Ok night guys,
What is your favortie big fish producing bait. AS it seems that the #12 clown or blue/crome husky jerk is mine, I am always looking for something new to throw at them, I just want to hear what you guys are using down on Millacs for those late fall bigguns.
Yes some baits might be top secret, but lets hear what some of you are using.
No secrets here with me guy.
The DQ’d #13 Original Husky Floating Rapalas in craw, black/silver or clown.
#12 HJ’s in Red Craw & firetiger
Rattlin’ Super Rogues in Texas Red and Black / white.
The top producing bait does seem to change from night to night and certainly season to season but thsoe are where I start and usually one of those baits will be “the one!”
James,
Do the Super Rogues Suspend?….It seems that the suspending features is one of the biggest keys to sucess up here. Especially when casting…..James its back
Yes, the do suspend… but not like some other lures do. Maybe they “sorta suspend?” By that I mean a HJ suspends level with little movement when you stop your retrieve. Many Rogues teeter around their mid-point a bit then slowly “back-up” with a nose down, tail up attitude and rise in the water column. And I do mean slowly. Here’s something I’ve noticed…the fish usually show a preference for one bait over the other, even in similarly patterned baits, on a given night. I rarely have even success on a red craw HJ and a Texas Red Rogue when fished side by side. It seems that when the fish are more aggressive, the rogues really shine. When the bite is super slow, the HJ’s are my go to.
Good to hear it’s back. I hope I find mine in about 48 hours!
Quote:
James,
Do the Super Rogues Suspend?….It seems that the suspending features is one of the biggest keys to sucess up here. Especially when casting…..James its back
I’ve had good luck on jointed baits the last couple years. The SR4 jointed red has been good, and just about any SR5 or 7 in the firetiger or chartruese colors.
Red has been really good this summer.
I’ll agree with the clown pattern on a # 12 Husky Jerk or Rouge. Rouges have been good to me the last 2 years.
The green/chrome #12 HJ has been really good for us when the bite tails off.
Blue/white or Black/white original Rapala floaters up to size 18 get wet on most nights.
James,
My guess is others are thinking the same thing, so I’ll ask it, what in the heck does the red bait immitate? Pokey is filled with smelt and that clown color, basically immitates them along with the blue/crome. What baitfish is similiar to your red productive lures? I am going to give them a shot, but wondering minds want to know?
Oh man… I’ve got a routine that I go through regarding color selection that starts before the sun sets and gradually progresses back through moon rise. Guys will often say that there’s a flurry at sunset and then again once the moon is high. Between that the bite gets tough. And they keep pulling the same plugs that boated fish when the sun was setting and will again produce once the moon throws its light on the water. The fish don’t stop feeding… they stop seeing your baits well. I’ve found a couple tricks to keep the bite running hard through those supposed slow periods and that red is one of them. On the flip side, try fishing that red with a full-high moon some time and let me know how worthless you think it is!…lol
But to answer the question of what does it imitate…. Nothing. But was does clown REALLY imitate w/ its chartreuse head and that dash of red?…lol Again, I think it’s a matter of visibility in water in when light levels are very low. To go a little further, with the absence of light, a walleye will better see a DARK contrasting crankbait than it will a naturally patterned one. With a little light to work with that natural pattern will again be the best producer.
For me, when the moon is blocked out and the night is SUPER dark… that dark red is tough to beat. You asked a very good question. 
I quess I would have to say that my go to lure would be a firetiger #5 shadrap. I have caught more fall walleyes on this lure than anything else. I have worn the bill off some beating the rocks out front. The colors do change with the amount of light we might have on a given night. You have to keep switching colors till you find the one that works!!!I have switched lures as the moon would drift under a cloud for awhile and than change back again….
You know I used to be an avid fall duck hunter. That all changed one year when I caught a bunch of fish one night.
I thought that sitting in the fishing boat was better than sitting in the duck boat in some stink’in slough some place! Besides I like the taste of a walleye better than some bluebill………….
I like the swallow running Magnum Shad Rap in the golden shiner or the perch. This year I will be giving the shallow running Salmo Whitefish pattern a try. For numbers of smaller fish, I like the Rapala Taildancer Hot Chub or Emerald Shiner pattern.
The color red can be hot on Mille Lacs, I too like the Husky Craw pattern. Some believe the red imitates blood from a wounded bait-fish.
