The age old “Big Bait” theory has held true thus far here in the early stages of our Fall Pattern. Those big Golden Shiners at the bait shops that seemed ridiculous in July……..Well they are deadly right now…..BUY THEM UP BOYS!! All of our bigger slot fish in the last 2 days/trips have been victim to either Large chubs or Golden shiners. If your jig fishing keep in mind these larger fish have very tough mouths to penetrate, so be sure to get yourself in proper position to truly drive the hook home. Beyond a good hook set take the time to be sure hooks are razor sharp and your drag is set correctly. When fighting a big fish I most always like to click on my back reel (Personal preference). I believe I can handle a big walleye better myself than my drag, and if it runs too hard of course the drag is there as my back up. It is my believe most big fish are lost from hooks being pulled from the skin of the Walleyes mouth versus having the line break. When fighting a big girl of course we all know slack is a kiss of death in all kinds of fishing, but too often too much tension will be the factor that keeps an angler from his/her next PB. For guys that like to longcast jigs often times the bite may come at the top of your retrieve; Over the years I’ve figured out the reason this happens is because that is the point your jig comes back into contact with the bottom in most cases. Bass guys like to call Walleyes “Bottom Feeders” right?? Well truth of the matter is they are correct to some extent that all fish including walleyes will follow a bait to the bottom as if it were a dying “Baitfish”. When your jig and minnow hits the bottom they are programmed to eat that free meal. Knowing this anglers need to be very aware of any increased tension upon the next series of jigging as often times it will be that brief moment of pause that has allowed your jig to hit the bottom or play dead that will trigger the fish. If your not aware of what is happening too often I see anglers take the next step after the pause at the top of a jigging retreive to a quick jig as if to tap that big walleye on the shoulder saying “I’m NOT REAL!!”. The next step truly should be a short delicate pull where you attempt to detect further tension. Most fish truly will give you a tension bite versus a SNAP!! Don’t give the fish the heads up and be sure the next time that fish feels tension he feels sharp steel!! Quickly drop your rod and re-position yourself for a good strong hook set. Remember your NOT rigging, so feeding the walleye is often a NO-NO. Most walleyes that have had any sort of pressure are NOT going to swallow a chunk of lead, rather will dump it leaving an anglers saying “Not sure what that was”. KNOCK…….KNOCK…….YES I AM HERE!! SET THE HOOK!! Hooksets remain…….FREE!! 
Big fish are on the chew boys!! Few pics from the last couple days. 
