floaters

Hey has anyone ever used floating jigs with like a two foot snell to a 1 oz weight for walleye/sauger on pool 4 and if so does it work. or any combination of a floating jig for that matter

Erik S

Now I know you follow FTR fairly regularly so this question kinda knocks me back a bit. This technique is all Dustin and I talk about for months at a time. I’m not trying to make fun…. I’m questioning my own ability to communicate with the written word I guess.

The answer to your question is yes. Actually, the answer would be YES! I’m quite found of saying, if I couldn’t pull 3-ways and floaters, I couldn’t guide! The technique is that effective. Give it a try.

James. Great reply…

We talk a lot about “Pulling Rigs”. A lot of us have our own way to “Rig a Rig”. You got a lot.. 3-way crank, 3-way floater, 3-way hook, Debque, Wolf River…. Not to mention dropper lengths, leader lenghts, how heavy, how light, crawer, minnow, leech. The combos are endless.

I guess that’s what makes it so dang interesting!

J.

I have never used them on Pool 4 but I use them all the time on the Croix. By far the best fish producer for me this past summer. Give them a try!!

Sorry H2O, I haven’t been following the site for a while, but now that hunting season is over, its all about fishing. Just one more question about the floaters. How large should it be to work in the current, and what bait works best this time of year.

I stick with the smaller floaters and you’re likely to see a minnow preferrence this time of the year but I ALWAYS put crawlers in the boat. 2 Winter’s ago they were the hot bait believe it or not. Sometimes they’re hard to find but they’re really easy to keep alive.

This whole concept of “rigging” made my Summer and Fall on Pool 4 absolutely fabulous. The only thing I have to add to what James already told you is a nice 4 stroke Yamaha T8 sure tops off the whole concept. This whole web site has taught me all kinds of things about moving out of my old “comfort” zone of fishing (as well as directly from James)…and the smallest changes sometimes make the most difference. Last time out my snells were about 3 feet long…worked great, this time 4 footers were the hot ticket. Why? don’t know except it is linked to water flow and clarity (I’d guess). Now if I could only master ringworms..

While the subject of 3-ways and floaters is (floating) around, I’ve got some questions for those of you who use them a lot. I take a lot of my fish on 3-ways but have a lot of trouble with line twist when useing floaters and sometimes spinner rigs with crawlers. Doesn’t seem to be a problem so much when fishing a lake but the river is a different matter. I’m useing the best 3-way swivels I can find and I’ll even run my weight attached to a swivel. I wonder if the line I’m useing for the leader could be causing the twist. Any suggestions? How do you guys set your’s up?

thanks, herb

Herb, I have had the same problem in the past until some one turned me on to a heavier line to prevent twists. 10lb trilene XT is all I use for rigging purposes(leader and dropper) and the line twist is slim to none with the stiffer line. I have tried the XL and the line twist is very common with the limper line.

Hope this helps!

See ya on the river!

dustin

Hey all, I’m confused again, can someone help me out with the Dubuque rig? What is it and when it is effective? Thanks…B

Herb,

Another trick you may want to try is to tie on a small ball bearing swivel to your floater-leader. The barrell swivel tends to reduce line twist more efficiently than the eyes on the 3 way swivel. For example, on a 4′ leader it would go like this. Tie on the barrell swivel 6 inches from the 3 way swivel. Then tie on a 3 1/2′ leader to the other end of the barrell swivel. This will give you a 4′ leader in the end. You will have to experiment a little on the barrell swivel size. The 2 size works well. Another way to go about this would be to connect a Duolock snap barrell swivel right to the 3 way swivel eye itself. Then tie on the leader. These two solutions usually work for me.

Good Luck !

Jim L

I also have had good luck with Trilene XT for dropper and leader. I mostly use the 10lb. solar green and am going to experiment with 8lb. Think you get less snags too with the heavier line as the line doesn’t sink as fast as lighter line[ tends to float alittle better].

Dustin, I’ll make some rigs up tonight with the heavier XT. Always used the 6lb. XL because of (memory) with the XT, even when coming fresh off the spool.

Jim L, I’ll make a couple with the barrel swivel as you described also. Heading up to pool 9 for the weekend so I’ll give em a try. Thanks.

BTW, it’s kinda funny how you can sit at home and think about what you shoulda done. That’s ME anyway!

on all my three ways I run a 4-6ft leader with a 6-12inch dropper all on 8-10lb Spider Wire Super Mono this stuff is some of the strongest Mono line I have ever used and no twists. and a little secret is if you can save your leeches untill late fall (november, December ) use them you will out fish any one around. most of the time. hope this helps

Nate Cadwell

A Dubuque rig is a 3 way rig, but instead of a sinker for the drop, a lead jig is used. You get to cover 2 zones. Also have a chance for a double. Keep it vertical.

one thing to watch is if you are using the dubuque rig it is considered as two line sense you have two seperate hooks. so you can only use one rod.

