Bobberscoping in clear water, FFS side effects, Bottom-bouncer tricks

Sorry about the late send today. I think the Brainerd, MN boil advisory has been getting to me…. Okay, okay…TMI 🥴 I know!

– That’s a line from this In-Fisherman write-up asking if NY is home of the next world-record walleye?
It’s jammed full of a bunch of interesting info – too much to fit it all in here – but if you have a few minutes and like 18+ pound walleyes (duh!) I’d definitely recommend giving that write-up a snoop by clicking the picture below:

#RoadTripTime

Believe it or not 👀 even with forward-facing sonar (LiveScope, MEGA Live, ActiveTarget) it can still be a bugger to get fussy, clear-water walleyes to bite. This Virtual Angling write-up dives into exactly how MN guide Tony Roach hunts ‘em down with slip-bobbers and FFS, but there’s a lot more that goes into it than you’d think.

This “bobberscoping” technique is the exact way many, MANY walleye derbies have been won the last few seasons….

> Many MN walleye lakes are notorious for having exceptional water visibility. In particular, many lakes have zebra mussels which increases the clarity and ultimately change walleye fishing dramatically….

> According to Roach, aggressively using slip-bobbers to cast at fish away from the boat is a key method for catching walleye right now during the dog days of summer.

> Roach is using slip-bobbers in conjunction with forward-facing sonar. …stresses that there are many days where fish are spooking…if the boat gets within 40’ or 50’ of the fish.

> In light winds, Tony will ease within about 60’ down wind of fish and spot lock, casting the slip-bobbers past fish and let the wind push the slip bobbers into the fish.

> In stronger winds, Roach will look for a school of fish and actually drive around the fish in a big circle and spot lock upwind of the fish and cast back at the fish behind the boat. On many of today’s MN walleye fisheries with clear water…you have to sneak up on fish.

 

> Walleyes are adapting to the clearer water but also adapting to forward-facing sonar. …there are becoming more times when fish are spooking from forward-facing sonar. If fish dart or move to the side or hunker down when you hit them with the forward facing sonar, turn the transducer away from the fish as soon as you find them.

 

> Because long casts are so crucial, use enough weight and bobber to make long casts and get down to the fish. Roach is a fan of the weighted Tail Fin bobbers. He typically uses 6-lb Sufix Advance Mono as his main line for his setup. Below the bobber, Roach will use a small egg sinker above a swivel. Below the swivel, attach a 3-4’ fluorocarbon leader and a long shank 1/16-oz jig. 

> …typically uses both crawlers and leeches on a slip-bobber but…leeches are really difficult to find right now. With a crawler…thread on a 1/2 or 3/4 of a crawler onto a long-shank jig. In deeper water, use a heavier egg sinker to reach the fish faster. On really tough bites, Roach will experiment with a 1/32-oz jig or plain hook. 

> When fish are positioned higher off the bottom, Roach likes to cast right at fish and let the jig fall down on them. For fish closer to the bottom or for fish that are more difficult to trigger, Roach recommends casting past the fish and drag into them watching the jig drop down into fish as you get above them. 

Full Virtual Angling write-up here. They kick out a TON of really great content.

We’re getting close to that awkward time of year when fishing and hunting seasons will start to mix. But here’s NWT 🔨 Duane “Dewey” Hjelm proving that waterfowl hunters aren’t the only ones who get to chase bling! He stuck this banded SD walleye on the coming-soon-ish Rapala Jigging Rap Magnum:

How cool is that?! You know ‘Dewey’ is probably rocking a trolling motor remote lanyard that looks like this LOL:

But seriously, TW reader Steve Nelson has an awesome start to his! 🔥

Steve stacked up 5 bands over a 3-day fishing trip to Lake Oahe by Fort Yates, ND. He said they were pulling cranks in about 12-15′ and it was a snaggy mess ‘cuz they had to be right next to the flooded brush to get bit. Ended up losing about 50 cranks over those 3 days, but recouped a chunk of that fee after nabbing a $100 reward tag on one of the fish.