In the rocks I think the red may imitate a crayfish, we have ton’s of them in the rocks. Just a guess.
We had the same conversation many times through the summer, we used baits with red in them down deep. This didn’t make sense at all because down below 13 ft. the light spectrum makes all reds appear gray, so we still haven’t figured it out and I’ve asked alot of people their opinions. 
The jointed one’s rattle too, so that may have something to do with it. We have had nights where rattles don’t work and some others they do.
I’ve also modified baits with a magic marker and had success.
Boy we got the anticipation flowing on this one, boy I’m having a tough time typing as the smile on my face is from ear to ear. I guess I got your goat with the clown immitation analogy. The clown makes no sense, but the fish can’t leave it alone. I will give that red one a shot…as pokey and millacs are similar in water clarity. Knock um dead on Millacs
Being at the right place at the right time with the right color is my input. I have had good luck also with the clown and black and gold color #12’s. but I go back to the right place at the right time, I am no expert. I get lucky once in awhile. But agree. There is better options to keep ones attention. Good luck this fall. I am looking to learn, Thanks for the discussion.
My go to sticks at night at the Super Rogues in a variety of colors. The black/white has always been a god standby for me and one of these will most likely be in the water on someone’s line in my boat until another color proves me wrong. The Lazer Craw (orange) and the Gold Rogue are my other two go to colors when the shiny chrome colors are not on. Like James mentioned, in lowlight I like a dark silouette for the fish to hone in on better than the shiny or bright colors.
Here is a link to the Rogues colors;
http://www.lurenet.com/catalog_4.cfm?bid=12&pfid=17&mid=298&type=order&cfid=812058&cftoken=46856683&r=857254522120#
What do these off colors appear to be to the walleyes? Good question and most of us will always wonder this question. In my mind, walleyes are somewhat of a opportunistic feeder at certain times of the year. The shapes and actions are really what gets the fish’s attention. Taking it another step here…I think all of us would be disturbed at how many fish turn and follow our lures for a bit only to turn away for a reason that we will never know until we make tweak in a small detail like color. But that small detail pays huge dividends when you hit it one the head!!
Come on Fall!
I have had some luck with most of the lures already mentioned but would add a couple more. A friend with a silver #12 HJ kicked my butt one night and now I have a few myself. My best night during the Halloween full moon 2 years ago was a rainbow Rogue. I also like #7 Shads in firetiger or crawfish.
Dino
My best success has come on the #12 HJ’s in firetiger and Blue/Chrome and the clown pattern in a rouge or Rapala.
I’ve read son several occasions that the first color a walleye can see in the spectrum is orange. Now, I don’t know how scientific the tests were to conclude this, however, the orange/red baits have always been some of the first on my line. On the Lake Oahe, there were nights when the Red craw walleye diver was the only bait that would catch fish. I haven’t had the success on that lure over here yet, but I still run them. I’ll be trying them in a week or so on the pond. I can’t wait.
that texas red wally diver is one of my prsonal faves on the river… I know dustin uses it heavily as well.
Well, we’ll have lots of notes to compare over the next couple weeks.
What makes me wonder about color verses action and speed are the nights you’ll be out with 5-6 other boats and when you get in after a slow night, everyone fished different colors and caught some fish with no real color pattern?
Speed and action make all the difference some nights!
Hooks hit it on the head. Speed can make a huge difference. Too many folks are fishing too fast when the bite can be tough in the fall. 2mph v.s 1mph can be a huge factor. Ive seen guys leave an area thinking there are no fish there and then ive gone back in those same areas “creeping”and “twitching my baits along hooking fish.
You nailed it Derek!
My problem is getting the boat to go that slow!
I drop everything over the sides in the boat sometimes to slow me down, Trolling motors, drift pails/buckets, kicking it in and out of gear, quick turns…. Whatever it takes!
I know what you mean,, Funny when you hook fish into the wind and only on turns on some nights. Paying attention to those little details can make or break your night.
I didn’t see anyone mention the Rainbow Floating Rap? Ain’t going on the Pond without it!!!
Yep…speed
I could not get down slow enough last year with my Merc.60 tiller……james kept telling me go slow, go slow well I’m sometimes alittle Bullheaded!!!!! You do have to get down under 1.5 mph and than some.
In the fall I usally troll around 1.8 on up and have done really well! This year I might throw out the drift sock…
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Jon 
