wild guide : mayflies and walleye down to twelve feet and have had success but what to do for the conventional angler . Ever hear of a bottom bouncer . Yep , the good old standby , a ¼ to ½ oz . bouncer with a 3 foot fluorocarbon leader attached to a beige Montana Nymph and you can take Walleye without even trying . You can fish deeper than 12 feet if you want to , but the only caveat to deeper water is you have to play the fish longer . In other words you can ’ t hoist the fish up in thirty seconds otherwise the fish runs the risk of developing the bends . This occurs when a fish can ’ t rid itself of the excess gases built up on the inside of the swim bladder fast enough . When you bring the fish up too fast the swim bladder will come out of its mouth thus killing it .
From a depth of eight feet to the surface , the fly fisherman has a distinct advantage over the conventional angler
with the different types of fly line used . So how does the conventional angler get by this obstacle ? There are a few tricks in the angler ’ s arsenal . First is an extremely effective method called “ Streaming ”. All one has to do is let out approximately 150 feet of line behind your boat and drift with the wind . The weight of the fly will take it down to the proper depth and the drift of the boat , if done correctly , will take you over the most productive areas . For the people who don ’ t have boats , rig up an ultra light outfit with 4 lb . test , tie the fly on and add one or two split shot above the fly and cast to likely looking spots . When retrieving the fly , use a very slow retrieve . If you think you are retrieving slowly enough cut that time in half and you will catch more fish .
Another technique that can be used and is nothing short of spectacular , is fishing in tandem , that is fishing two flies at once or using a 1 / 64 to a 1 / 8 oz . jig and a fly combination . Achieving this is quite easy . Take approximately two feet of fluorocarbon and attach it to your main fishing line with a blood knot but remember to leave one tag end of the knot about 12 inches in length . At this point in time this 12 inches of line is now called a dropper line . The smaller tag end is cut off and the end of the line is now called the point of the line . You can use the streaming method with 2 flies if so
desired or you can tie a small black , brown , or olive marabou jig on the point and a may fly nymph on the dropper and vertical jig . There is a multitude of options to use with this technique and all it takes to catch fish with it is your imagination .
Now comes the point in the hatch that really frustrates conventional anglers . How in the world do I cast a dry fly with a spinning or casting rod ? The answer is quite simple ; A Torpedo float . This interesting little tidbit of fishing tackle is the answer you are looking for . The first step in connecting the float to the line is to put your line through the small opening at the top and run your line right through the surgical tubing leaving about two feet of line extending past the bottom of the float ( the tapered end ). Next , since there is a cap that you can take off , that ’ s what you do . This will allow you to add water to the inside of the float for casting weight and remember this float will not sit upright on the water but lay flat . After filling the float with the desired amount of water , twist the head of the float to secure it to the line . What this is actually doing is twisting the surgical tubing around the line giving a secure attachment . Once completed the conventional angler is ready to cast and successfully catch Walleye .
Get out and take advantage of the mayfly hatch by applying these techniques and get ready for some spectacular walleye fishing .
Wild Guide . Summer 2017 14