I have ran into this before, I know a 1/4oz Jig Head will never hit the bottom, when anchored so I end us using a half pound jig head,(exaggerating) so I can hit the bottom and jig. This eliminates what i would call a finesse type presentation. I ran into the same thing when trying a live bait rig like a lindy. A ton of weight, brings the rig to the bottom, but then I can hardly feel any bites. Is this just the nature of the beast?
I searched a bit and found this…
Step 1: Stay on the bottom
Lake, river or reservoir, walleyes relating to structure and current spend most of their time on or near the bottom. Choose the right-sized jig to keep your minnow, leech or nightcrawler down amongst them.
Walleyes eat by inhaling the water around their target. A light jig may make it easier to engulf. But, be prepared to adapt. Jigs that are too small for the conditions may keep you out of the strike zone entirely.
They may also make it impossible to keep your line vertical to sense light bites. Increase the weight of your jig as depth, wind or current increase. When in doubt, go heavier. There might even be times when only a 1-ounce jig will do. If you miss strikes with a big jig, add a stinger to increase odds of a hook-up. Try leaving the barbs of the stinger hook completely out of your bait. This will increase the natural action and appearance of your live bait.
Don’t anchor. Drift with the current to stay vertical, use your trolling motor to adjust for wind and boat drift vs jig drift
If you are going to anchor in current, that’s the nature of the beast. If you slip the current and vertical jig, you can use 1/4 oz.
Line choice can make a huge difference too.
“Current” is subjective. It could be 10,000 KCFS which 1/4 oz would be way more than enough, but in 70 KCFS you’d have a really hard time maintaining bottom contact, and 100+ KCFS there’s no chance. Finding current seams with lower flow in the last two conditions always pays off better than trying to grind them out in the fast stuff.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