…a Gull Lake (Nisswa, MN) unicorn 🦄 last night during our local walleye league! Thing jumped out of the water like a dang tarpon LOL. Somehow landed her on my 6’ 10” ML XF Elliott Identity ‘Drop Shot’ rod with an 8-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon leader. And my buddy Nick Lindner somehow-er got it in the net for a quick pic. 😅

The DNR stocked 2,000 muskie fingerlings in 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2022. Unfortunatly we didn’t get an exact measurement, but we are guessing this is roughly a 39” fish from the 2016 batch. She was super healthy, thriving, and soooo much fun! Excited for the future of the fishery.

Btw we also caught 10.20 lbs of walleyes to land in 4th place last night. Just couldn’t wrangle one of those big 6.5 to 7-lb “overs” like a few other teams did! 🙌 BIG props to them for getting it done.

It’s probably been about 5 years since I actually got my hands on a muskie. I had caught that one fishing out of Flag Island Resort on Lake of the Woods aaaand it just so happened to be a magnum “Merp.” 😂🤷‍♂️

I come across some weird stuff while scouring the interwebz for content. And it seems no matter what that “out there” thing is, my brain somehow finds a way to relate it to the fishing world. It’s just how my oversized melon works LOL – I can’t shut it off.

One of those strange posts I found was talking about “what avid gamers could look like in 20 years’ time thanks to hours hunched over their consoles.”

Which obviously reminded me of folks (myself included) staying hunched over their electronics while fishing, something that was multiplied times a zillion the second I added LiveScope to my boat.

So I guess here’s your friendly reminder to occasionally stand up and stretch throughout the day? 🤷‍♂️

Might also help prevent you from getting a ridiculous LiveScope tan line on your neck if you’re a bozo and stare down at your screen all day in the sun….

1. MN: Another AWESOME kids event coming up! 💯

Called the Youth Outdoor Activity Day and happening Sun, Aug 27 in Alexandria. It’s a FREE event open to all kids and families – put together by Viking Sportsmen and Douglas County Pheasants Forever.

They had over 2,400 kids attend last year! More info on the activities here, including anything from casting, knot tying, trout pond, ice fishing, camping, rock climbing wall, shooting sports, snowshoeing, shelter building, outdoor cooking, fish painting, biking, ATV/UTVs, and waaaay more.

Sounds like Maisie and I are going to have to take a road-trip to Alexandria…because this looks absolutely amazing. Legit the stuff kid’s dreams are made of (mine too lol) and it’s free?! 😳👏👏👏 Huuuuge props to all those involved who help make it happen!

2. VA: Record saugeye caught on Lake Gaston.

Brittany Watkins caught the 6-lb 8-oz (25.25” long x 14.5” girth) saugeye on an unnamed crankbait. The previous record of 6 lbs was caught from the Staunton River just last year by Michael Miller.

Btw – saugeye is a hybrid created by crossing a female walleye with a male sauger. They were first stocked in VA in 2013

3. ID Fish and Game wants folks to keep/kill…

…any walleye they catch in the Snake and Salmon Rivers.

4. MN: Walleye Alliance Fall Classic on Pelican Lake…

…(near Breezy Point) is happening Sat, Sept 30.

This year they’re doing a guaranteed $5K to 1st place! The tourney helps raise money to better walleye fishing in the Brainerd Lakes Area. It’s a $300 team entry fee (80% payout) and they’re capping it at 50 boats.

Great cause and a great fishery! I’m already registered to fish it – you can be too…. 😏👊

Matt Castle and Denny Gourhan won it last year with a 12.68-lb bag, and also took home the ‘big fish’ pot with this gorgeous 28-incher:

5. MN: Investigation into water near 3M plant…

…led to discovery of old and new chemicals in fish with “average PFOS concentration almost 10x the national average.”

> A state and federal investigation into chemical discharges from 3M’s Cottage Grove plant led to last week’s state health advisory about fish caught in the Mississippi River from St. Paul to Hastings, as well as a popular shore fishing lake near Hastings.

6. Striker has some WILD sales going on right now.

Saw some pieces as much as 75% off on their site. 🤯

7. MN: DNR wants input on proposed northern pike regz…

…on Gull Lake chain (Cass and Crow Wing County).

