Walleye Journal #1

Walleye Journal – Sunday - April 15, 2012

Wade and I headed out back in April to our best spot in Putnam County.  We arrived around noon, visited with his family, sent his wife on home with the kids, and got geared up for a serious day of fishing.  We got to our spot, which is a creek filled with high rapids and cool water temps.  We bit the bullet and waded into the cold water with nothing more than my Teva hiking sandals and my skin keeping me warm.  The daytime high temp was around 80, so at least from my knees up was warm.  Instead of buying minnows, we always seine them from the same creek we’re fishing.  Our first attempt yielded around 50 crappie minnows.  Our second run provided about 10.  Our third run only gave us about 8 more.  We decided we needed to let the small pool of swirling water restock, and that we’d start with our 70 or so minnows caught.  With the minnow bucket full, it was time to rig up and head to the rapids. 

I paint all my own jig heads, and this day I was using Cabela’s 1/16-oz lead jig heads.  The color I started with is what I call Purple Passion. This is a color I make by mixing Pro-Tec Powder Paint in purple flake with Pro-Tec Powder Paint in white.  The jig was paired with a Thill slip bobber set at about 4 1/2’ deep. This is on my 6/6’’ Medium Action St.Croix Triumph spinning rod and Pinnacle Carrera spinning reel.  Filling the spool was 8lb test Stren Fluorocarbon – Fluorocast line.   My second rig was a rod my grandfather made for me, the brand being a Joey Rod.  It’s a 6’ Medium Light Action spinning rod, garnished with a Shimano Sahara spinning reel.  Again, 8lb Stren fills the spool.  It had the exact same set-up as the first rod, except the color of the jig head is what I call Green Meanie.  Green Meanie is Pro-Tec Powder Paint in candy lime flake with Pro-Tec Powder Paint in white.  With everything rigged up, I tossed some replacement gear in a small Plano tackle box, and headed to the middle of the creek.  

Walking into the water reminded me of its cool temperature, which got me thinking that these walleyes should be active.  I reached the middle of the creek (more like a shallow river), which isn’t as deep as where I entered the creek.  A shelf of rocks made it so I was only ankle deep in the water.  My first cast landed perfectly in the rapids.  I left the bail open, and let the minnow float down river.  My bobber bounced once and then was sucked under.  I yanked the rod towards the treetops, and hooked into a White Bass.  Fish number one for the basket.  Wade was set up next to me reeling in a crappie.  The next hour was slower than usual, catching only a few more white bass and only a couple of crappies. We decided to head down creek a little bit.  We got to a deeper part of the creek and Wade immediately caught a couple of crappies.  He threw a minnow on the bottom and coaxed a catfish into biting.  I was busy fighting a limb for my purple passion jig head and bobber.  Finally, I broke the limb and retrieved them. Soon after, I added to our basket of fish with a couple crappies.  Wade was down a little ways from me when he hollered saying he had caught a sauger that wasn’t quite big enough to keep. We passed the time telling old stories and complaining about life.  The day was going to end soon, and we hadn’t caught a ton of fish.  I said, “Well lets go back to where we started, drown a few more minnows, and head home.” He agreed that we’d give it another try at the first spot with the heavy rapids, and if no luck, head out. 

After a short hike, we were back in business at the first spot. I hadn't used the green meanie jig head yet, and we were running out of minnows pretty quick.  I decided Wade was having better luck with the minnows and that I’d try artificial. I decided to toss the green meanie jig head with a chartreuse Mister Twister plastic worm. I threw it out to the break water, planning to reel it back through the rapids. As soon as it hits the first set of rapids, I felt something hit the lure.  I kept reeling… speeding up a bit to imitate the burst of energy from live bait, knowing its in danger.  This was enough to coax whatever hit it, and BAM! Again I forced the rod to the treetops and hooked into the fish.  The fight was much better than the small white bass and crappies we had been catching.  I figured

it to be a catfish, but to my surprise, it was a walleye. I measured it at 14.3’’, and in the basket it went. Walleye number one for 2012. I casted to the exact same spot and BAM! Another walleye, but this one was 15’’.  Wade changed his lure, and tied on a jighead with a twisty tail plastic worm like mine.  Soon enough he was into the walleyes, too.  We were planning to leave since it was Sunday, and we had to work the next morning, but the walleyes were biting! After an hour we were only a few away from limiting out. The bite continued for an hour or so, and we had caught probably 15 walleye total. Some were too small to keep, but it seemed every cast yielded a fish. It was like catching bluegills off the spawn. Dark was setting in, and Wade only needed one more to limit out.  I had already caught my limit, so I was carrying gear back to the boat.  The bugs were thick, we didn’t have flashlights, and Wade gave up on his last fish.  Had we had another 15-20 minutes of light, I think we would’ve limited out easily. I was more than glad that we decided to try the first spot again. The next day I ordered plenty more Mister Twister plastic worms.  Even though it started slow, this day was one for the books, and it was the only time I’ve limited on walleyes.  Hopefully I’ll have more days like this one in years to come.  I do know that next year I’ll be at the same spot with a jighead and twisty tail on April 15!    - Joey W. Buttram (Willowpine Outdoors)

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