Promised my wife a boat ride to Hudson to watch the fireworks. She even let me pull cranks all the way there! Great bite on Thunderstick Jrs in 12-20′ of water. Couldn’t keep them out of the boat. Nice fish, 15-18″, all eyes but one, it was a 16″ sauger. We sure are blessed to be surrounded by so many fish! Keep it vertical.
Sounds like You’re lucky to have an understanding Misses. How much weight are you running with your thunderstick? I’ve been doing OK north of Stillwater dragging spinners and minners. The trouble is the size has slipped. Maybe going to a different approach will kick up the size factor!
Is there any color factors on your Jr.’s? Just wondering which pattern has been best for you?
3ozs 50′ ahead on a quick change clevis. Snap a release in front of the clevis, easy to take the pencil weight off. Firetiger and chartreuse have both been best. Went out tonight and pulled 20′ jet divers with spinners and husky jerks over the sunken island. Only picked up 2 decent saugers, but I enjoyed doing something different. Keep it vertical.
I tried your approach last night on the Croix. Fished for 2 hours and here’s the tally…
2 15″ Smallie
2 15″ Walleye
1 28″ Redhorse
All caught on a rainbow trout colored Thunderstick Jr. Trolled in 18″ of water using 2 1/2 Oz. Bottom bouncer….
LeadHead… were you still above stillwater? or have you dropped down….. I would think there MIGHT be something going in front of the kings power plant…. normally they would be done there around this time of year… but with the high water maybe they are still there… or maybe its like Pepin and the river is better than the “lake”…..
I’m fishing way up north. It’s a place called Osceola. I’m being stubborn and insist on fishing close to home. I refuse to believe all the 18 and 19 inchers we were getting a few weeks ago have dropped down stream or vanished.
There was a 6 pound Walleye caught up here on the weekend. The guy caught it fishing smallmouth and kept it to fillet. I gave him counseling on catch and release. He caught that one on a white spinner bait in 1 foot of water….go figure.
ahhhhhh yes… Osceola…. that was my address until June… now its Dresser… still…. I DO know where of you speak! I just usually dont fight it and I go down river…….
bet Ive seen you at the launch!
From a boat or your truck? :O) Just kiddin’ RE! We have to get above Taylors Falls one of these days!
I’ve used threeways and bottom bouncers, but I find the pencil weights with the quick change clevis alot more effective. 50′ infront and then another 50′ in water up to 20-22′ deep. On fat raps in 20′ , I put the weight 75′ from the crank, and then run out another 60′. I don’t pull these any faster than 2.3, usually staying between 1.6 and 2.0. Never mastered lead core, but since they have discontinued my beloved Thundersticks, I guess I’m going to have to to get shad raps down. Keep it vertical.
Greatplains , how are you maintaining contact with the bottom using this setup. I’ve been dropping my weight to the bottom and then cranking up 4 or 5 turns. This seems to be a little hit or miss. I’m always wondering if I’m dragging bottom or too high. I like to know I’m right in the strike zone at all times!!
leadhead….
I fish with snap weights too….. basically the secret for me is a line counter reel… I use the same basic setup that greatplains uses….. 50/50 feet works good… using a shad rap and spiderwire I have NO trouble feeling the crank pounding bottom…. if Im NOT feeling that I put out a little more line and just make note of the lenght of line I have to pay out to get contact in the depth/area Im fishing……. the line counter allows you to consistantly put the bait right where it needs to be…..
Rivereyes is correct. Gotta have line counters. For about the last five years, I have made sure that I pull cranks everytime I go out. It’s taken a lot of time to figure out how much line I need to get each crank in the zone. Whenever possible, I use cranks that need no weight. For example, #7 wally divers run 12′ deep on 12# fireline with 93′ out, 16′ deep with 135′ out. Unfortunately, eyes don’t always want wally divers. Have to use some form of lead to get what they want down. I have been experimenting with jet divers and dipsys alot the past couple of years. They work great on big flats and places with consistent depths, like Erie with suspended fish. They, (jet divers), work great for getting spinners down 20-40′. But they don’t work well with changing contour. It’s not the weight you want ticking bottom, its the crank bait. Just takes a little time to figure it out. Keep it vertical.
Thanks guys for the good advice. I’ll fine tune my presentation a little and see if I get good results. The way the Croix has been dropping up here I may not need your snap weights!! I think my problem feeling bottom has been using mono(it has too much stretch). With the Fireline I can feel every “tick”. I’ll try running the weights on Fireline and see if I can tell where I’m at better. Where are you getting your snap weights… Fleet Farm?
got mine at galyans…. seems like the kit was a bit over $20
I picked up snap wt kit @fleet farm..$16.95 If i recall correctly. They were with the sinkers.
W
Leadhead,
One thing I’ve experienced with my snap weights is the release clip not holding well on the fire line. Make sure they have a small nipple inside the release. This will keep them from falling off. I also have to take a wrap around on side of the release so it doesn’t slide back towards the lure. Of course my release are getting old so that could be part of my problem also??
Thanks again guys. Looks like I’ll stuff my wallet with cash and head to town. I also need to stock up on wally divers!!
Leadhead,
I don’t buy those kits. (Mostly because 80% of the weights are useless because the don’t weigh enough) You can make your own.
Go to Fleet Farm. Buy a 4-pack of “Off Shore Planner Board Clips” for $9.99 Then go buy an assortment of pencil weights. These are lead weights in the shape of a pencil. I like anything from 1 to 3 ounces. Add the clips and your set.
J.
Thanks Jon J. I already have a bunch of those planer board clips. With the pencil weights I’m all set…
Only two places around that always have pencil weights. Joes on Dale in St. Paul, and Four Seasons in Red Wing. Brothers Bait in Stillwater have them occasionally. Otherwise, I’ve had a tough time finding them. Keep it vertical.
the bait shop in Anoka always has them…. its on west main st……
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