Poor man's downrigger – Winnipeg Free Press

Description

Finding springtime walleye can be somewhat of a challenge depending on the kind of weather conditions we get in this part of the world when the season opens. Moving water is always a great equalizer as it attracts fish for a variety of reasons. The size of the creek or river you are fishing will also dictate how you might want to present your bait to be the most effective. | On larger rivers, with strong current flow, a three-way rig is a very effective way to go. | This is a simple setup and one that can be extremely productive. The first thing you do is attach your main line to one of the eyes of the three-way swivel. On the bottom swivel eye, you will tie a short piece of mono, about a foot in length, and tie on a relatively heavy jig rigged with some kind of soft plastic, like a boot tail. On the top swivel eye, tie a longer leader, say about 30 inches. Onto the end of this you can add a nice light jig, say 1/16 of an ounce. In heavier current this jig will ride up off the bottom. Dress this small jig with a lot smaller, lower-profile plastic like a Berkley finesse minnow. | The key is to get a heavy enough jig on the lower line to get it down bouncing along the bottom.
Finding springtime walleye can be somewhat of a challenge depending on the kind of weather conditions we get in this part of the world when the season opens. Moving water is always a great equalizer a