Slip Bobbering Walleye

Fall is big fish time, and while others resort to big jigs to catch them, Northwoods guide Greg Bohn sticks with the same tactic he uses all spring and summer long. There’s a reason he’s called “Mr. Slip Bobber ™.”  “People often believe that there are more effective presentations for fall walleyes. There’s not,” said Bohn, who’s been guiding clients to big fish in the Minocqua, Wis., area for 30 years.

“One of the best ways to catch a trophy walleye is to suspend a jumbo leech, nightcrawler or chub just off the bottom where they can readily see it.”  The arrival of shorter days and cooler nights in autumn sends water temperatures downward. Walleyes respond by moving from shallow areas when weeds begin to die to deeper water.  They don’t make the transition overnight. They move deeper in increments. As they do, they start to appear in places where slip bobbers work best — sand bars, rocks and mid-lake humps, he said. They often suspend to find temperatures in their comfort zone. If you use a jig, the bait will be below them.

“I sometimes have to fish 4 to 5 feet off the bottom. That’s when a slip
bobber is killer,” Bohn said. Some anglers think walleyes are too deep
to use slip bobbers to reach them in fall. Not Bohn. “I’m sometimes
fishing 30- to 40-feet down. It’s not a problem.”
Slip-bobbering is more than just a bobber stop, float, split shot and
hook. A split shot crimped on the line will damage it, and weak line
won’t hold a wall-hanger. Remember, we’re talking big fish here. Three
pounds is an average fish. “They go all the way up to 10 pounds plus,”
Bohn said.
Start with 8 to 10 pound Stren Magna Thin for a main line and slide on a
thread-style bobber stop. They snug tight enough to maintain the
preferred depth setting, yet they allow depth adjustments when needed.
They don’t nick the line like other styles can do. Trim the tag ends to
about 1⁄2 inches long so you can tighten up the knot.
Use a stop made in a bright color you can see. You’ll want to be certain
the float slides up to meet the stop each time you cast. That’s the only
way you can know the bait is where you want it to be.
Thread on a red glass bead and a Thill Center Slider or a Mille Lacs
Center Slider, both made by Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle.
Tie on a barrel swivel and add a 2-foot leader of line lighter than the
main. If you get snagged, you can break off the leader without losing
the whole rig. The business end should be a 1/16 or 1/8 ounce Max Gap
jig or a Bleeding Bait red hook with a red glass bead above it.
Avoid using bigger jigs to fish deep. Better to use small jigs that are
easily inhaled and add one thirty-second, one-sixteenth or one-eighth
rubber core sinker on the leader to balance the rig. Set it so the float
rides mid-way in the water. Done right the slip bobber will signal even
the lightest of bites.
Rule-of-thumb thinking is that chubs are the best live bait for cold
water. But, jumbo leeches and nightcrawlers work well into October. Have
all three baits on the boat and offer walleyes a variety. Bohn always
has a jumbo leech on at least one rig. “It’s often the big leech or
whole nightcrawler that attracts the biggest fish.”
Panfish and smaller game fish aren’t usually a bother when using
nightcrawlers at this time of year. If a six pound smallmouth is lurking
near the trophy spots you’re targeting, it gets caught, Bohn said.
Live bait should be fresh looking and lively. Slip bobbers give walleyes
plenty of time to decide whether they want to eat it or not.
Unattractive bait will turn them away.
Check prime big-walleye locations with your sonar. Use your electric
trolling motor to move the boat over the spot as you look for walleyes
on the screen. Ask yourself...are they in sand or boulders? Are they
suspended?
Don’t worry if you don’t see any walleyes at all. They’re sometimes so
tight to the bottom or hiding amidst the boulders they don’t show up at
all. Try spots that experience says should hold fish.
Next, drop a marker buoy on the downwind side of the structure. Take
time to set your bobber 1 to 3 feet off the bottom at the top of the
structure using an ice-fishing clip-on weight.
Move upwind with the electric motor well off the structure, and throw
your anchors. Use heavy ones so you don’t blow over the spot and drag
the anchors with you. That can spook the fish. Let out enough rope to
put the boat over the deepest edge.
Bohn puts one slip bobber off the stern of the boat in the sonar cone.
He can watch to see if a fish comes by for a look. It’s often the first
bait to be hit by roaming walleyes.
Cast the others over the top of the structure between the boat and the
marker buoy. Let the wind drift them over the structure. Windy days are
best because the waves will impart a lot of action. Then the hard part
begins – the wait.
“A lot of those suspended walleyes slide over the top bars and humps
throughout the day. Timing is everything. It’s not uncommon to sit for a
couple of hours and not have a bite, and then have two bobbers go down
at the same time and both be 7-pound walleyes.
In any body of water, there are only so many good trophy spots. Don’t be
afraid to move if one spot doesn’t produce. “Oftentimes, I’ll check a
spot and there’ll be nothing. I come back in a couple of hours and they
are all over the place,” Bohn said.
When a strike comes, give the walleye time to eat the bait. You’re using
big morsels, after all. Wait 15 seconds or so. Don’t set the hook too
hard. A trophy walleye can break the line if you do. Instead, snap the
rod back to drive the point home.
If you catch one trophy, are others still lurking on the same spot?
“Probably yes,” Bohn said.
Use slip-bobbers or they just might give you the slip.