Well, let’s stop talking about all the Walleye we didn’t catch and start talking about how to catch them. On our recent foray up into the great white north, the land of sky blue waters, we ran across several different lures and techniques. Some were known to us and others were not. Let’s start with an old standard, the tried and true, Lindy Rig. The Lindy Rig has been in every Walleye fisherman’s tackle box for at least the last 50 years and happens to be the only thing we did catch any walleye on.
The Lindy Rig revolutionized live bait fishing and, according to one source I found, may be over a hundred years old. All that is fine, well and interesting, but what I love about it is its simple genius.
The Lindy Rig employs five primary parts.
- The first is a swivel, which you see resting between the two sinkers in the picture above. I personally use a snap swivel for almost everything, some anglers seem not to like it, but for ease of switching out rigs it can’t be beat.
- You’ll also need a three to four foot piece of monofilament line, Berkley Trilene 8 lb test is my choice.
- You need a boot sinker
- 1 small bead
- And, finally, a good, strong hook and float.
I strongly suggest tying your own Lindy Rig, if you lose tackle like I do the cost difference between purchasing a ready-made one for $1.50 and tying your own for $0.10 can add up pretty quickly. As the disarmingly friendly and helpful guy from the Lake Vermilion Trading Company told us, “Those pennies stack up.” In addition to saving a ton of cash tying your own Lindy Rigs also allows you to give yourself a variety of lengths, floats, colors etc.
Begin by choosing your weight, anywhere from a 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz ought to work for an 8lb line depending on conditions.
Next, tie your swivel to the end of your main line in front of the weight.
Set down your main line for a moment and pick up the 3 to 4 foot leader. On one end of the leader tie your hook, either an improved clinch or palomar knot will do the trick nicely.
Next, thread your bead onto the leader line. Many anglers don’t use these, but, as a wise man once told me, “a fish can’t hit what they can’t see, so give ‘em a target”. Too true, not to mention I’ve got a bit of Liberace in me that also really appreciates the flash.
Next, slide on your float. This is my favorite part of the Lindy; it brings the bait up off the bottom to dance in front of the fish and allows for it to give a more natural life like appearance than other rigs.
After that, attach the open end of your leader to the swivel and your ready to fish.
For a little helpful advice on fishing these rigs here’s Jeff “Cubby” Skelly: