Lindy Rigging methods

[Spinach]

With the open water season starting and the Walleye opener in 2 weeks, i would like to share some tips and tactics for Lindy Rigging.

I know many of you have questions and some may want to learn more, I will try to explain as much as possible for everyone and maybe a few others like Ace and Fish Guide can lend a hand.

First off, there is a lot more than just tying on a Lindy rig and dropping the setup over the side of the boat, to me it all starts before i even hit the water.

The length of your snell, how many floats, color, line type and proper swivel are just a few things to keep in mind.

I tie my own snells, this way i can have a wide variety of color, length and # of floats or beads. Tying your own is quite a bit cheaper than buying pre-rigged snells. I buy a small kit from Cabelas that has beads, floats, blades and hooks, I think the kit is about $8, then buy a spool or 2 of 8# monofilament line, I never use anything more than 8# test mono for any type of Walleye fishing, grab a small package of barrell swivels and then a few different sized Lindy Rig no snag sinkers. You can also purchase the Lindy Rig kit, they come with the no snag sinkers, snells, hooks and a few small swivels. I always buy them seperately because the snells are too short and the line is like rope. However you purchase this stuff, plan on spending about $30 to get started. keep in mind that everything you have purchased so far except for the sinkers will produce hundreds of snells.

Now that you have everything you need for tying your own Lindy Rigs, use your imagination and start tying a few up, tie differnt lengths from 5 foot to 12 foot snells, add different combinations of floats and beads and so on..... Don't be afraid to experiment here. I also generally like using the Gamakatsu hooks but they are more expensive. I think a package of 6 is about $5.99, they do come in various colors, i like the red myself.

A proper rod is next, abviously any rod will work if thats all you have, but ideally i won't use anything less than a 6'6 length rod. I prefer a 7 footer just so i can get out away from the boat, windsock or trolling motor.

Now that you have your rod and the Lindy Rigs all setup, now you need to put them together, start off stringing the Lindy Rig no snag sinker on the line, then add a barrell or regular swivel underneath, if you carry enough rods with you, there is no need to ever break these apart, you can travel to the lake and just tie on your snell.

Now you need to locate fish, find out which depths they are running and where the feeding fish are, this is where a locater comes in very handy. Now that you have found a nice school of Walleyes, you need to experiment and find out where the biting fish are. This is why you pretied all the different lenght snells, you would be surprised at the difference in length or the amount of floats will make, your goal here is to keep your rig in the target zone. Take notes on how far off the bottom your snell will float, adding a floating jig in some scenarios can also make a huge difference.

Anyone can drop a Lindy rig over the side of the boat, but if the fish are 4 feet off the bottom and your rig is only 2 feet, you will be watching other boats setting the hook and taking out their nets more often.

Questions, ask here, maybe a few of us can help you out and put more Walleyes in your livewell.

[Fish Guide]

good post, Heres a few tips or whatever you call them:

TO make one rod good for many situations consider this:

Tie a 2 ft leader using 6 lb test and a #2/#4 hook, tie the leader directly to a small barrel swivel  (ball bearings not needed) that way there is no "loop" or "Clip" to get tangled and the leader is set up to be adjusted to any length by simply using a small split shot to act as the sinker stop--instead of the swivel.  Use a egg sinker for the weight--because they are round and short they do not tip end over end in the waves/currents thus saving  many tangles which are common with the classic "lindy" weight.  They are actually very snag resistant as well.  If you want to lengthen the leader, simply slide the small split shot towards your rod tip.  If you do not want to use a split shot for a sinker stop then use a small bead and double the line through to lock it in place.  If yo want to add color--skip the bead and use a small piece of colored plastic worm cut to any size by you.  You can simply put it on/off by sliding the hook through it and puching up onto the line  (have to cut the line to use beads) as far as floaters?  you'll have to cut the hook for that one, aleast for now...good luck

[Spinach]

I have also tried your method and that works great.

Another method is to tie your hook directly to your line (no leader or swivel) add an egg sinker or weight inbetween and adjust the length as you go. If you add on a floater or 2, the bait and hook will stay above the sinker and act as a snell or leader. Probably the easist and least expensive way to "Lindy Rig".

