Snap Jig breakdown, Bocephus walleye fishes, Death Jigs look nasty

There’s literally a lifetime’s worth of info on the internet talking the ins and outs of heavy glide baits (Jigging Raps, Shiver Minnows, Hyper-Rattles, Johnny Darters, etc.) but I hadn’t really seen that kind of in-depth “meat” on the Berkley Fusion19 Snap Jig yet. A bait that has a similar, erratic action for triggering reaction bites, but can be fished a little bit slower, shallower, and even in places you have some weeds…something you wouldn’t want to try with traditional glide baits.

Reminder: The Berkley Fusion19 Snap Jig is a winged jighead – with a gliding/darting action – that lets you swap out the body with your favorite plastics to change up the color, action and profile:

Btw here’s links to the 3.4″ Berkley PowerBait The Champ Minnow, 4″ Gulp! Minnow, and 3″ Twitchtail Minnow.

Anywho, that lack of “meat” changed when I came across this Wired2Fish video with NWT pro Korey Sprengel doing a complete breakdown on how/where/when/why he fishes the Berkley Snap Jig for walleyes. Awesome getting every piece of info you want and need on a technique all jammed into one video:

Apparently “Bocephus” flew to MN last week to do some fishing – and no he didn’t spit any Beech-Nut in these one’s eyes lol:

Sounds like he hit up Mille Lacs…not positive, but judging by the Pro-V gunnels and that tan-ish butt seat in the back, I would bet $$$ that’s Tony Roach’s rig.

Must be a Family Tradition because he posted about being in MN back in June too:

And I remember reading about him coming to fish Mille Lacs a few years back, but not knowing you couldn’t keep any walleyes at the time…so Tony Roach came in clutch and brought Hank to an “unspecified lake north of Mille Lacs” to catch a few for shore lunch. Pretty cool.

Not sure what took so long, but I finally ordered myself some Walleye Nation Creations Death Jigs. Reminds me of someone taking a bunch of good walleye baits (jig, bottom-bouncer, ‘crawler harness, spinner) and combining them into one hybrid fish-catcher:

Here’s what it looks like underwater:

And here’s what it looks like above water…with a Green Bay dirty-30 attached:

Sounds like you can fish it a zillion different ways, but the most popular might be slow-rolling it – over the tops of fish or structure – with a steady/straight retrieve and letting the twirling crawler do the work.

Little info in this video on how Isaac Lakich rigs the ‘crawlers on the back for the best action. Oh, and they also triple-up with a walleye, pike and smallie all at the exact same time lol.

Isaac says to wait a second or 2 to set the hook after feeling a bite to make sure they chomp the whole rig and aren’t just nipping at the tail.

Another quickie tip to keep it from getting tangled when casting:

> “Think of it as more of a lob out [versus a sharp, snappy cast]…and at the end of the cast before the bait hits the water, you want to put light pressure on the line which helps the hook stay back.

Same type of lobby cast I do with slip-bobbers, or really any live bait so it stays on the hook. And lightly feathering the spool at the end helps to lay everything out straight when it hits the water.

Don’t have to fish it with live bait either. I’ve heard of a lot of folks using things like Slimers, Gulp! or Uncle Josh Pork Night Crawlers on the business end.

You obviously don’t need forward-facing sonar (LiveScope, Mega Live, Active Target) to fish with ’em…but “sniping” big, suspended marks is one of the things I’m most excited to play with.

I just ordered some of the 3/8-oz size on FishUSA this morning. I know Isaac uses a lot of the 3/4 oz, but I’m just thinking the lighter size might suit my style of fishing better with the ultra-clear water around here and basically zero current. Maybe I should have ordered both just in case LOL. I’ll keep you posted when I get the chance to play with them on the water. 👊

Carved-up by John Pususta. 🤯 Man, I’d be scared to even hold it and I definitely would never drop it down an ice hole around toothy critters:

> John Pususta: ” Here’s a recent 13″ competition-style walleye decoy that I carved for a customer. A fun project to work on. Thanks for looking!”

Thanks for looking? Thanks for LETTING us look, John! 🙌 Amazing work.

1. ND: Father/son duo wins AIM Championship on Lake Sakakawea.

Ross Grothe and his 12-year-old son Roger, who put in work!

> “He doubled up on two 27-inch fish with creek chubs. We were just fishing some structure alongside the river channel, a sunken island, dragging around bait on a slip sinker with a plain hook and targeting fish with my electronics and staying away from the crowds who fish that area.

