# Love/Hate Upgrounds



## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Some days you love them, other days you cuss them. If you fish them with any frequency, you will learn to love them as i have! They hold fish in specific patterns just like every other lake....... you just have to figure out the where and the when and then take advantage while you can. Spring is one of those times. Fished this evening (Willard) and got a nice mixed bag. The bluegill were holding high right up near the surface (with their backs out of the water a lot of the time?) and the rockbass/walleye were down deep. Custom kip tail jig with a waxworm caught the gills and a custom 1/24 pink jig head with a 4" crawler hunk caught the 'eye and rockies. Waded out on the ramp steps to catch the majority of fish but also caught some of the larger fish near the pump house structure on the SE corner.


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## CoolWater (Apr 11, 2004)

Nice haul. I usually curse upground reservoirs (other than trout stockings) but every now and then manage a decent day... just enough to get me to come back now and then.


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

CoolWater said:


> Nice haul. I usually curse upground reservoirs (other than trout stockings) but every now and then manage a decent day... just enough to get me to come back now and then.


Yeah, They are so crappy most days, but like here in Findlay if you find the mother load it will be some of the best fish you can catch and eat!


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## Chilly (Sep 22, 2014)

Yea fished Findlay Saturday morning one eye and one white bass slow for me again


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## Raylaser (Apr 8, 2015)

Nice mixed bag catch!! Gotta love those days!


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

I would almost always rather fish the upgrounds in the evening, have had a lot more luck at last light than first light it seems. I know it goes by when everyone have available time to fish though. I believe it has to do with the bug hatches..... but that is just a guess. If you can only fish in the middle of the day during the middle of summer, i would not even bother going to an upground reservoir!

One thing that was interesting was stomach contents from these fish. The rock bass were full of crawfish, no surprise there. One of them had one that must have been over 2.5" long! But both the bluegill and walleye had weeds in their stomach. Have caught bluegill in the past with weeds in their stomach..... but never walleye? In the past assumed the bluegill were plucking bugs from the weeds and just eating some vegetation in the process. Have also been told that bluegill are omnivores and will eat some weeds on purpose. I'm no biologist so no clue if that is accurate. But walleye? Can not imagine them eating any weeds on purpose. Can only guess that they are getting prey from the weeds and the side salad is accidental?

I spend most of my fishing time at 5 different upgrounds reservoirs that are only 20 minutes or so away from home and have some what of a seasonal time frame in my head for different species in each of them. I can get out and find fish in just about every season except for late ice season. Have never figured that one out.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

I think predator fish have evolved in upgrounds like bass and walleye. Their eyes will adjust to changing light conditions more quickly than baitfish giving them the element of surprise in an otherwise ultra clear environment with little ambush cover. Upgrounds like Wellington and new London are good fisheries all day long no matter what the conditions, but each new condition will have the fish positioned in different areas. The only key to consistent success is experience.


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## hawgseeker (Mar 25, 2012)

I fish them quite a bit and everytime I think I get them figured out I go through a drought...


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

hawgseeker said:


> I fish them quite a bit and everytime I think I get them figured out I go through a drought...


Tough thing with the two UG's here is there is not one weed or stick in the water! Number 1 has nearly 12 foot of visibility now and 2 nearly 10'.


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## Redman1776 (Jul 14, 2014)

Crappie are on fire at the Lima upgrounds right now. It is truly a love/hate relationship. Seems like it's either skunk or surplus.


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

Redman1776 said:


> Crappie are on fire at the Lima upgrounds right now. It is truly a love/hate relationship. Seems like it's either skunk or surplus.


Hey Redman any tips?


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Bellevue #5 and Willard both get super clear and have steep banks that drop down to a pretty flat, deep basin. The new reservoir in Attica is the same as well, but not as clear of water for whatever reason. Willard gets weeds in summer, but none at Bellevue. Ice fished Willard a few years back and could easily see the bottom (clearly) in 20+ feet of water. During early summer, bluegill spawn at the same place each year in Willard..... and some of their beds are in water that is easily 10 feet deep! Those fish are going to spawn regardless, just takes place deeper. Same thing happens with other species also.

On the hate side...... Did good on crappie last year at one upground, but for only about a week. This year i have caught 2 at the same res. since ice out. I keep hoping they are going to show up. Bluegill have been plentiful, but no crappie. They just pumped in 2' of water so things are going to change one way or the other. Going to give it a few more tries before i switch gears and start searching for crappie in different waters.......


