Handlining for River Walleye

[sandmannd]

Handlining became popular on the Detroit River and is spreeding. I have heard about it for a couple of years and this year gave it a try. It's a great way to get those summer walleye that aren't really active or hard to get on live bait. Here's some thoughts if you are interested.

The first step to handlining is to find a handlining real. These are special reels and can be quite expensive but do last a lifetime. A&S are probably the most well-known, readily available and nice reels on the market. The only place I have seen in Minnesota that stocks them is Dean’s on Pool Four. They run close to $200 per reel. Another option is to search for used ones. I actually found mine by going to Craig’s List in Detroit (It’s more common out there) and finding them. I got mine for around $60 each and paid the guy to ship them to me.

There are four main parts to handlining. You have the reel, the shank, the weight and then the lures:
A hand line reel is a large diameter, spring-loaded reel that holds coated wire line (usually 60#) and attaches to the boats gunnels on either side. Only two reels can be fished at one time. Attached to the end of the wire is a "shank". The shank consists of a section of the same 60# wire, usually about 3-6' long that has clevises fixed along it's length every 6" or so. The shank has a loop on top to connect to your main line, and a snap on the bottom to attach your weight. Weights or sinkers are cylinder or torpedo shaped and typically weighs 1-2 lbs. For fishing line, I like to use 12 lb minimum Cajun line. I tie a heavy-duty snap to one end and on the other end tie on your Rapala. The best Raps to use are the Original Floating Raps. Pencil Plugs are also highly recommended for this type of fishing. On the top line I run anywhere from a 3-10 foot line and on the bottom I go with a 7-20 line depending on conditions. I find using a 4-foot on the bottom and 10 foot on the top works the best for me. Less tangles and still gives you great action. I have read of folks using a 20’ on the bottom and a 40 or 50’ on top. You just have to find what works for you.

The reels should be mounted ahead of each fisherman. I like them to be about 3’ ahead of me. Simply grab the cable and let it out until you feel the bottom. You will feel the bottom and get to know it well with just a few times of doing this.

Now that you are all setup and have the reels mounted on your boat, it’s time to get out and get on some fish. I work mainly break lines. I look for where the water has a nice drop and work that ridge. It helps to go out and learn the river and mark your breaks. The first thing you need to learn is how to control your presentation and maintain contact with the bottom. You need to learn to manage your boat speed, direction, your depth and the current so the bottom tip of the sinker is just nicking along the bottom and you can bounce it a little. You want to have about a 30-45 degree angle with the bottom on your line. I like to move my arm back and forth while handlining to keep a good three to four inch lift going with the weight and have it maintain that nice contact with the bottom. With these reels, it’s very easy to let out more line to get back to the bottom or pull line in if you get shallower.

If you move to slow or if you use too much weight for the depth and current, your cable will be too vertical and your presentation won’t act right. If you go to fast or use too light of a sinker you’ll end up dragging your rig and will hit snags, which will wreak havoc on your hands. Pay attention, get a feel for it and make adjustments until you get a handle on what you are doing. You can tell you are doing it right when you can give a light tug on your line and can feel your lures swimming.

When you are trying to find fish, you have to continue moving. One way that works for me is to move back and forth across the ridge in a “zigzag” pattern. Adjust your speed to keep moving up or down river without messing up your rig. When you get on a school of active fish, move back and forth along them. Make a wide turn at the end of them and go back across. To catch fish using this technique you have to learn to pay close attention to details and make adjustments each time you go out and what time of year it is.

At some point you will hopefully get to the point of all this work, getting a fish to strike the lure. When a fish hits it you are either going to feel a sharp jerk at the end of the line or it you will feel a heavy weight on it and won’t notice your lure swimming. Once you have a fish one, start taking in the cable. Let the reel do the work here, it is a self-winding reel so as you pull in the line it will wind up the cable for you. Once you get to the shank pull it in and lay the shank and the weight inside the boat. Now you need to pull the leaders in hand over hand until you got the fish in the net. Watch to not tangle your lines while you do this (another reason I like shorter leaders). Get a good net guy or another thing I do is keep a small, short handled net next to me to net myself.

It is a huge rush to pull in a fish this way, especially the big guys. What is even more of a rush is when you have a double on (one fish on each lure)! It is a fun and effective way of walleye fishing and comes in handy during the dog days of summer.

To store your handling lures there are two tricks that have been shown to me. One is to buy the foam noodles for kids to swim with in a pool. Cut them to about six inch lengths. Wrap your line with your lure on it around them and then tuck the lure inside the hole in the center of the foam. I also take a sharpie and right the length of the leader and the size of the lure on the foam (example: 20-7 means 20’ of line and a #7 Rap).  Another way I have found to store them is to get a water bottle like what they use on bicycles. Again, just wrap your line around them and put the lure inside.

On a safety note, I would like to say to be very careful when doing this. Do not wrap the cable around your fingers, ever!! I have heard of folks doing this and when they snag a rock their finger pops off. Remember this is heavy steel cable it does not give. When you hit a snag, let go of the cable and get back over it to lift it straight out.