> “We weighed 5 on our card. We had two over 27, two over 26 and a 24-plus-inch fish. Out of our weigh fish, Roger caught 4 of the 5.”

Love it. Way to go, fellas!

2. MN: Mille Lacs fall walleye harvest slot relaxed.

Of course that’s “relaxed” by Mille Lacs standards:

Here’s why:

> “With actual state angler catch rates and harvest significantly lower than expected, we’re adjusting the regulation to provide more opportunity without significant risk to the long-term sustainability of Mille Lacs’ walleye population.”

Here’s what:

> [As of] Thurs, Sept 1…anglers [are] able to harvest ONE walleye from 20-23″, or 1 longer than 26″, with fishing allowed from 6am to midnight.

> “Given the current size structure of Mille Lacs’ walleye population, this regulation change will meaningfully increase the amount of walleye available for anglers to harvest [there’s zillions of 20” walleyes in there]. Catch rates may not improve this season, but there will be a better chance to keep a fish.

> “The recent lower catch rate of walleye in Mille Lacs Lake is less a reflection of the number of walleye in the lake than it is how hungry those fish are. The number of walleye longer than 14 inches has been similar each year from 2020 to 2022. But an abundance of yellow perch from a strong 2020 yr class has created more natural food for walleye, which consequently are not as willing to bite on anglers’ baits.”

> Walleye regs for the winter season (begins Dec 1) will be announced in Nov.

Check the full, current regz right here.

3. NY: DEC created new spawning habitat for walleyes…

…on the Black River below the town of Dexter and in Chaumont Bay.

*Lake Ontario walleyes rejoice*

4. WI: Nelson Lake getting a “draw-down” to help walleyes?

Usually hear about walleyes having their best spawning on high-water years, which is why this write-up instantly caught my attention. Apparently they’re dropping the water level by 2′ on Nelson Lake this fall (then raise it back up early spring) because it “it tends to create preferred habitat” for walleye spawning:

> “Reduced weed density in some locations and improved water clarity in the first half of the summer….”

Which I guess makes sense in my tiny little brain. Just the first time I had heard of something like it.

5. ID: Invasive walleye keep popping up…

…where they aren’t supposed to ‘cuz they were illegally stocked in some lakes.

6. ND: Kolden/Ekstein/Leidholm trio = AIM team of the year.

7. New ION “Alpha Series” ice auger coming.

Supposed to be incredibly light and fast. Their site says it runs thru 2,000″ of ice per charge and that it’ll cut up to 3.4″ of ice per second = an insane stat! The 8″ model weighs 15.9 lbs and the 10″ is 16.3 lbs. Also has a “Variable Speed Trigger” which I think might be a first in these types of augers. Can dig up some more info if you snoop around their site.

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

…(near Breezy Point) is happenin’ Sun, Sept 25. 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.

Pelican is definitely one of my favorite walleye lakes in the area – ton of catchable fish in there right now and some big ones mixed in. My buddy Jason Rylander and I got lucky (for once 😅) and won it last year. Our bag was anchored by a 29″ kicker that was also big fish of the derby at 6.76 lbs.

This derby has a 5-fish limit with only 1 fish allowed > 20″. So last year we went into it with two separate game plans: A shallow-water jig pitching deal with 1/8-oz VMC Hard Ball Jigs and minners for our fish under 20″, then pulling rigs with big chubs on deep humps for an “over.” Gotta love when a plan works out because they sure never seem to!

9. MN: “Fishing to End Hunger” charity tourney happening Oct 1.

On Gull Lake. They already have 107 teams registered ‘cuz it’s a great cause, the fish are usually snapping that time of year, and it has BIG-time payouts with $15K for 1st place.

10. Safe to say this one wanted Troy Lindner’s…

…Rapala Jigging Shadow Rap. #ChokedIt

Always feels good to scuff-up a new bait!

11. A company is making “Tungsten Putty.”

Not sure what the walleye application is, but no doubt someone will find it.

12. MN: Starry stonewort confirmed in Lake Bemidji.

13. WI: ’22 Sturgeon spearing summary is out.

It’s finally Sept…which means soon-ish walleyes will start eating anything and everything to bulk-up for winter 🙋‍♂️ but I guess I can relate:

LOL. Seriously cannot wait for those fall patterns to kick in!

This walleye engulfed Dylan Nussbaum’s Z-Man ChatterBait WillowVibe and stayed cheesin’ for the pic – it obviously hasn’t missed a cleaning at the dentist its whole life! 😍

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH