just curious as to what you use for night-time casting - shallow divers ?

Fatboy- I`m rather partial to the large Yozuri Crystal Minnow. Great lures with the hollowgraphic finnishes. Close second, would be The largest Husky Jerks. Good luck-Bob WC#253

At Erie it all depends on how deep it is. Where there's enough depth Rattle Traps rule, in the skinny water Jointed Bombers, Jointed Rapalas, Jointed Thundersticks, Rip Sticks, Husky Jerks, Rouges, and all other stick baits will get bit.

Husky Jerks
Rattlin Rogues
Floating Raps tweaked w/lead
Suspending Thundersticks
Bomber Long A
Bagley Bang O Lure tweaked w/lead

Yep, that's right. I should try the jointed stuff more. I usually stick to Husky Jerks in silver or gold. If that's not working I will try the clown. The clown shad raps are good too. Try some old style 1/4 oz. Hot n' Tot's too. The main thing is to keep the lure in the water all night long. My right arm's tendon's are like raw from casting, I can barely use it.

Adam.

The secret weapon.... Rebel Fastrac, orange..sshhh. HUGE wobble at any speeds.

FatBoy.
#14 Huskys/Blue Back/orange belly in the fall. Slow roll retrieve.

#18 Rapalas Black/Silver first choice Hot Tiger/Second. Dead slow troll. .08 to 1.4.

Fished the Saginaw last night and caught two nice ones on the Huskys, (2 to 4 Pounds) but my bud caught three monsters right next to me with Yo-Zuri's. He did have the better spot on the bank I think. Anyway, thats what I told him.

Put some ripplin redfins in your box to cast at night. Another crank that does well casting at rocks is the rebel crawdad. Rich

Rebel Fastrac huh..... I'll take a look at em'.

Hey Capt. Dan, just curious.... how do you troll the #18 Rapala's?

Adam.

PS, you know they don't make the clown shad raps anymore, and the metal lipped Hot N' Tots are history too. I've been buying up all the good Hot N' Tots on E-Bay. There's a glow in the dark one that's going for 27 dollars right now. Hang on to em'.

Everyone has a confidence lure. But be aware that some nights they are more jealous and competitive than other nights, so you need open wobble lures and subtle roll lures; some with rattles, some silent. It is seldom so simple that you can take this 1 lure and go wack em.

Nice idea Scott. And one that I think was needed.

Adam.
I'm usually in my 18' smokercraft Jet boat (Jet Drive outboard)when trolling in the spring on the Saginaw Bay. This unit, even when in neutral, is creating thrust. So to achieve real slow speeds, I simple adjust the engine idle speed versus putting it in gear. In the spring the walleyes are feeding mainly on smelt in our neck of the woods after their river spawning exit, thus the BIG BAITS. Usually in anywhere from 3 to 12 feet of water, depending on how far along the smelt run is. I've personally seem them working water 1 foot or less when the smelt are on their spawning shorebound migration. You just want the #18 Rapala to role from side to side at a slow steady speed. I run them only 15 to 20 feet behind the Off-Shore planers. I believe they are only running anywhere from 3 to 5 feet deep in that .8 to 1.4 speed zone. I catch most of mine at the slower speeds, when guys around me a scratching their heads.

ETT.
I agree to all of what you said to a point. Being a Fish, and as such, they do not have a thinking, rationalizing, planning brain. They do not/ cannot get jealous, plan any statigies, get or take any cues from anything, except in nature and their surroundings. The competition for food may seem like jealously, but is nothing more than a reflex. Finding a rationale for the way things happen around us, is the human way to explain things and why and how they work. We are conditioned to look at things in this fasion, because we are thinking animals. A walleyes whole life and exsistance is purely instintive. But, I believe they can and do get conditioned by many of the things they co-exsist with in their under-water invironment. They learn in a hurry what prey they like to eat, where and how this prey act's, reacts and where to look for them. If one crankbait more closely immitates this favorite prey, rather it be in color, size, demeanor or in its action. I belive its chances of attracting a strike is more likely.

jointed rapalas
husky jerks
jointed creek chubs
jig and minnows
thunderstick jr.


this is all from shore

I'm surprised no one admits to casting jigs dressed with a plastic curly-tail.

Anybody use #9 Shallow Shad Raps? I finally found some at a shop last week and bought the four they had. It says they run 3-4 feet deep on the cast? I have been trying to find a bait that doesn't suspend but is heavy enough to cast a ways! The #9s are 3/8 oz. I wish they would come out with a #10?

