Floating jig heads and harnesses

[btmbncr]

Bigger walleyes are usually just below the depth their prey is holding at.Ive seen them suspended in trees,hanging just under schools of baitfish,laying on the bottom.When fishing them suspended I run my cranks about a foot above them.I have caught a lot of walleyes running crankbaits at least 2 feet off the bottom.To say big walleyes are always 3 feet of the bottom just isn't so.I don't scuba dive anymore,too old and crippled up.I've seen some really big walleyes belly to the bottom in Mille Lacs,Ft Peck and Sakakawea.My brother in law dives Lake Oahe all summer long.He talks about seeing walleyes,close to the bottom,suspended etc it just depends on the day.Bill

[GreatWhiteNorth517]

Last year I fished the same lake, same GPS path across the same structure. Same time of day, identical stable weather pattern both days. Day 1 was slow trolling a slow death Lindy rig @ 0.6-0.7 mph. Day 2 was trolling a flicker shad on leadcore at 1.6-1.8 mph. Day 2 produced four times as many fish as day 1.

Did they like the crankbait better than the crawler? Did they like the increased speed? Were the fish suspended instead of just off the bottom? Did it help to not be banging lead on the bottom?

YES

[Jigger1]

I think the issue is active, neutral or inactive rather than bigger fish being a particular amount of feet above the bottom. My largest walleye ever came off a bottom bouncer in 30 feet of water, my second largest in 8 feet of water on a jig right at bottom. Last year my largest walleye, a 28, came off a bottom bouncer. My three 27’s all came from jig and minnow fished right at bottom. Bar none my most productive days on the water have been when we are moving fast and covering water searching for active fish, but conditions dictate when this kind of fishing will work. I guess I’m a little old school as I still prefer and have such an incredibly high confidence level in bottom bouncing, while the other folks in my boat have concentrated on rip jigging also with great success. I wouldn’t hesitate to jump to rip jigging if the bouncer wasn’t producing, but thus far that seldom has that been the case. And I think it's such a blast when we are using different techniques and all catching fish. Mike Willems recently published an article on his website that hits on this topic from multiple angles. http://www.sww-lodge.com/2013/01/hi-...ower-plastics/