bronze or black nickle hooks in 6,4,and 2 sizes are fine(1 hook for minnow/leach rigs, 2 or 3 for crawlers). If colored hooks are popular at the lakes your fishing,use em, i don't see any advantage because the spinner is usually what the fish focus on and the hooks aren't a critical attractive tool in this aggressive presentation. Small barrel, crane, or bearing swivels attached to the end ( not the spinner end) are a nice addition ( as opposed to a loop of line for a conntection) to reduce line twist and missed fish from broken loops of line.
For starters get a spool of clear 10lb XT

- 1 pack each of chartruse and flo. orange beads
- 1 pack of plastic spinner cleaveses
- 1 pack of # 10 swivels ( or #1 if your gonna use bearing swivels)
- #6, 4 ,2 baithooks
- an assortment of painted, smooth, and hammered colorado, indiana, & willow blades
thats all you need


Cy

[s.f.]

one great source for spinner blaeds, beads, clevis etc. is www.lakeland@lakelandinc.com
#49

[mac]

I use mono that is 2 lbs less than the trolling line (Fireline in my case) so that when (not if here in NE SD) I get a snag, I can break off and only lose the spinner and not the bottum bouncer.

[jewel375]

i use vanish 8lbs 8 feet of line and make sure you use good hooks(gamakatsu are the best hooks ive ever found) #4's are my prefrence and will use hammered gold,chartruce(thompson is a lake that seems to prefer this color, fire tiger, and one or two other colors for various applications.

[Chad]

Here is a nice article on making spinner harnesses.
http://www.rippn-lip.com/Arti/Crawler_Harness_Article.htm

[21fishing]

I fish lake erie, Pennsylvania waters. I use #5 Colorado blades from BaitRigs tackle. I use a snell of about 6 to 7 feet all the time. I run them off dispys. My bead color will match or contrast with my blade color. The fun part is going crazy with colors and seeing which ones catch fish. But most of my luck has come with the BaitRigs blades. Also, if I'm fishing smaller waters and using bottom bouncers, I'll go to a #2 blade and a shorter or floating harness. Worm harnesses are my favorite late spring and summertime method of walleye fishing...so I spend a lot of time tying them. Oh, I always use treble hooks for big walleye.

[gilly8000]

I like to use 25lb fireline, I think it's an 8lb diameter along with gamakatsu hooks. Works pretty well for me.

[Walleye boy]

There is a complete detailed article with pictures and video available at http://www.walleyesinc.com/walleyeinc3/howtotie.html

[mudpuppy]

In extremely clear water I'll go as light as 6# test , but only if necessary . Orange is a good all around attractor color . In clear water I like Orange , silver , blue (deep water) , green (overcast & deep also ) & pearl . In stained water , chartruese is hard to beat as is gold , orange , white . Infinate bead variations , orange with contrasting pearl is a favorite . Could go on & on but won't . Experimenting is half the fun !!! Good luck .

[Arrowhead]

S.F. the link you gave does not work for me.

[s.f.]

sorry the link didn't work. it doesn't for me today either. the phone number for lakeland is 320-676-3666. mailing address is p.o. box 378, isle, mn. 56342. they have a catolog to send out on all their components.
#49

[livebait]

Just curious and please dont take this wrong but, why use 25lb line for a leader when your probably using 6,8,or maybe 10lb line off your reel, just trying to learn a new trick if there is one here?


fear no fish

[s.f.]

the lakeland address i gave you was their e-mail address. here is their actual site address. http://www.carlson.design.com/lakeland/otcomp.html
#49

[s.f.]

ok...i'll get this right sooner or later!
http://www.carlson-design.com/lakeland/otcomp.html

[SUPERTROLLER]

The Fireline is stronger and will take more abuse than an 8# test Mono leader. Diameter is the same and apparently he doesn't care if it breaks off and he loses the whole rig. He might not be dragging it behind a bouncer. He could be using lead core or snap weights as his preferred method of deployment.

[mudpuppy]

Had to bring this one back up . Thought of a couple more details in the night (must be getting old ) , that might help . Plus had a three year old (but not that old) distracting me . Love to make spinners in the winter also . One thing the guys at Black Lake MI taught me was to stick some of those Prism eyes on their painted blades in clear water . Also make my own "eyes" with a paper punch ,out of glow tape for darker conditions or flo. colors sometimes . Use a "magic" marker or paint to add contrast also . Have fun !!!

[perchjerker]

Those little movie clips are pretty neat. Nice article too!
Thanks a bunch!