I'll admit to that ;) But since he mentioned shallow divers, I didn't bring it up. I catch alot of fish on mushroom head jigs tipped with my secret curly tail grub.

I tried one this year Neal. They look awesome in the water but I did not catch anything on it. I don't think I caught anything that particular night though. I got the number 9 in shad with the orange belly. I will definately be using it more next year.

there is so many diffrent kinds&i haved fished them all trust me!!!!!!!!!
but the last few years the renoskys glows have been a very great bait
for me at erie&tournament fishin.you might like to check them out,im using daiichi death trap trebles also.remember this walleye have short strikes on bait,s this time of year also,thats why a good hook is very important!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good luck kenny

Bigfish, are you referring to the jointed Salmon Series Fastrac? You know, the ones with the diamond pattern?? If so, I agree 100%. A great fall lure as they wobble at verrrrry sloooow speeds.

Right you are. I was only using jealous as maesure of level of activity, and competition. Thanks.

You all have to give the Lews Speed Vibe a try where the water is deep enough. They are like the rattletrap but heavier. They will fall faster so you can use a yo yo retreive and they work very well. they also can be used as a jigging lure. You will have to change the lures split rings and hooks out of the pack. They use cheap hardware on them and way to small a hook. The front hook can be moved to the back though and use two of the snap rings that come with it on the back and this will increase your catch. This is a great bait that I worry will be discontinued due to not enough people giving them a chance. Other than that, I have used (and continue to use) many of the other methods mentioned in this thread.

Daren

White w/ red eyes is my favorite color by the way.

Anyone using the Yozuri Crystal and Twitchin Minnows. I bought three of each this afternoon just because they look so ##### good! I guess they caught me?

Neal.
My shore fishing bud has been steadily opening up a can of Woop-A$$ on me using the Cyrstal Minnows. He did last year as well. I've tried em. But for me its a confidence deal. They don't stay on long, I've caught to many on the Huskys.

I bought some of the Pins Minnows a couple of years back and have caught trout on them. These sure look good!!! They look like they will give off a ton of flash!

Neal, did you get in on any of those Yo-Zuri value packs at Sportsmans Wharehouse? Four lures for $9.99.

For casting into deeper water 5-10 ft, you still can't beat the countdown rapala is size 9 or size 11. I've caught more big eyes on this bait than all my other ones put together. Several of them look like pin cushions from the bites. My best colors are blue/silver and black/silver. For skinny water, I like the husky jerk. More than anything, however, I wish I had clean water to fish on Lake Erie regardless of the lure. I'll take clean water, and fish with a bobber and worm.

I stopped into a Garts today and they had Crystal minnows and the Twitchin Minnows. That was the first time I had seen one.

I like jointed Raps (#13) best and 1/4 oz. Hot-n-tots next. For those interested in the Crystal Minnows, they are fine casting but need to be trolled faster than other baits to achieve a proper action if you plan to use them for trolling too. I also like Rattle traps for long casts and deeper water.

SALMO WHITEFISH 13-J & 18-F
http://salmo.24.pl/images/news/nc_white18f.jpg
http://salmo.24.pl/images/fotki/whitefish_dod_5.jpg
http://salmo.24.pl/images/news/nc_white13j.jpg
http://salmo.24.pl/images/cs/whitefish.jpg

Salmo Sting S-9 & S-12 Suspending & F-9 & F-12 Floating.
http://salmo.24.pl/images/cs/sting.jpg
http://salmo.24.pl/images/fotki/sting_dod_1.jpg

Smithwick Rattling Suspending Roughs.
Bomber Long A's full body and jointed.

4" & 5" Sassy Shad bodys or Berkley Power Shads on 4 0/T wide gap Gamakasu jigs.

Mellenium 4" Tube baits on a stand-up jig. (White)

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson...><sUMo>
Backwater Guiding

Totally surprised me the first time this happened but I caught a leaste a half dozen walleye this summer throwing a heddon tiny torpedo in 2 to 3 feet of water after dark. I never heard or thought a walleye would hit a true surface lure.

At times the most important part of the bait's(stickbait) action is the PAUSE. Reel,reel,reel slight twitch, PAUSE..wait 2 seconds, repeat. It's worked real well in years past casting from shore at Huron. Kinda tough to do it from a boat, gotta rely on waves to stall/push the boards !!!
5-Stroke