Help With Walleye....

[Newbass112]

My only Setup is a 7.1:1 baitcast reel and a 7foot medium/heavy fast action rod. I cant afford another setup right now and was wondering if I have a decent enough setup to catch walleye with?

If I do I need to know What types of lures/hooks to get with my setup if its possible for Walleye? Would love to catch some walleye, Thanks

[clayton86]

I catch em on bass gear all the time. I got one last week on a 7'1mhf villain and revo Stx with 50# braid

[BradGuenette]

Sounds like it would work as a bottom bouncing setup!

[Newbass112]

I use 14lb and 17lb mono exclusively.

When I looked around at bass pro it looked like everything was too small or way too heavy in weight for my rods spec. I couldn't find any bottom bouncing setups in my rods weight suggestions.

Bottom bouncers are just things you add on to spinnerbaits right?

[CoBass]

Bottom bouncers are actually just a weight on a wire with a swivel you attach a leader to so you can get your bait close to the bottom while trolling slowly. We use them a lot in the summer during the day to get deep where the walleye hang out until they move in shallow at night. A lot of people will drag artificials behind their BB rigs but the most productive set-up I have ever used is with live bait. We use about a 3-5 ft leader behind the BB with a slow death hook and about half a night crawler and the eyes jump all over it. A slow death hook is a hook with a slight bend in it that makes the crawler spin in a sort of death roll while it is being trolled along. Very slow speeds (less than 1 mph) and keeping the BB in contact with the bottom is key. If you do a youtube search for bottom bouncing and slow death presentations you will find several videos. Whether you use artificials or live bait, a bottom bouncer rig is hard to beat for catching walleye during daylight hrs.

[Newbass112]

Perfect response thank you for that. I assume the fast 7.1:1 baitcast reel I have with the MH fast rod wont be a problem then for walleye.

I don't guess instead of trolling in the boat with a bottom bouncer and my rod I could just reel a bottom bouncer in slowly instead?

[CoBass]

The rod/reel combo should be fine. The bottom bouncers are for vertical presentations and really wouldn't do you any good from shore. Your best bet from shore is to fish shallow, rocky shorelines starting around sunset and fishing into the night. Jerk baits that mimic the local forage species would be my suggestion. If you can find an area where you can reach deeper water from shore, a night crawler or leech on or just off the bottom could produce during the day. 

 

We were chasing walleye last week and after several hrs of fishing artificials with no luck we switched to crawlers under a slip bobber with the depth set about a foot off the bottom and started slaying them immediately. This was in the same areas we had worked with the artificials. It was mid-day in about 20 ft. of water.They just weren't interested in chasing anything, but they were willing to hit the crawlers hanging right in front of their faces.

[Newbass112]

I meant to say reeling it (the bottom bouncer setup) in from the boat instead of trolling with the motor running. If it's a vertical presentation there's no casting, just drop it in.....but if your trolling in a boat your still moving, I was unsure if I could just reel it in slowly from the boat without trolling the motor. I guess the effect of holding your rod steady with the moving boat is different than just reeling it in slowly huh?

From the sound of everything these can be a challenge to catch and sounds pretty fun ; )

[CoBass]

I meant to say reeling it (the bottom bouncer setup) in from the boat instead of trolling with the motor running. If it's a vertical presentation there's no casting, just drop it in.....but if your trolling in a boat your still moving, I was unsure if I could just reel it in slowly from the boat without trolling the motor. I guess the effect of holding your rod steady with the moving boat is different than just reeling it in slowly huh?

From the sound of everything these can be a challenge to catch and sounds pretty fun ; )

Bouncers definitely aren't designed to be casted and you are right, just drop it over the side and let it drag (bounce) along the bottom. Walleye really aren't that difficult to catch. We regularly boat 40-50 per day running bouncers during the summer. If you're dragging bouncers and you catch a fish or two on a pass through a particular area, make several more runs across the same water and you will more than likely catch more fish. They tend to stack up on the bottom during the day, then disperse and go on the hunt after dark.