It’s alive!

The end of Mr. Walleye’s line, that is…

Some people believe I’m so devoted to crawlers, leeches, and minnows that I ought to launch a fishing magazine called Live Bait Aficionado. My reputation as an exclusive livebait angler isn’t totally accurate, but for the sake of this column, I’ll play ball. Guilty as charged: You’ll normally find a living, breathing critter on the end of my line.

But choosing which livebait when, and deciding how to operate your rig, can make or break your next fishing trip. So let’s devote the next 500 words to fine-tuning your live bait approach.

Some fishing experts endlessly regurgitate the claim that anglers always must have all three major forms of livebait. No matter the weather, no matter the date, no matter the lake or river: Bring nightcrawlers, leeches and minnows!

Pure hogwash.

Sure, every lake is different, and on some minnows will perform in mid-summer. But the vast, vast majority of my July and August walleye fishing occurs over crawlers and leeches. Keeping minnows for the sake of versatility right now just costs me money.

My basic livebait plan won’t surprise anyone. Rainbows and shiners dominate my opener arsenal, then I transition into leeches and crawlers as the season wears on. Fifty-five degrees seems to be my magic number for cutting off minnows, but let the fish decide when that transition occurs. Some lakes, particularly Rainy and other colder border waters demand minnows later into the summer. Right now, it’s almost exclusively leeches and crawlers.

As summer passes into fall, I follow my old rule “leeches will work better later than crawlers.” Of course when it’s really cold, say mid-October, minnows reclaim the crown. Again, there are lake-by-lake exceptions, so it pays to conduct some research in advance on a new lake. Oahe in South Dakota, for example, has an incredible walleye bite on chubs in the heat of summer.

Focusing on the now, mid-July for me usually means searching for fish on one of Minnesota’s big, naturally reproducing lakes like Winnie or Mille Lacs. It’s one of the best times of years to fish walleyes since they have abandoned the shallows and are feeding along the weeds and breaklines.

A typical outing would begin with me targeting a bar or cup that’s had one of these recent south-by-southwest winds pounding it for a few days. Then I run that contour with my graph (the new Lowrance 111 is a fantastic unit, by the way) and read the bottom. You’ll save a lot of time marking fish first instead of working the whole bar.

Watch those inside turns on the windward side; 90 percent of the time you’ll find them in those breaks. Rock piles and weed edges also are key. Work the area with your Roach Rig and crawler or toss out a slip bobber and leech. I usually use a three- or four-foot snell, though those spooky fish on Mille Lacs demand a seven-footer. (Timely aside: Between some really nice fish, we’re catching loads of 13- to 14-inchers on Lake Mille Lacs this year. That bodes very well for the near future.)

With one exception, I always work the windward side. Never had much luck on the other side. What’s the exception? It seems like sometimes after three or four days or truly heavy winds (Mille Lacs is most notorious for this), I’ll find an undercurrent, almost a riptide, moving water back to the other side. You’ll know you’ve found this when you catch your slip bobber drifting a calm, post-wind day.

Now for the question many of you are thinking, particularly those who fish smaller, central Minnesota lakes: “But Gary, how do you keep all those panfish from stealing your crawlers!?”

We’re all fed up with the ubiquitous small panfish. There’s no magic bullet, double secret probation trick here, folks. Switching to minnows off season won’t solve it.

Just bring more worms!

Yeah, it’s a hassle constantly replacing them, and I’ve had days on lakes like Pelican where I run through damn near a whole flat of crawlers. Lucky for me (and you) that crawlers are relatively cheap, and they’re also the easiest live bait option to keep alive and propagate yourself.

Walleyes eventually will push those bluegills aside, and once they do, it’s your job to stay on top of that pod. When you find that spot on spot, try to hold there. Some panfish will break through; you’ve just got to put up with them.

There are a couple of side tricks for coping with pesky panfish. First, an artificial approach from a livebait guru. Throw on some scented plastic. The panfish will hammer that, too, but at least it will stay on longer than a real worm.

Second, try a three-hook harness with a little spinner. Rig the crawler up with real small hooks, say No. 2s, then add a little extra speed to the presentation. Walleyes still will pick it up, but bluegills won’t chase it very far.

And make sure you inject some air into those crawlers. With a syringe, inject it directly into the band, not the tail. That area holds air better, plus the tail stays active when you stop. Put air into the tail, and it’ll be stiff as an old board when you’re looking for fish-enticing action.

Since we’re talking mid-July fishing right now, I want to throw out one more artificial option. Crankbaits are very important this time of year, especially when those walleyes begin moving off structure and suspending.

My friend and fellow Mr. Walleye team member Steve Bissett has mastered this off the flats on Mille Lacs. While everyone else is rigging the flats to death (heavy fishing pressure and spooked fish anyone?), Steve is marking walleyes and trolling cranks off the edges.

Hey, I’m going to catch walleyes by any means necessary, including artificials. But I’ll start with live bait. You should, too.