For taller weed carpets, try switching to a 1-ounce bell sinker on the dropper of a three-way rig. To further reduce snags, switch from a bell shaped to a longer cylindrical pencil sinker, which will slip through weeds better. Should you snag some weeds, typically on the line between the three-way swivel and the sinker, that's no problem; the livebait remains weed-free, with the three-way rig functioning somewhat like a weedguard to deflect or collect strands. Weeds on the rig reduce feel and effectiveness, however, so retrieve the rig occasionally to remove weed strands from the line.

Below -- When fishing tight to the edges of thick, impenetrable canopied weeds like heavy coontail, keep your rig tight to bottom, brush the edges of the overhanging canopy with your main line, and position the livebait as close as possible to the main stalk without fouling the rig. In effect, fish as much under the umbrellalike canopy as possible. If walleyes are fussy, they may take a longer time to move from the base of the stalks to take your bait. Move slowly. Even when walleyes are aggressive, however, they still need time to swim out and reach your bait. A spinner harness might trigger them, but try using additional pauses, rather than a steady trolling pass, to give them time to close the gap.

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS

While sinker and rigging modifications enable you to fish more effectively along or through weed cover, it's still the deadly effectiveness of the livebait that triggers bites and strikes. Don't forget the fundamentals of matching hooks to livebaits and working the rigs effectively.

First, match hook size to livebait size, allowing sufficient hook gap to grab and penetrate a walleye's mouth, without using an overly large and heavy hook that would reduce the naturally lively action and appearance of the bait. Leeches typically perform best on about a #8 livebait hook; crawlers on about a #6; minnows on anything from about #4 through a larger #2/0, depending on minnow size. Weedless hooks reduce snagging, although open hooks typically won't foul badly if your rigs are correctly matched to weed conditions.

For nightcrawlers, consider Texas rigging the crawler, inserting the point first through the nose, then turning the hook point and burying it back in the crawler's body. This requires a firm, sweeping hookset to pop the hook point through the crawler's body and to stick in the fish's mouth. Leeches are a bit too tough to try this with, however, and reinserting a hook through a lip-hooked minnow will kill it. Try using a large lightwire Aberdeen hook with a spinner rig, inserting the hook point into the minnow's mouth, out the gill, and then turning the hook and nicking the point through the minnow's dorsal.

Weave and slither along edges, rather than plowing through them. Tickle and tempt walleyes out of cover. That gives you the edge in catching them.