Spring Has Sprung and The Handline Bite Has Begun

Allie and Zach on their fist Handline Outing !!

Each year in the spring, when the water temps start to climb into the mid 40’s, I get a little excited about getting the boat out and setting up the Handline Gear !!
It all started back in 04 when a local guide asked me if I would like to join him on a day on the river …. we were going to “Handline” !! I had never even heard of it before. Well needless to say by the days end
I was hooked !! I would have never guessed that I would get so into this technique that for two years I pulled wire almost non stop. Different lead lengths, different types of baits, different weights and different depths.
For two years I was looking to gain as much knowledge and I could cram into my thick noggin to put fish in the boat by hand..

So now I pretty much limit my outings to the spring run when male walleyes work over the gravel beds. One of the most common weights early will be the 1-1/4 pound weight, this is due to the limited flow at the beginning of the run.
But I have used as much as 3 pounds a time or two du to the incredible amount of flow that can occur due to spring run off and heavy rains..Lead lengths can be anywhere from 5 foot long to 40 feet long,
but the most common for me is the 10 foot and 20 foot lengths of a tough abrasion resistant monofilament.

Most of the crank baits I like to use are the Rapala Brand… Original Floating Rapalas in the 7,9 and sometimes 11 sizes will put a lot of fish in the boat… I also like to use Rapalas J-7 and the #5 JSSR… Lots of experimentation
is done in my boat as I like to try new baits all the time..