baitless jigs

[Tough Guy]

Tough Guy like to fish jigs, vertical and casting. Tough Guy no use livebait with jigs, need more challenge. Tough Guy want to hear opinions on favorite no-bait jigs from mighty walleye board. What color head/body combinations in clear/stained water in day/night situations. Also fun to hear actual jigging techniques. Tough Guy value great walleye guys/gals of WC.

[baitman]

Tough Guy,
Of the trips I've made to the Maumee in the springtime, only a few use any bait. It seems that when you snag those eye's in the tail, back or..., it really doesn't matter what color you are using, or what the water clarity is. I suppose you have your hook twisted 90 degrees off center also.
Happy snagging.
Baitman

[Tough Guy]

Baitman a "wiseguy" huh? Baitman must be the guy I see fishing on shore in the lawn chair drowning worms. Tough Guy can be a "wiseguy too! Good fishing Baitman, no hard feelings. Tough Guy love all kinds.

[GORD]

Powerbaits work , but you have to keep them moving. Fish don't usually eat a piece of plastic if they have time to study it.

[Starfish]

I've had good luck with 5" Kalins in various colors (bluegill, white, pink, rainbow, perch) on 1/4 oz unpainted heads. Two weeks ago we tried everything we could think of with livebait on it, and then switched to bare Kalins and started hitting walleyes. We were anchoring in 10-12' moderately stained water (lake, 45 degrees, mild chop), casting as far as possible, and slowly drag/hopping the retrieve. Two of us caught 15 eyes in about two hours. (As usual, had to leave just when the bite was hottest...)

[Tough Guy]

Yea Starfish, that's what Tough Guy looking for. Good post. May all your stringers be heavy!

[szopster]

Been fishing clear water most of my adult life.

For casting when they are active:
5 inch silver Reapers or 4 inch Finesse Fish on 1/4 & 1/8 long shank hook jigs, unpainted head. Firm twitches during the retrieve, it's the flash that gets 'em. Have had great luck forward trolling this rig too, the boys at In Fisherman call it snap jigging...been doing it for years.

Inactive:
3 inch models with 1/8 to 1/16 when it gets tough. Less pronounced twiches, more of a drag & twitch. Back trolled it is becomes a suspended minner that got separated from the school.

One thing, you will lose some rigs if there are pike around.

You won't have to clean the worm bedding from under your fingernails either.

Good twichin'

[Tough Guy]

Tough Guy curious what a "szopster" is? Tough Guy like to imitate flash of baitfish also, good presentation. Tough Guy must be living in cave, not familiar with Reaper or Finesse Fish. Look in Cabela, no find. szopster help find? Worm bedding not for Tough Guy either, make for stinky lure box.

[Beaver]

Tough Guy, this one not so tough. I use twister tails, tubes and Super-Doos for vertical presentation. Casting I like to use bigger stuff. Ring worms, Guidos Ringers, Zipper worms, even 4" lizards. Me no use live bait either. Me like using plastic baits. Plastic baits made for bass catch bigger than average walleyes....especially in rivers. If you look in Cabelas, try their Aqua glow worms and lizards and tubes. Jig head color not so important. Most time unpainted work just as good as painted ones. Beav

[12# HUNTER]

I believe a Szopster is a fishing and hunting junkie who likes to run his Skeeter at high speeds.

[szopster]

The Fin-S Fish is a Lunker city invention. It is a shad imitating lure designed to be fished like a sluggo, but is murder on clear water walleyes on a jighead. (Kalin darter heads and Owners work well.) But just like Lunker City's Sluggo there are hundreds of knock offs and imitations.
Zoom's flukes, one of the most popular imitators, can be found about anywhere.
Berkely Power Bait has a new 3" Dropshot Bass Minnow (a smaller version of the Fin S Fish) that looks like it will be a killer on eyeballs. Both BassPro and Cabela's has examples of these items.

Reepers/reapers/leech FX's et-al are all knock offs of the original Harold Ensley lures developed for vertically jigging lake trout. They started out 5" in silver and eventually 3" and 8" models in various colors were marketed. I was turned on to them by the legendary fisherman/educator Tony Portincaso in the early 80's. Me and my homeys keep a couple of plastics pourers in business on reepers alone. Cabela's Tackle Shop catalog shows them on page 88 with some knocks right above them.

West coast bassin' guys go nuts for "reepers" on split shot rigs, as a result there are many hand pours and custom sizes available. Check out www.lightningplastics.com, they will hand pour reepers in nearly any size and color imaginable.

Best of luck.

[MyDIMEMINE]

Me can not buy bait?!!? Me frustrate self with plastic maybe snap wife with grub?? have fun yes!! Dime store superglue that power bait expensive, give it back fish!! Take 3/4 ounce lead head hook up bigg longg trailerr, swwwiisshh.. ss..hh punkettt, game tracker tell me hit river....

[TONTO]

Strips of Moose meat make the best bait. For meatless white man rigs TONTO uses neonz power baits. If Tough Guy want to stay all natural and no meat we use strips of Moose hide. If Walleye no bite on Moose meat nothing will catch them.

[Tough Guy]

Ohhhh....you got Tough Guy figured out. Smelly worms too expensive....thats why no use huh? Tough Guy ready to buy $300 St. Croix rod but have no cash for worm. Yup, you on to Tough Guy trail.