Lead, Line, Leaders, Hooks, Components

The alleged knock against three-ways is that they’re less finesseful than slipsinkers because the sinker is fixed to the line; since it can’t slide, walleyes therefore may be able to detect its foreign presence and are more likely spooked to drop the bait. Not really the case. Due to its triangular construction, feed a little line and allow the rig to collapse a bit when you detect a bite. This provides a slight pause before a walleye feels the weight.

Three-ways excel for fishing in place from an anchored position, or when casting from the bank and letting your livebait sit in one spot. (Don’t feed much line to biting walleyes in rivers, since current will create a large bow in the line.) Yet three-ways are perfect for trolling minnow-imitating crankbaits, spinner snells, flutterspoons, floating jigheads tipped with livebait, and even plain hooks with livebaits any time you wish to position them from 1 to as much as 10 feet above bottom. Simply adjust the length of the dropper to match the distance fish are off bottom; when you feel your sinker touch bottom, you know exactly how far off bottom your bait or lure is running.

Lets examine primary livebait rigging components and several variations of the two primary rigging systems.

Lead—Get Down and Stay Down

Walking slipsinkers are shoe-shaped lead weights with a hole at the narrow upper end, through which you thread your line. They’re designed to skip over bottom, minimize snagging when at rest, and enhance your sense of feel to interpret bottom conditions.

Thirty years ago, Lindy Little-Joe introduced the walking slipsinker design, incorporating plain lead sinkers. Today, Lindy, Northland Fishing Tackle, Quick Change, Let-M-Run, Pull-A-Part, and numerous other companies offer plain lead along with brightly colored sinkers in numerous forms. The most popular sizes for general conditions are 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 ounces, though 1/8 is available for shallower water, and heavy 3/4- and even 1-ounce sinkers are more appropriate for deep water. Some anglers prefer bright fluorescent yellow and orange sinkers to help attract fish in dark water.

The most significant recent innovation also comes from Lindy with their No-Snagg sinker. The long, thin, curved sinker has lead at the bottom, flotation at the top, and a wire feeler leg. These unique characteristics cause the sinker to slip, twist, and roll over and across snags that would eat other sinkers. Pricey at about $4.50 for two sinkers, but definitely more snag resistant.

The venerable sliding egg sinker also makes a good livebait rigging sinker and is available in heavier weights. Eggs generally are used for casting presentations with slipsinker rigs, perhaps as light as 1/16 or 1/8 ounce in lakes, and up to several ounces in rivers.

Split shot clamp on the line above a hook. While not a slip rig, their light weight is great for casting crawlers, leeches, and minnows, and letting them rest on bottom in still water. Often called BB shot because that’s the most popular size, they’re also available in sizes B, 3/0, and 7/0 from companies like Water Gremlin and Bullet Weights. Rubbercor sinkers do the same thing—just in larger sizes up to several ounces.