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Night
Hawk Stories...
Entry 13
Fishing Reservoirs for Summertime Walleye
EDITOR'S
NOTE: Keith Kavajecz of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, a pro walleye fisherman,
specializes in tournament fishing and walleye-fishing promotions. Kavajecz,
who has fished in walleye tournaments since 1986, won the 1994 and 1998
North American Walleye Anglers Angler-of-the-Year award. He and his son,
Tommy, won the 1998 North American Walleye Anglers Team of the Year. Kavajecz
and his business partner, Gary Parsons, won the Masters Walleye Circuit
Team of the Year and World Championship in 1988. Keith and Gary co-host
"Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World," which airs on TNN.
QUESTION:
Where's the third place to find summertime walleye?
ANSWER: I recommend that you fish reservoirs, man-made impoundments on
rivers, as the final place to fish in the summer. Typically a regular
river will have a lot of structure in it. Recently-flooded land, any little
creek coming in or a mountainous break coming down into the old creek
creates bays, points, etc. We look for where the old channel comes up
close to where nice points stick out. Fish deep water close to points.
For that type of situation, a lot of times we use an L-shaped piece of
wire with a weight in it called a Bottom Bouncer. The weight actually
bounces along the bottom and stays right down on the bottom. But because
of the wire's shape it holds the bait off the bottom. Oftentimes we'll
use a spinnerbait with the Bottom Bouncer, and in many places we'll use
either a live crawler or a Berkley Power Crawler. Since you pull and put
the action on it, you certainly can get away with using plastic bait instead
of using the real thing. If the water warms up in the summer, often the
walleye will drop down into deeper water.
QUESTION:
What kind of line do you use?
ANSWER: On Bottom-Bouncer fishing, when I get down below 30 or 40 feet
of water, often I'll switch from monofilament to FireLine. The thinner
diameter of the FireLine allows the Bottom Bouncer to get down much quicker
and also gives you better sensitivity. The thickness and stretch of monofilament
will take away from that sensitivity and make feeling the bottom and the
bites hard. Ten-pound Vanish works very well for Bottom-Bouncer fishing
too because it's abrasive-resistant. I also like the fact that Vanish
line is very clear, and the fish can't see it. Vanish also works well
for leaders on either the D-rig or on Bottom Bouncers. Because the spinner
or the D-rig may go over rocks, you want to use a fairly abrasive-resistant
line. The one real advantage to fishing with fluorocarbon lines is that
they're much more abrasive-resistant than regular monofilament.
Tomorrow: Tips for Summertime Walleye Fishing
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