Streamers & Bucktails for walleyes Q & A.

[Walleye Express]

STREAMERS: I hand tie my own streamer flys for whitebass fishing during spring and fall and I have caught tons of walleyes on them. I hear the Wolf River has a hot bite for walleyes that come on streamers. I catch so many species of gamefish and panfish on streamers that I wonder why more people don't add this trick to their bag of tricks. They mimic a small group of minnows moving through the current.

I cast these streamers on Wolf River Rigs (3 way Rigs) and I slowly work them back to shore with a slow reeling/twitching retrieve. I hear that trolling slowly up river into the current and pumping the rod every 5-10 seconds can also produce fish. The sinkers I use are thin dropshot pencil lead and wolf river sinkers. Sometimes even big splitshot sinkers work well in snaggy enviroments because when you snag them up you can just pull them off with a slight tug and you can keep your whole rig. I tie 2-3 of these streamers 12 inches apart on one 4-5 foot leader of 8 pound test mono.

As far as colors go I find the patterns purple/red/gold, purple/gold, purple/white, red/silver/white, chartreuse/orange, chartruese/silver/white, orange/white, pink/white, pink/orange, light blue/white/silver, and even black/green to be amazing. I have alot of luck though with whites and purples, and most colors containing white or purple. Even in dark water purple still works which is surprising but true. I could not believe such a dark color gets their eyes turning in murky water.

It is very cheap to make these streamers, and it is a purchase and hobby well worth seeking. If you want walleyes, whitebass, crappies, and even bass and pike, and want to have an edge over other anglers, then take the time to practice tying these streamers. I bought a cheap $6.00 fly tying vice. Buck tails are $4.00/tail. You can make loads of flys with one tail. I buy chartreuse, orange,white,black, light blue, and purple so that is $20.00 in tails alone. Then I buy gold, and silver tinsel strands for $2.00/piece. Thread is about $1.50/spool, thin and durable is the key. Then I use size 6,4,or 2 Aberdeen hooks which can be $8.00 for 100 hooks. Gold hooks or plain, it doesn't matter as long as they are aberdeen hooks. Then sinkers, swivels, and monofilament leader material is all you need. You are looking to blow $40-$50 but it is well worth it. Make sure your streamers are at least 3-4 inches long, they dont have to be fancy looking because the fish think they are minnows anways but, 3-4 inches is a good length for the streamers.

I suggest learning how to tie these streamer flys. I tie tons during Winter. It is a good hobby to keep your mind sharp on fishing, and get you some great new baits.

BUCKTAIL JIGS: I also hand tie my own bucktail jigs and enjoy using them. My favorite patterns vary from a pink jighead/white hair, or chartreuse/white, chartreuse/orange, purple/white, and light blue/white. I tie 1/32-1/4 ounce jigs for everything from crappies and whitebass, to walleyes and saugers.

I notice not alot of guys use bucktail jigs anymore. I use to see old timers catching loads of walleyes on bucktails, and now I do to but, all the plastics,livebait, and crankbaits took over the old fashioned bucktail for popularity. And the bucktail jig is deadly. I caught walleyes and saugers with or without minnows tipped on the hooks. I sometimes like my own creations over store bought ones because they have the right amount of hair, and my own color combos. Also catching fish on my own streamers and bucktails is rewarding because my creations caught the fish.

Does anyone here use streamers or bucktail jigs anymore? What color patterns are you favorite and why? Any retrieves work best for you? Is anyone else here so hooked on fishing that they take the time and effort to tie lures for fishing walleyes and whitebass? Anyone here very passionate about them very tasty and hard fighting fish WHITEBASS???? I am curious how many of you actually tie,use, or are interested in learning about streamers and bucktails.

Jason Weckerle

Jason.

You might also want to use that same vise to add some flash to your lead head jigs for walleyes. Pick up a variety of different colored Medium Ice Chenilles, Yarn and Finsel. All will be in the fly tying section of your sports shops and stay on the jig better then most rubber add-ons. I pretty much quit using grubs and twisters to bulk up my jig and minnow offerings. And have found that wrapping, tying, glueing down and matching or making some great jig color combos, has really paid off for me personally as well as on my charters. Heres only a few of the hundreds of pictures I have with some of my creations in them. Capt. Dan.