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## Redman1776 (Jul 14, 2014)

ress said:


> Hey Redman any tips?


Crappie are moving in large schools and fanning the large rip rap rocks. Anywhere from 5 ft to 12 ft deep. Purple, pink w/ white have been the hot colors for me.


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

Redman1776 said:


> Crappie are moving in large schools and fanning the large rip rap rocks. Anywhere from 5 ft to 12 ft deep. Purple, pink w/ white have been the hot colors for me.


Thanks for the info 1776.


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## speck662 (Aug 10, 2008)

What do you guys use for small mouth in the resivoirs? I have been fishing both of Findlays with only 1 smallmouth in 5 trips.


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## hawgseeker (Mar 25, 2012)

I have had success on 1.0 kvd square bills and top water popper for smallmouth. They really like to hide in the rocks right of shore I never really caught them casting strait out from shore


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Yep, casting parallel to the shore with rapala floating minnows or husky jerks have gotten the majority of smallmouth i have caught in upgrounds.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

If you like large mouth bass fishing........ go to Willard reservoir and fish at dusk and after dark! Jigs work. Plastics work. Cranks work. There is a crazy abundance of LMB in there right now, and BIG ones. I know a couple guys who are convinced they need to be thinned...... they claim they are eating all the fingerling walleye the ODNR stocks. There is a couple that are regulars up there that are keeping (their legal limit) of bass about every time out. They launch their boat around sunset and pull out at about 11:30. They are wanting walleye and trolling with fat and skinny stick cranks. Talked to them today and they had their limit. They only caught bass.... no walleye.

I fished there this evening (Thursday night) and landed 1 - rockbass, 1 - 16" walleye, and 6 largemouth ranging in size from 16" to 21". Had a hook in a nice walleye and lost it. Also lost 2 other big largemouth.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Took a couple hours, but finally caught a 20" inch walleye last night at around 11:00. Jig with a 5" Kalins grub. Saw lots of them swimming around but only got 1 other hit the whole time. Tried a bunch of different jigs and stick cranks.


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## fishfinder43420 (Feb 16, 2014)

Personal best.. 21" 7 pound large mout first cast..







bite was good I was there from 8 till 11


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

fishfinder43420 said:


> .....bite was good I was there from 8 till 11.......


NICE fish. Got a crappie too! That one looks decent size too. Bass are spawning in the reservoir i was fishing.


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## fishfinder43420 (Feb 16, 2014)

Ya Attica.. Wasn't even targeting crappie and they were bitting good.. Was goin for walleye but no luck with that last night.. Was good just pulling in fish though


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Guess i need to give up on the crappie on my favorite little hole and head up where fishfinder43420 is if i want a little crappie in my freezer...... the bluegill at my reservoir are thick with eggs right now in the spot the crappie usually spawn. Bellevue reservoir #5 is another option that is screaming at me. Scratching my head at how i missed them this year on this lake in particular since i fish it so often. The clarity conditions are a lot different than the last few years, so maybe the prime crappie spawning spot is different also??? No clue where they are this year. In years past there has been 6' to 8' of clear water but this year only 2' - 3' at best. City has pumped in more often and don't think they have treated for weeds yet either.

Anyway, fished from 7:45pm to 9:00pm and brought home 10 fish. Threw back just as many too because so many were FAT with eggs. Can not believe the gills are close to spawning already. Usually find them deep (6' - 8' down when the water is clear) and tried that to start but only caught 1 fish in the first 15 minutes. Adjusted my float to half that depth and started catching fish. Ended up adjusting to only 2' under my float and could not keep 2 lines in the water up until it started to get dark and i gave up. Used a wool tail tied jig and tipped with a waxworm if i could not get a bite on a cast or 2. Nice weekday haul and all cleaned before the kids were in bed. 
Only 3 males (no eggs) in the group i cleaned.


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## kendil (Mar 24, 2015)

great mixed bag hook. Gotta appreciate those times.


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## ERIE REBEL (Jan 28, 2006)

AtticaFish said:


> Some days you love them, other days you cuss them. If you fish them with any frequency, you will learn to love them as i have! They hold fish in specific patterns just like every other lake....... you just have to figure out the where and the when and then take advantage while you can. Spring is one of those times. Fished this evening (Willard) and got a nice mixed bag. The bluegill were holding high right up near the surface (with their backs out of the water a lot of the time?) and the rockbass/walleye were down deep. Custom kip tail jig with a waxworm caught the gills and a custom 1/24 pink jig head with a 4" crawler hunk caught the 'eye and rockies. Waded out on the ramp steps to catch the majority of fish but also caught some of the larger fish near the pump house structure on the SE corner.
> 
> 
> View attachment 185572


Fostoria #5 is the same way this time of year. South end. Used to have a blast catching them on ultralight tackle. Spinning bubble. Three foot leader and a fly rod spider.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Fished Willard again last night. Lots of big bass but no walleye. The bass are all off their beds now and mostly out past the rip-rap. Rockbass are guarding their beds. Schools of the bigger bluegill would come and go..... they are FAT with eggs right now but couldn't see any making nests. Water is clear but the slimy green goo is coating all the rocks. Only a few standing weeds out deep.


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

AtticaFish said:


> Fished Willard again last night. Lots of big bass but no walleye. The bass are all off their beds now and mostly out past the rip-rap. Rockbass are guarding their beds. Schools of the bigger bluegill would come and go..... they are FAT with eggs right now but couldn't see any making nests. Water is clear but the slimy green goo is coating all the rocks. Only a few standing weeds out deep.


Hit Findlay #2 last night between 9:30 and 10:45. Lots of bugs~lots of fish! Only took home a 16 inch Walleye. WB and a few Crappie. Threw small jig with white twister tail close to shore.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Good deal ress! Glad to hear some fish coming from over there.

I tried Bellevue #5 tonight and got run off by lightning and heavy rain that came through. Water is nice and clear but about 4' lower than usual for this time of year. Did get 4 nice bluegill in the short time i was there. By the time i got back to Attica, there was a break in the storms so decided to give the new reservoir a try before i went home and caught 1 more bluegill. Caught a couple bullheads as well.... but they are still swimming.


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

AtticaFish said:


> Good deal ress! Glad to hear some fish coming from over there.
> 
> I tried Bellevue #5 tonight and got run off by lightning and heavy rain that came through. Water is nice and clear but about 4' lower than usual for this time of year. Did get 4 nice bluegill in the short time i was there. By the time i got back to Attica, there was a break in the storms so decided to give the new reservoir a try before i went home and caught 1 more bluegill. Caught a couple bullheads as well.... but they are still swimming.
> 
> View attachment 187194


That Rye Of The Tiger is good stuff. Tight lined on two today, one 8 inch Walleye.


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## walleye28 (May 13, 2013)

I was thinking of giving a reservoir a shot this week, Im in the toledo area and was hoping to drive around an hour, What places should i check out?


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

ress - Have you tried the Great Lakes Chillwave IPA? One of the smoothest IPA's i've had in a while. Good stuff! Is like an 8% or 9% brew though so only sold in 4-packs and pricey.

walleye28 - Findlay, Fostoria, Green Springs (Beaver Creek), Clyde (Raccoon Creek), Bellevue & Attica are all right around an hour from Toledo. There is about 15 separate reservoirs between those cities.


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## walleye28 (May 13, 2013)

AtticaFish said:


> ress - Have you tried the Great Lakes Chillwave IPA? One of the smoothest IPA's i've had in a while. Good stuff! Is like an 8% or 9% brew though so only sold in 4-packs and pricey.
> 
> walleye28 - Findlay, Fostoria, Green Springs (Beaver Creek), Clyde (Raccoon Creek), Bellevue & Attica are all right around an hour from Toledo. There is about 15 separate reservoirs between those cities.


Okay I was looking at fostoria, never heard of raccoon creek before


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

walleye28 said:


> Okay I was looking at fostoria, never heard of raccoon creek before


Alberta Clipper? My son has had them all and he shares! We hit Findlay Brewing Friday night (their only open on Friday) and you must give it a try. Their own brew. They serve 7 different types. Sorry to get off topic.....


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Not off topic in my opinion..... if you notice, my successful fishing trips usually require a GOOD beer as reward when it is time to clean fish. Never tried the Alberta Clipper. Here is the Chillwave stuff..... Chillwave Double IPA. Will have to check out the brewery over in Findlay, never knew there was even one over there! Thanks for the info.


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

AtticaFish said:


> Not off topic in my opinion..... if you notice, my successful fishing trips usually require a GOOD beer as reward when it is time to clean fish. Never tried the Alberta Clipper. Here is the Chillwave stuff..... Chillwave Double IPA. Will have to check out the brewery over in Findlay, never knew there was even one over there! Thanks for the info.


Thanks Attica. No have not had Chillwave. Great Scot on Broad Ave. has an awesome stock of craft beers.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Ate a couple bags worth of bluegill & crappie last night. When we finished, told the wife I was heading back out to replace what we just ate out of the freezer.  That usually never works...... but this blind squirrel found a nut. 

Went back up to Bellevue #5 since the wind was somewhat out of the North and would be easy casting from shore not far from the parking. Fished at dusk 8:00-9:30. Tried fishing deep (5'-6') under a float and was only getting cats on crawlers and wawworms.... but noticed my float kept getting bumped by fish up on the top. Tied on a kiptail jig and pegged it about 10" below my float and started 'chugging' it to draw attention. It worked great and did not even need bait. 3 of the fish were smallish, but the others were all 7.5" to 8.5". If i would have figured out they were up high in the water to start, probably could have come home with a few more. Good short trip on a weeknight though!


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## Angling (Feb 11, 2015)

AtticaFish said:


> Ate a couple bags worth of bluegill & crappie last night. When we finished, told the wife I was heading back out to replace what we just ate out of the freezer.  That usually never works...... but this blind squirrel found a nut.
> 
> Went back up to Bellevue #5 since the wind was somewhat out of the North and would be easy casting from shore not far from the parking. Fished at dusk 8:00-9:30. Tried fishing deep (5'-6') under a float and was only getting cats on crawlers and wawworms.... but noticed my float kept getting bumped by fish up on the top. Tied on a kiptail jig and pegged it about 10" below my float and started 'chugging' it to draw attention. It worked great and did not even need bait. 3 of the fish were smallish, but the others were all 7.5" to 8.5". If i would have figured out they were up high in the water to start, probably could have come home with a few more. Good short trip on a weeknight though!
> 
> View attachment 187486


A buddy of mine and I caught a shload of crappie at the 547 entrance a few years ago. We had a competion on hooking up in consecutive casts. We were using 1/4 jigs/chartreuse twister tails. Took 4 hours to filet them. Think ill take my grandkids up there tomorrow....


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Angling - A friend & i did really good up there with crappie 2 years ago as well. Last year i found them at a different reservoir and didn't need to drive that far.  Usually in the spring when the crappie are hitting there, they have it full enough that you can fish from the top or off the wall from the 547 entrance. Not sure how young your grandkids are, but you will have to get down on the rocks to fish right know. Evening bite is usually best up there.


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## Angling (Feb 11, 2015)

Thanks Attica... I have fished res 5 for a long, long, time. Have had my kids, grandkids, walk the dogs up there often. I learned to fish there.


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## Angling (Feb 11, 2015)

This is from 2 weeks ago at res 5...


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Leaning towards the hate/frustrated side of these bodies of water right now. Skunked on walleye last couple of trips to Willard. Bass are still biting as well as the rockbass, but the big gills and walleye are eluding me. So i changed up and headed back to Bellevue #5 (the big fish bowl) last night. Catfish action was non-stop but only managed 1 good sized bluegill. When is the last time anyone has caught a walleye from #5? It must be 8 or 10 years for me. 

Just a note about #5........... when i was there last night was very surprised to see there is a new launch/ramp that was recently built in the area that had the wall. The path to the right at the 547 entrance. VERY steep concrete slab was poured and some large concrete block laid along the side from the top down towards the water. They have the water filled up right to the bottom of the launch. Kind of humorous because, the city normally lets it drop another 4'-6' in the summer so the ramp will end before it gets to the water. As steep as it is, would think it will be near impossible to use as a launch for a trailer and believe i would still rather launch my kayak from the rip-rap. They currently do not allow vehicles up to the top either. Also, they unfortunately built it right over 1 of the only flat gravel spots the bluegill had to make beds. I think they should have to compensate for the habitat loss and drop a dump truck load of pea gravel along the outside of the ramp or something. Very limited spawning areas there. Does anyone know the reason for the ramp being built? Looks very similar to the one that was built at #4 a few years ago. City or ODNR access?


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## lomssl (Mar 25, 2006)

AtticaFish said:


> Leaning towards the hate/frustrated side of these bodies of water right now. Skunked on walleye last couple of trips to Willard. Bass are still biting as well as the rockbass, but the big gills and walleye are eluding me. So i changed up and headed back to Bellevue #5 (the big fish bowl) last night. Catfish action was non-stop but only managed 1 good sized bluegill. When is the last time anyone has caught a walleye from #5? It must be 8 or 10 years for me.
> 
> Just a note about #5........... when i was there last night was very surprised to see there is a new launch/ramp that was recently built in the area that had the wall. The path to the right at the 547 entrance. VERY steep concrete slab was poured and some large concrete block laid along the side from the top down towards the water. They have the water filled up right to the bottom of the launch. Kind of humorous because, the city normally lets it drop another 4'-6' in the summer so the ramp will end before it gets to the water. As steep as it is, would think it will be near impossible to use as a launch for a trailer and believe i would still rather launch my kayak from the rip-rap. They currently do not allow vehicles up to the top either. Also, they unfortunately built it right over 1 of the only flat gravel spots the bluegill had to make beds. I think they should have to compensate for the habitat loss and drop a dump truck load of pea gravel along the outside of the ramp or something. Very limited spawning areas there. Does anyone know the reason for the ramp being built? Looks very similar to the one that was built at #4 a few years ago. City or ODNR access?


City built the ramps. They use them to spread chemicals for algae control. Public is not aloud to use them. I called city and that is what I was told.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Thanks for the info lomssl. #5 gets really green late in the summer with huge slicks of nasty algae most years so maybe they will be able prevent some of that now. I sure wish they would have picked one of the other areas to place the ramp though...... they destroyed that little spawning area there.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Well........ 

The predicted weather turned out to simply be a prediction.







There was some rain early in the day, but the sky cleared at times enough to let the sun shine through and was humid and calm after dinner. Could not stand no more... and headed out to the Willard reservoir at around 8:00. The rain spit on me a few times but not enough to chase me off. It did scare most of the other fisherman off the lake though. Only myself and another pair stayed after dark. Got a few really nice (8" - 9") bluegill before it got dark using large chunks of nightcrawlers trailing off on a 1/32 lead free head. I released several big females willingly and a couple males flopped back before i could get them on the stringer.









Played with the bluegill that are spawning near the ramp till the sun went down then tied on a new Doll Fly look alike around 9:00 and started searching out the walleye. Holly chit. Think i found a new favorite bait in the Doll Fly Update. Missed 3 really good bites....... dang i was slow tonight! One of them even chewed on it two or three times before i realized it was a fish instead of weed. Doh! Caught 2 'eyes that were both right around 17" each. Saw some bigger fish make chase but am quite happy with the meal that i got.


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## DeathFromAbove (Oct 21, 2008)

Those are some nice looking jigs. Im not surprised they worked so well. Im gonna try to replicate them. You said you used wool to beef up the underbodies. What kind of wool did you use? I have alot of Congo Hair, I dont know if you"ve seen that, but Im thinking that might work. If I can ever figure out how to put pictures on here I'll post them for the teacher. Thanks
What kind of non-lead jigs are you throwing, if you dont mind me asking. They do have some nice beefy hooks on them.and fishing shallow non-lead would be safer.Thanks


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

DeathFromAbove - The lead free heads i use come from www.leadfreejigheads.com. He is a great guy to work with and will even custom pour head/hook sizes if you want something specific. The ones i used for the doll flies have the Mustad 2X heavy hooks. Listed under his Steelhead Ball Jigs i believe. Let him know if you will be powder painting the heads, think he uses a different alloy mix that works better with painting and cure temps.

You could probably use congo hair, but what i've been using is just simple wool roving. Got 2 packs of it from the craft store (not positive what it is used for with crafts) and it takes only a very small amount to bulk these up. With the wool roving you can pinch and pull to break it and shape it how you want tied on the hook shank. Really simple to work with.

The walleye were tight to the bottom...... was casting straight out, let it sink to bottom, they slooooowly hop it back in ticking off the rocks.


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## DeathFromAbove (Oct 21, 2008)

Thanks for all the info. Im gonna try to get out tomorrow. Weatherman is changing his forecast and it doesnt look bad. Ill post how I do.


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## Sluggo (Aug 30, 2004)

I always do very well in upgrounds in the spring and do OK in the fall.....but the summer kills me. I am targeting walleye and always have a very difficult time getting them in the summer. I usually troll the rocky shorelines. I know I need to change up the strategy as the one I have used for years only seems to work spring/fall, i.e. trolling shorlines with small cranks, jigs/twister tails, etc. Perhaps, I should try jigging slowly on the bottom in deeper water? Any suggestions?


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Sluggo - I've gotten plenty bumping jigs on the bottom. Talked to another guy one evening who said he has been getting a few using leeches on a jig head out after sunset. Said to keep the jig/leech just off the bottom and move around very slowly. Watched him for about 1.5 hours that night making drifts (there was only a light wind) not too far out from where i was casting from shore. He did not catch any that night...... but neither did i.


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