Nate

Good point, that’s a no-no on pool-2. I see guys who are not aware they are on inland water every year running two lines. Either Dubuqe rigs, multiple jigs on one line or two seperate rods.

Always mention that to them of course!

J.

I’m so used to trolling with 2 rods that it really seems weird to use only 1 rod. Same with a lake, It feels like something is missing. Guess I’m too use to the River with a 2 rod set up.Jiggings not bad with 1 rod but need 2 for trollin.

Know what you mean. I think that’s why you see it happen up here.

I’d like to see Mn go to two lines. Don’t think it will ever happen. I’d like to be able to spread a set of boards (2 guys – 4 boards) out on Mille Lacs. Pool 2 too….

J.

Just a note about James’s reply about crawlers being a good winter bait……I was out and my bait dealer said he couldn’t get any more….but he got me some a couple of weeks ago somehow and now nobody has asked for them. So just a note. I do have them if anybody is looking for them. Thanks.

Steve, you got worms!! Is that what you are gonna call it? LOL!!!

Dustin

I have one more thing to offer (in regards to line twist) on a three way. Don’t be afraid to experiment with how you hook your live bait onto the hook. Most people (including me in the past) put the hook too far back from the nose of a crawler and it spins….and does a real number on the line, same with minnows. Try it next to the boat, you can tell in a minute if your line will twist or not. A highly regarded member of the FTR staff taught me this and it sure does work.

BigB,

A Dubuque rig is simply a three way with a large lead head used as the drop weight, with or without bait, and a floating jig head on the business end. I usually put plastic with no bait on the lead, and tip the floater with a piece of crawler or a minnow. I like to use this rig to search for widely scattered fish, as it can be worked fairly fast and cover quite a lot of water at two depths at the same time. You may be surprised how many fish will hit a 1 oz. jig with twist tail. I have been!

Good fishing,

Rooster

Hey Thanks Rooster, I’ve really had my eyes opened(no pun intended) this year on 3-ways. I’ve always been a bucktail,twister,crankbait, fisherman. This year however I spent more time fishing, watching and learning and I have seen my butt kicked by 3-ways, Thanks for that lesson James! Happy Holidays!!!!……….B

Was up at Genoa this past weekend and the jig bite was pretty good. But most of the fish I was getting were right on the bottom. I tried the 3-ways with floaters that I made up ahead of time and didn’t do squat. So I figuired I needed to experiment. The rigs I made were with a 12 inch dropper and a 4 foot leader for the floater. Changed them to a 6 inch dropper and a 16 inch leader for the floater. Using the stiffer 10 lb. xt held the floater up and out just fine. Looked more like a short Dubuque rig. They worked great as like I said, the fish were holding tight to bottom. Just want to say thanks for the tip on the stiffer leader line. Very simple yet very effective.

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT!

Good to see your done hunting for the season. Now you can get back to what counts fishing! Over Xmas break we’ll have to get out on the river. Maybe we can get Swanson out there as well.

hey, hows it going? Ya we’ll definitely have to get out fishing. Its official now, hunting is over, yesterday was the last day of MN Small game. Got 3 pheasants. So now its all fishing. When do you get back from school? I get home tomorrow. Give Brandon a call and we’ll set something up. I’ve been down to Red Wing a few times now, and have done pretty good. on Sat. i caught a 25.5 in. Walleye. I thought i snagged the bottom. ha ha ha. Anyways give me a call when you get back, and we can try to go mid week or something to beat the crowds.

I have two finals on Fri. Then I’m done. I will be more then ready to get out on the water.

Eric Ahlstrom

my biggest eye ever was caught on the bottom jig on the dubuque rig… 33.5 inches… CR….. right in front of red wing a couple of springs ago…. was a neon power grub that she chomped on….. pulling the current break out frong of baypoint in (at that time) 13 feet of water…. only fish I caught there that day… *darn the bad luck*!!

I use Dubuque rigs back trolling the wing dams all summer and fall and generally use 1 oz jigs with 4″ twister tails. The majority of the fish come on the trailer. For the trailer I use a 3′ -5′ lenght of mono or Fireline and pull most anything from crawlers, leeches, fatheads, chubs, Rapalas, spinners, etc. They all seem to work. Over the course of the year, I’d guess about 75% of my fish come on the trailer but there are days when 90% come on the jig. Also, most of the bigger fish (25″+) come on the jig during the summer. In the fall, a lot of the bigger fish come on the trailer when I’m pulling #9 or #11 floating Rapalas or 4″-6″ creek chubs. Maybe I should use more of these bigger baits on the trailer in July and see if I can catch bigger fish on them like I do in October.