Cal and I are out near St. Cloud fishing walleyes this morning. Cal has had the hot hand so far today with his first two fish taping 23 and 27 inches. Everyone has put fish in the boat including Ben and Pat who have been sneaking in some fishing time themselves. The best depths have been 28 to 32 feet. #7 Jigging Raps have been the ticket.
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Looks like a great time!
Since it’s out there what’s that combo he’s holding?
It would have been a lot more fun if Cal hadn’t hogged up all the big fish. We did have plenty of eater eyes and big crappie to go around though. All in all it was a fun morning of fishing.
Cal will have to answer the combo question. I don’t recognize it from the pic.
I,m not sure just what to think about being able to post real time photos and reports from the water. It used to be I would only be disappointed AFTER getting home from work. Now, I get to be depressed all day that I am not out on the water.
BTW nice fish… :>)
James I will be fishing this weekend between brainerd and walker. Will turnover affect the jigging rap in this area? I kwow this is slightly north of St cloud and was hoping you could give me some insight and possible depths to work. thank you for your thoughts.
Looks like a great time!
Since it’s out there what’s that combo he’s holding?
I am using a TUCR in 6’4″ length medium action with extra long grip/handle. Great soft tip with lots of back bone for fishing jigging raps. I have a 1000 Shimano Saros reel rigged with 20/6 Suffix 832 with 2′ of 12lb Suffix fluorocarbon leader.
Fish we hitting the jig hard this morning.
So that’s one of those open TUCR I’ve been hearing, that looks sharp.
James
So is the jigging rap effective on the river/pool 4 or is it primarily a deep water lure for lakes?
^ Also curious to hear more about the jigging rap…..
^ Also curious to hear more about the jigging rap…..
I’m a self – admitted novice with this technique but I’m enjoying the learning curve. As part of this month’s magazine Cal and I put together an article and supporting video that should be a good starting point for anyone interested in the technique.
Holler if you have any questions or insights to share.
James
So is the jigging rap effective on the river/pool 4 or is it primarily a deep water lure for lakes?
I’ve fished this technique below the dam and done well but I’ve not done much experimenting with it on moving water. Tony Roach Put out some good videos over the last couple season from Mille Lacs that show it being used in a casting presentation which I’ve not tried. There’s a lot of ways to fish this particular lure and presently I’m just starting to learn how to put it to work on lakes at depths over 15 feet.
If you get a chance, Google those videos from Tony for a different perspective.
James I will be fishing this weekend between brainerd and walker. Will turnover affect the jigging rap in this area? I kwow this is slightly north of St cloud and was hoping you could give me some insight and possible depths to work. thank you for your thoughts.
With the warm temps thus week I don’t think you’ll see any big changes in the bite. Leech has been on a very good bite the last couple weeks with two bites seeming to be dominate. When the wind blows or earl and late in the day work rocky shorelines in less that 8 feet of water. Midday the bite has been 18 feet and deeper. Redtails have been very hard to find so most have been rigging suckers and doing well.
Here’s the Swanson Bait report for reference. http://www.swansonsbait.com/fishing-report/
So are you just dropping them to the bottom and then start working them? Looks like Im heading back to Aitkin this weekend. The river up there is choked up pretty well with leaves so might have to buy some jigging ramps and give this a try on the lake.
@James Holst — Great article on the Jigging Rap. I have a few but have cycled baits quickly as I search through my gear to find the right bait on top of marked fish, with no imminent success. My knowledge is less than 1 on a 10-scale and that is 90% of the problem. Is it just me, or is ice fishing gear becoming more and more popular with the versatility extending far beyond the hard water….?
I think I speak for many when I say that I would like to see you continue to cover the Jigging Rap and it’s various presentations relating to water conditions, time of year, depth, etc… Thanks for being willing to share your knowledge to help us put more fish in the boat.
WW
I’ve done ok using the jigging raps on 4 and on pool 5. The key for me has been to keep it vertical, which means slipping with current. If the conditions are right, the Jigging Raps are fine in open water.
A few years back when Mike Smith owned HookedOnFishing Bait and tackle he got a serious run on Jigging Raps by guys using them in open water at Red Wing. This was when ice was not a good option. Using a controlled drift thru that area in front of Baypoint’s exit into the river we did real well on walleye and saugers on several occasions and more than once did just a good closer to the dam.
I wanted to point out that I have had good success on this bite for walleye, northern, and lake trout on open water lakes. I have fished them as deep as 100 feet and as shallow as 8 feet. I have had less success on the river – although they have worked for me on Lake Pepin. I agree with Tom’s point they they really need to stay vertical on the river (easier said than done).
What is not being said is that spoons and other heavy jigs work well too. I think there is a good spinning, fluttering action that the jigging rap creates. However, you can get a lot of that action on a spoon as well – especially the bendable spoons. From what I have read in In-Fisherman, etc., this bite works very well this time of year for many different species, but there are other “dive-bombing” lures that work well.
So that’s one of those open TUCR I’ve been hearing, that looks sharp.
This rod was all Adam’s idea, I told him what I wanted for action and length, and I put my trust in him building a good jigging rap/pitching rod for me. So far I like it.
When out fishing in the fall, fish your favorite way to put fish in the boat. Once you have located fish, switch over to a jigging rap and mix up the jig routine to try to get some fish to bite. Once you connect try to grab as much information from that fish ( depth, speed, location) and try to repeat. This presentation is a lot about confidence. Watching the video that James and I did will also give you a chance to see our jigging rap cadence. I prefer to fish the #7 to stay vertical, if the wind picks up then I will go to a #9.
“I prefer to fish the #7 to stay vertical, if the wind picks up then I will go to a #9.”…per Calvin
I found that up-sizing was the ticket to stay vertical and that the increase in bait size didn’t really have much bearing on whether the fish hit or not. I’ve noticed that when the walleyes and sauger in the river turn on to this kind of bite they’ll jump all over everything from the largest to the smaller ones. I can’t say that in open water I have ever had a tenetaive or soft hit using the Jigging Raps. They usually nail it.
It looks like a fun day on the water. I’ve been out 3 times in the past week and the jigging raps have been the ticket. I have been fishing in the brainerd area and the fish have been in 27-30 feet. A #9 yellow perch is all I’ve used, but I am going to try a #7 if I can get out tomorrow night.
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