I agree, the egg sinkers are great and should not be overlooked, they are also a lot less expensive.

[C.C. Waters]

  This is regarding components rather than execution, just wanted to mention that many of the components needed to assemble your own Rigs can be had for substantially less then Cabelas if you purchase in a little larger quantity.  Most places have pretty decent price breaks around 100 pieces, which would end up a bit more than Cabelas starter kit.  Not sure on status for posting commercial links, so I will refrain from posting them.   Google is a good start though.

[Spinach]

Post the links please.

[JackpineRob]

We've been ordering from Netcraft off and on for many years.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/

[Ace]

There are a 1000 ways to tie what Walleye anglers call a "Lindy rig". You can tie on colored beads, floats, even spinners and colored hooks of all kinds. The fact is a true Lindy rig consist of a few simple parts.

To me a Lindy rig is a plain hook on a snell, tied to a swivel with a sliding weight system of some kind. I use bullet weights on my lindy rigs. They glide throught the water without twisting your line, and if they get snagged, they are easy to free. Where I fish, paying a lot of money for those so called "no-snag" sinkers, is a waist of money.

My typcial rig is a 3 to 4ft snell with a plain #4/#6 red hook. For color I may add a single bead above the hook.
On a plain lindy set up, the snell lenght can be shorter than rigs with more hardware on them. Afterall, spooking fish is the main reason you go with longer snells in the first place.

Fact is, if the fish are 4ft off the bottom a lindy isn't
the presentation you should be using anyway. First thing you have to understand is a
spinner rig isn't the same thing as a Lindy rig, and you don't fish them the same way.

Lindy rigs are at there best when fished as verticle as possible for the conditions.
You really can't fish them to slow. Spinners, on the other hand should be fished fast enought to keep the blade spinning at all times.

When I run blades I put them on a bottom bouncer, not a lindy sinker. Lindys are at there best when you want to drift or backtroll at really slow speeds. They also work best when the fish are right on the bottom, not suspended above the bottom.

By suspended I'm talking more than a foot or 2 from the bottom. When you're marking fish higher than two feet, it's time to go to a spinner rig. Spinners will lift the bait off the bottom and by changing the snell lenght, you change the depth where your spinner is running. Larger blades will run higher than the small blades. You just have to experiment with different sizes to get the right presentation.

When running a spinner your line test isn't as important as it is with a lindy. Most of the fish you catch on a spinner attact the bait and they don't spend much time looking at it. On a lindy I would stay with 6 or 8 # on the snell. I used green or clear triline for a number of years. Now however, I tie all of my rigs with a 100% flurocarbon leader. It's a whole lot tougher than plain mono and it's invisable to the fish. It doesn't work as well on a spinner because it sinks, so I still use mono for all my spinner rigs.

Everybody has their own way of doing things and if it works, who am I to say it's wrong. The main thing is to use the correct rig for the situation your fishing, and don't be afraid to re-tie if things aren't going well.

I think the big key on lindy rigging is to use as little hardware as you can get away with. All those pretty beads and colorful floats might be more than the fish want most of the time. Start simple if that doesn't work, hey go for it!

"Ace" 

[C.C. Waters]

  Sorry, got a bit busy..  Here are a few places I buy from.

http://www.upnorthoutdoors.com/stamina/

http://www.hagensfish.com/

http://www.luremaking.com/

http://www.barlowstackle.com/

Shop around a bit prices can and do vary.

[tom fellegy]

i am with ace on this one. lindy rigs are a plane hook, maybe a bead above the hook, a swivel and a weight, bullet or egg. if there are weeds present, i go with the bullet. length depends on where the fish are, close to the bottom or in the weeds, go shorter, suspended, go longer. 12 foot long lindy's are common.  spinners/crawler harnesses are rigged with either a bottom bouncer or a 3-way swivel. i use weights from 1 to 3 ounces. i tie mostly 3 hook harnesses for crawlers, 1 hook for minnows and leeches. colors vary from day to day, lake to lake. here on mille lacs, green, orange and blue are good colors. blades vary also. silver, gold and copper are a main stay, have a selection of sizes to cover different applications. lindy rigs are worked slow and spinners are worked .8 to 1.2 mph. that should get you started, get out and see what works best for you............tom fellegy