> The purpose of the proposed regulation is to provide better protection for large northern pike in the Gull Lake chain and reduce enforcement complexities by applying the same regulation to all connected waters.

> If adopted, the regulation will require all northern pike from 30-40” to be immediately released and will change the possession limit to 2, with only 1 > 40” allowed in possession on the Gull Lake chain. The proposed regulation would be evaluated for effectiveness after 10 yrs, in 2034. If adopted, the regulation would be in effect for the fishing season that begins May 11, 2024.

8. This write-up says more anglers are…

“…replacing lead fishing weights with steel, brass and other metals.” 🤨 I dunno about that…guess I’d maybe say about 1/3 of that might be true with folks using tungsten when it’s an option. But I also don’t personally know anyone that’s using tungsten for environmental reasons…they’re using it for it’s density.

9. Check this new shirt from bass pro Gerald Swindle. 😅

10. Fishbrain app gets $6 mil more funding.

11. IT security incident hits Brunswick’s Q2 sales.

12. Yamaha names Robert Orr marine technical services manager.

13. Berkley bait designer Dan Spengler…

…hopped on the ‘Another Fishing Podcast’ and nerd’d out! 😅

> Host Greg Underdahl: “I’m lucky enough to sit down with Senior Project Manager at Berkley, Dan Spengler, and pick his brain about the insane baits he and his team have been cranking out the past few years. We talk about the Choppo, Stunna, and Money Badger and delve into the painstaking process of creating baits that flat out catch fish. You’ll quickly realize that Dan is beyond passionate about fishing and his enthusiasm for lure-making is the secret ingredient baked into every bait at Spirit Lake. But there’s SO MUCH MORE!”

I could listen to Dan chat baits all dang day. And Greg…I could listen to him talk/rant about anything and everything lol:

NY: Outmatched Syracuse dad regrets teaching son how to fish.

> David Geiler, of Syracuse, regrets teaching his son Michael how to fish. Over the years they’ve both won fishing trophies, but Michael’s are always bigger….

> While everybody else on the boat was reeling in keepers and shouting “fish-on” until they were hoarse, Geiler managed to catch one pumpkinseed and a rock bass. Next time maybe he’ll just go golfing with his daughter, he says. No, scratch that, she’s a better golfer.

🤣

Some bottom-bouncing nuggets from Jason Mitchell.

Some great info in the full Virtual Angling write-up and video, few excerpts below:

> The beauty of using bottom-bouncers is that they’re versatile. You can fish bottom-bouncers with spinners at 2.0 mph and trigger bites with speed, or you can also slow down and fish them at 0.5 mh, 1.0 mph, and use a little bit of finesse. A bottom-bouncer simply keeps your presentation near the bottom.

Keep your rod at a 45-degree angle

> The other thing is, is as you slow down, you want to use a heavy enough bottom-bouncer to find the bottom and keep that line at about a 45 degree angle. If you let out too much line at slow speeds, the bottom-bouncer is going to tip over. Therefore you want just enough weight and enough line out to barely tick the bottom.

> A rule of thumb is one ounce for every ten feet of water. So when in ten or twelve feet, one ounce will work fine. When in twenty five feet, two to three ounces will work fine. Basically you want to keep your line at a 45 degree angle and just tick the bottom.

Use a stiffer rod

> …don’t be afraid to use a stiffer [baitcasting] rod setup, such as a medium-heavy rod with an extra-fast action tip.

> A stiffer rod can be beneficial for a few reasons: 1) When holding on to the rod, the rod power built up to the tip allows for a better hookset, especially in deeper water, when using heavier bottom-bouncers. 2) The other thing is when fishing on rocks, that stiffer rod will just pop that bottom-bouncer through the rocks better.

Btw Jason also just posted a new YouTube video last week using bottom-bouncers during a cold front to smack a pile of Last Mountain Lake (SK) walleyes.

If you ever see walleyes scattered all over out deep – with no structure to hold ’em in one spot – you want this dude fighting on your side:

I’m all for catch and release – and selective harvest – but I’m also ALL for a winner winner fish dinner! 👊 @sodak__fishin ordered up this 4-pack of future fish tacos from his kayak:

Now it’s time for them to take a swim in some Catch + Cook!

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH