If I had to choose one lure to use for the rest of my life it would be a jig. Jigs can be fished many ways, come in lots of configurations, and are cheap. And, they are the best way to fish for spring walleyes that you can find.
The vast majority of walleye fishermen fish their jigs vertically. That is, they try to keep them right below the boat and in contact with the bottom. Boat position is vital and a good trolling motor will give you the chance to move the boat along at the same speed as the current, which will let you keep your jig vertical. Why worry about that? Because if your jig is bouncing straight up and down it’s less likely to get snagged than if it’s way behind or in front of the boat dragging on the bottom.
Use a jig that will allow you to keep in touch with the bottom but no heavier than it takes to keep that contact. Why again?....because a walleye bites by flaring its gills and sucking your jig and a bunch of water into its mouth. A lightweight jig will pop right into the fish’s mouth while a heavy clunker will not. The result with a very heavy jig will be missed strikes and bad hook-ups.
Choose a plastic tail or hair tail that you like and you’re in business. In the spring the water is cold and the fish are sluggish so work your jig slowly. Be alert for that little tic on your line and in no time you’ll be reeling in a walleye or sauger. Spring walleye fishing can be fast and lots of fun. Get out and enjoy it while the water is still in good shape. With all the snow we have this year we’ll probably have a flood and many times that ruins the walleye fishing. So get out as much as you can while the getting’s good.
by: Dan Bomkamp
http://www.ruralpropertypro.com/
Outdoor Sports | SW Wisconsin Real Estate | Land, Farms, Rural Homes
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Spring Walleyes + Cold Water = Stinger Hooks
The ice is out below many of the dams and many fishermen are out after spring walleyes. When the water is cold these fish bite very lightly. Often you feel a tic on your line and reel up to find your minnow is gone or missing his tail, or that your twister tail has been pulled partly off your jig. That’s because walleye and sauger hit short in the cold spring water.
The solution is a stinger hook, which is nothing more than a small treble hook that is attached to the bend of the jig hook. The stinger hangs at the tail of the minnow or twister and often catches the light-biting fish in the chin. Without them, the fish per strike rate is very low.
You can make your own by buying a box of #8 or #10 treble hooks. Then cut an 8 inch piece of mono and double it, putting the two cut ends together. Tie the doubled line to the treble hook and you end up with a treble with a loop of line on it. Then cinch the loop over the bend on your jig hook and you have a stinger hook that cost you about a dime. If you compare that to a price of about $1.50 for a package of “store bought” stingers, you can see it’s much cheaper to make your own….and they work just as well.
Make up a bunch of them at home and stick them in a piece of Styrofoam and you’ll be ready to fish. I guarantee you’ll get more hook-ups than with a plain jig hook.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
http://www.ruralpropertypro.com/
The solution is a stinger hook, which is nothing more than a small treble hook that is attached to the bend of the jig hook. The stinger hangs at the tail of the minnow or twister and often catches the light-biting fish in the chin. Without them, the fish per strike rate is very low.
You can make your own by buying a box of #8 or #10 treble hooks. Then cut an 8 inch piece of mono and double it, putting the two cut ends together. Tie the doubled line to the treble hook and you end up with a treble with a loop of line on it. Then cinch the loop over the bend on your jig hook and you have a stinger hook that cost you about a dime. If you compare that to a price of about $1.50 for a package of “store bought” stingers, you can see it’s much cheaper to make your own….and they work just as well.
Make up a bunch of them at home and stick them in a piece of Styrofoam and you’ll be ready to fish. I guarantee you’ll get more hook-ups than with a plain jig hook.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
http://www.ruralpropertypro.com/
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Perch Are Biting
I called one of my old fishing buddies who lives on the Mississippi and checked to see how the fishing has been. He reported that the big perch are still biting and so are the bluegills and crappies. This has been a great year for perch, with fish from ten to eleven and even twelve inches being caught. A twelve inch perch is a fine fish and great eating.
A couple of places that have been really good are Green Lake at Blackhawk Park just north of DeSoto, and DeSoto bay. Both have been consistently good this winter.
