|
Locations, depth ranges and structure
> Josh: “I have been fishing very clear water conditions and having good success, especially during the daytime hours. It seems counterintuitive, but those ultra-clear lakes have good weed growth and good oxygen zones because of the lack of snowfall this season. Those fish hanging in the weeds are there for one reason, and that is to eat. ...they tend to get overlooked in the wintertime.”
> “For walleyes in midwinter, it depends on your style of fishing. If you’re bringing your wheelhouse and truck up, you want to be in 16-25′, finding a rock/sand transition on one of the many rock reefs...[most recently] Rogers Point, Vipers Tooth, Huddles Reef have been the most consistent bite for us.
If you’re bopping around in portables and want a shot at catching your new PB (personal best) walleye, get on top of shallow rockpiles or weed edges in less than 12′ and keep quiet.
> “A trick for anglers – keep the lights to a minimum. I’ve had a lot of guys tell me they catch fish as soon as they go to sleep and turn off the lights.”
Find the bait, find the fish
> “For walleye, it comes down to where the young-of-the-year perch are hanging out. They start moving to those edges where the bugs and smaller crayfish are. Using a camera or forward-facing sonar to locate these baitfish schools and setting up on them is key to an evening bite.”
> “Most of the time, those young perch start moving out to the deeper edges of the structure around mid-January. That’s when you really start seeing the walleyes follow.”
Baits and presentations
> “Mid-season, I tend to go towards a slower-falling lure or jigging spoon like a VMC Hatchet Spoon [couple of his favorite Leech Lake colors are Glow Voodoo Haze and Glow Juicy Lucy], Northland Coffin Spoon, or Northland Thumper Spoon tipped with a minnow head. The slower fall and flash can help trigger the bite.”
> “I like to downsize my jigging spoons for walleye this time of year, but when you do that, they come with smaller hooks. Replacing them with a bigger treble will increase your hookup percentage.”
Line choice matters – Josh runs 8-lb fluorocarbon because Leech’s clear water demands stealth.
> “Another trick – replace the treble hook with a single larger hook. You can thread on the minnow head, and the action that creates really entices the fish.”
If you’re not getting bites, don’t be stubborn. Slow things down and mix in a deadstick.
> “I also always have a full minnow on a bobber rod [deadstick, tip-up, rattle reel, etc] somewhere nearby. I draw them in jigging, but they often prefer that slow-moving minnow over the jigging rod.”
> “With deadsticks, a good 3-4” minnow is key, and don’t be afraid to put that minnow sometimes up to 3′ off the bottom. The water is super clear, and a lot of fish are used to seeing baitfish higher up.”
Josh Bullivant lives and breathes this stuff  and knows Leech Lake inside and out. You can keep reading the rest of the write-up here or by clicking the pic below:
|
