JIGGING HIGHER

For years, six inches up from bottom was labeled the magic zone. Having experienced the advantage of keeping my bait much higher and seeing walleyes rise up off bottom to slam the bait, however, I've now lost confidence in keeping my bait at the six-inch level.

These days I keep my lure at least a foot from bottom. Oh, I still drop the bait to the bottom to stir up bottom sediment. And sometimes a fish moves in that just won't rise up, so I lower the bait to the bottom and slowly lift it up. But in deeper water (say 30 feet) I usually work my lure, often a Nils Master Jigging Shad or Chubby Darter, 5 to 10 feet from the bottom. In 10 feet, I keep the bait 1 to 3 feet off bottom. So in 10 feet of water with three feet of ice, my bait is sometimes only 4 feet from the bottom of the ice. Trust me, the walleyes will come up.

For fun and to learn a little about walleye behavior and to discount some old tales, I suggest you play a little cat and mouse with a walleye or two this season. Last season, I had a large mark show up on the bottom in 30 feet while I was holding my bait 10 feet from bottom. As the fish started to rise up and rush my bait, I quickly cranked in five feet of line. The fish momentarily paused at the 20-foot mark so I bounced and jiggled the bait slightly, and the fish rushed the bait again, so I quickly reeled in another five feet of line. Having teased the fish up 20 feet in 30 feet of water, (now only 10 feet under the ice), I decided to see what the fish would do. The 5-pounder pounded my lure.