The water is open below the Genoa dam and many fishermen have been fishing for walleyes there. They are catching mostly sauger and a few walleyes right now and most are small but it’s pretty fast fishing. Some are catching fifty to sixty fish per day.
Spring is just around the corner and soon we’ll see some really great fishing after what has seemed to be a never ending winter.
by: Dan Bomkamp
A couple of places that have been really good are Green Lake at Blackhawk Park just north of DeSoto, and DeSoto bay. Both have been consistently good this winter.
The water is open below the Genoa dam and many fishermen have been fishing for walleyes there. They are catching mostly sauger and a few walleyes right now and most are small but it’s pretty fast fishing. Some are catching fifty to sixty fish per day.
Spring is just around the corner and soon we’ll see some really great fishing after what has seemed to be a never ending winter.
by: Dan Bomkamp
Monday, February 7, 2011
Time To Get Ready For Walleyes
The spring walleye season is just around the corner. Yes, I know the rivers are covered with ice but all it takes is a week of warm weather and we’ll see them begin to open up. You can get your summer fishing gear ready now and then when we have open water you’ll be all ready for fishing.
The most important part of your fishing equipment is your line. The boat, motor, rods, reels and lures are very important but the line is what connects you to the fish and keeps him there until you get him in hand. If you have old rotten line, you’re taking a chance of loosing a trophy walleye this spring.
If you use mono it needs to be changed. Monofilament line wears out in a short time and gets brittle if it’s not worn out. The super braided lines are much tougher and last a lot longer. They’re a bit more costly to purchase but last longer so in the long run they’re more economical.
If you use the super braided lines you MUST use a good knot to tie your lure on. A fisherman’s knot will slip because the line is so slick. The best knot to use is a Palomar knot. They’re easy to tie and very strong.
Get your lines changed and then you’re on step closer to spring fishing. Then if you hook into a trophy walleye, you’ll have the confidence to know you’re not going to break her off because of some old rotten line.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
Wisconsin Waterfront Properties
The most important part of your fishing equipment is your line. The boat, motor, rods, reels and lures are very important but the line is what connects you to the fish and keeps him there until you get him in hand. If you have old rotten line, you’re taking a chance of loosing a trophy walleye this spring.
If you use mono it needs to be changed. Monofilament line wears out in a short time and gets brittle if it’s not worn out. The super braided lines are much tougher and last a lot longer. They’re a bit more costly to purchase but last longer so in the long run they’re more economical.
If you use the super braided lines you MUST use a good knot to tie your lure on. A fisherman’s knot will slip because the line is so slick. The best knot to use is a Palomar knot. They’re easy to tie and very strong.Get your lines changed and then you’re on step closer to spring fishing. Then if you hook into a trophy walleye, you’ll have the confidence to know you’re not going to break her off because of some old rotten line.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
Wisconsin Waterfront Properties
Friday, January 28, 2011
Turkey Permits Are Coming
The DNR has held it’s drawing for spring turkey permits and the successful hunters will be notified by post card this coming week. They drew over 145,000 permits for the 6 hunting periods starting April 13. But don’t despair if you forgot to apply or didn’t get a permit because there are over 80,000 leftover permits still available. They go on sale on March 21.
The leftover permits cost $10 each and you can buy one per day until they’re gone. This gives the avid turkey hunter a lot of chances for a long season. Last year hunters took over 47,000 turkeys in the spring hunt. When you think back about 30 years to when they first brought Missouri birds to Wisconsin, that 47,000 figure is astonishing. Before that time there were no wild turkeys in Wisconsin and now they are everywhere in the state. This is one of the most successful programs the DNR has run in many years. Of course the wild turkey is a tough bird capable of living almost everywhere, so that helped a lot.
There are thousands of turkeys in our area of Wisconsin. If you’ve never experienced the thrill of a spring turkey hunt, you really should give it a try. We have some of the best turkey hunting in the state, right here in our back yards. It’s a glorious time of year and a hunt that you’ll long remember.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
The leftover permits cost $10 each and you can buy one per day until they’re gone. This gives the avid turkey hunter a lot of chances for a long season. Last year hunters took over 47,000 turkeys in the spring hunt. When you think back about 30 years to when they first brought Missouri birds to Wisconsin, that 47,000 figure is astonishing. Before that time there were no wild turkeys in Wisconsin and now they are everywhere in the state. This is one of the most successful programs the DNR has run in many years. Of course the wild turkey is a tough bird capable of living almost everywhere, so that helped a lot.
There are thousands of turkeys in our area of Wisconsin. If you’ve never experienced the thrill of a spring turkey hunt, you really should give it a try. We have some of the best turkey hunting in the state, right here in our back yards. It’s a glorious time of year and a hunt that you’ll long remember.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Perch Are Back
Many years ago an ice fisherman could go to the Mississippi river and if he was willing to take a long walk or a dangerous ride out across the ice he could come home with a pail of jumbo perch. There was a place about two miles out from Ferryville called Brown’s lake that produced huge perch in the 12 inch range. An enterprising fellow there in Ferryville took the doors off an old car and hauled fishermen out to Brown’s for a buck a piece. Those were the days before snowmobiles.
For many years perch could be caught at a place called Shady Maple near Stoddard with great regularity. That all came to a halt when we had a flood in the 80’s that filled the spot in with sand and mud.
Until this year perch have been pretty hard to come by but this year they have come back. Many people caught nice perch and lots of them below the dams at Lynxville and Genoa this spring. Now they are getting 12 inch perch at a new spot just above Stoddard that was built by the Corps of Engineers just for fishing. It is a series of rock dams that have been dumped into a big bay north of town and those rocks have drawn in lots of bluegills, crappies and big perch.
Anyone who has ever gotten into a school of perch knows how much fun it is to fish for them and then to eat them afterward. They are delicious and when you have fish 11 and 12 inches, they make some dandy fillets. Get some minnows or big flashy jigs and give them a try.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
For many years perch could be caught at a place called Shady Maple near Stoddard with great regularity. That all came to a halt when we had a flood in the 80’s that filled the spot in with sand and mud.
Until this year perch have been pretty hard to come by but this year they have come back. Many people caught nice perch and lots of them below the dams at Lynxville and Genoa this spring. Now they are getting 12 inch perch at a new spot just above Stoddard that was built by the Corps of Engineers just for fishing. It is a series of rock dams that have been dumped into a big bay north of town and those rocks have drawn in lots of bluegills, crappies and big perch.
Anyone who has ever gotten into a school of perch knows how much fun it is to fish for them and then to eat them afterward. They are delicious and when you have fish 11 and 12 inches, they make some dandy fillets. Get some minnows or big flashy jigs and give them a try.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
Friday, December 31, 2010
Good-Bye 2010
I’m sure many will be glad to see 2010 over. It was a year that many struggled with bills and finances. Those who live in big cities worry about just putting food on the table, but those of us who live in this part of the world can go down to the Wisconsin river or one of the river bottom sloughs and catch supper almost any day of the year.
If you’re a hunter, you can fill your freezer with game in the fall and feast for a long time on your stored up meat. If you spent enough time hunting squirrels, ducks, geese, turkeys, deer and rabbits you’d be surprised at how much game you could amass. And it’s good food, fresh, wholesome and best of all….free.
We’re lucky to live in a place where there is such bounty. And no matter what the economy is doing, there is always something to draw you to the woods or waters that you can take home and feed your family with.
I hope the new year is better for everyone. But even if it isn’t, you can be glad that you live in such a beautiful part of the world where you can feed yourself with the bounty of Mother Nature. Happy New Year to all. Best of luck in 2011.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
If you’re a hunter, you can fill your freezer with game in the fall and feast for a long time on your stored up meat. If you spent enough time hunting squirrels, ducks, geese, turkeys, deer and rabbits you’d be surprised at how much game you could amass. And it’s good food, fresh, wholesome and best of all….free.
We’re lucky to live in a place where there is such bounty. And no matter what the economy is doing, there is always something to draw you to the woods or waters that you can take home and feed your family with.
I hope the new year is better for everyone. But even if it isn’t, you can be glad that you live in such a beautiful part of the world where you can feed yourself with the bounty of Mother Nature. Happy New Year to all. Best of luck in 2011.
post by: Dan Bomkamp
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