# Thoughts on harness bite



## caught your eye (Feb 10, 2014)

Any guesses when they are going to switch to meat ? I’ve enjoyed the jig bite but I’m ready to break out the harnesses


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## KPI (Jun 4, 2011)

Today water does not have to be a certain number someone has to be first 


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## GetReel (Oct 19, 2012)

Trolled all last season, Mich Stingers, Reef Runners & Bombers off Dipseys. Didn’t use a single crawler. Less mess! If you are casting or drifting with Erie Dearies or harnesses, they should work. Dragging a crappie rig tipped with marshmallows might get them!


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## Cra (Sep 4, 2017)

I fished Saturday and Sunday mornings. All weekend all we used was worms on hair jigs. Limits all weekend.


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## loomis82 (Nov 27, 2012)

With how many eyes are out there you will catch on them on anything right now. Rule of thumb is 55 water degrees but that's usually for trolling harnesses. Go for it now. These fish are chewing everything


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## Schatty (Jul 13, 2012)

We had a good bite going west of Kelleys today on harnesses behind dipsies. Aggressive bites with the harnesses buried in their throats.


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## KPI (Jun 4, 2011)

Schatty what was water temp for you?? i go by the old saying try different things and see what the fish want 


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## Schatty (Jul 13, 2012)

Sonar showed 49.1 to 49.3.


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## fishhogg (Apr 16, 2009)

Should be good to go on harnesses, if that is your thing. I just avoid the worm mess, and use cranks and spoons.


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## boatnut (Nov 22, 2006)

I hate treble hooks so i dislike running cranks although I have a ton and will if I have too. I converted all my spoons to Siwash single hook. All my harnesses are two single hooks. Be a few more weeks before I get out but you can bet I'll be pulling 'crawlers.

The way of the worm!!


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## loomis82 (Nov 27, 2012)

Heck you could pull a single hook harness (weapon) trolling and catch them


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## 21579 (Jan 15, 2010)

Jigged yesterday afternoon south of A can, had a temp of 52. Best jig bite was casting and hopping it back. Caught 3 on draggers w/ gold harnesses. 1 we literally needed forceps for, the hook was in its throat and the blade was in its teeth! Soon!


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## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

I too have given up on crawlers. Less mess and fewer junk. The bite has been so good over the last few years there hasn’t been the need to invest in worms. I did need to become more adept in cranks but that has expanded my versatility. At times I miss spinners but I think it’s only nostalgia... I don’t miss the mess in the boat, cooler and under my nails.
All that being said, if your on the west end, the time is last week.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

1000% done with harness. They are a pain in the ass nothing but a mess and get junk constantly and they get picked clean without you knowing. Stick with spoons and cranks stop wasting time and money and making a mess. Go on a charter and see how many harnesses they use.... None lol


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## fishing4eyes (Oct 7, 2011)

Harnesses have there place. But it's not Lake Erie.


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## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

boatnut said:


> I hate treble hooks so i dislike running cranks although I have a ton and will if I have too. I converted all my spoons to Siwash single hook. All my harnesses are two single hooks. Be a few more weeks before I get out but you can bet I'll be pulling 'crawlers.
> 
> The way of the worm!!


if you don’t mind me asking... what size hooks are you putting on your spoons? Not a big fan of trebles either, take way too much time. The fish tell me they don’t care for them as well.


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## Basser57 (Nov 23, 2017)

Crawler harnesses are a great bait when drifting / casting. One with the appropriate bottom bouncer in a rod holder and casting a weapon are a blast. I do agree they can be a pain when trolling.


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## KPI (Jun 4, 2011)

I think sometimes on a tough bite worms help !!!slow rolling a Colorado blade in dirty water pulls fish I always have some on my vessel when I go out 


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## tsw (Sep 28, 2014)

I am a drifter & caster, I make a drifting harness that we usually fish in a rod holder. Then cast mayfly rigs or weight forwards from the front and back of the boat. Two drifting rigs in rod holders, and two guys casting, a lethal combo. The drifting harness is also very good for youngsters. Last summer I took my 2 grandson’s on their 1st Erie outing. The younger boy had trouble casting in close quarters. Set him on the cooler beside the a drifting harness and he caught his 6 fish & was net man for the rest of us.


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## allwayzfishin (Apr 30, 2008)

I used large ribbon tail and straight tail rubber worms on harnesses last year in October. Caught plenty of fish using bottom bouncers. With the water so clear, they see the bait before they smell it. Once they grab it, they are hooked. No need for crawlers unless fishing inland lakes imo.


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## BeerBatter (Aug 1, 2006)

There were several years my spoons collected dust late 90’s early 2000’s

I’ve caught a lot of big fish on harnesses
One of my friends likes to say

Big girls like meat in the basement 

Harness and blades will have their day again 
Lake is so full of fish right now but when it gets tough again harnesses and worms will be back


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## stampman60 (Jan 12, 2015)

Last year I tried a couple of different kinds of leaches. Caught just as many fish as using live bait with no mess.


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## RStock521 (Jul 17, 2008)

I prefer not to troll and do it as seldom as possible. Can't wait for the drift and cast bite to pick up. Do you guys have success with rubber worms? I've never tried them, but may give it a shot this year. Another tip is to use a coffee can half full of water to rinse the worms off. I'll throw a handful of worms in there at a time to keep them clean, it significantly reduces the dirt all over the boat.


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## rnewman (Mar 25, 2013)

We have caught a lot of fish trolling and casting harnesses.The past two seasons those 2015 fish wanted spoons over harnesses though.My trolling harnesses have been collecting dust the past two season because of that.Back in 2017,when those 2015 fish were shorts,the harnesses seam to help catch bigger keepers.That may happen again this year,when the record 2018 hatch start biting soon.We shall see.We use the #2 tadpoles weights,with a 6ft leader tied to the harness.Use both #5 Colorado and double willow blades.


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## BrianSipe17 (Aug 5, 2006)

I know worms are dirty, but have fallen in love with Stinger harnesses. Best of both worlds between spoons and harnesses. I will be breaking them out my next trip


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## caught your eye (Feb 10, 2014)

Thanks for all of the replies. To be clear I was asking about casting worm harnesses. I prefer to cast or at least have the rod in my hand when I hook a fish and prefer to fight it on light tackle. To each their own its just how i prefer to fish. If we have a good drift I drag one in a rod holder and cast one. If we dont have a good drift I sometimes use the 9.9 to drag harness around while i hold my spinning rod. Have crushed them both ways the last few years at Huron. If u dump the worms in a bucket of water and wash them first it helps with the mess and i dont mind catching junk fish as long as I'm not getting them so fast i cant get my harness in front of some walleye.


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## 21579 (Jan 15, 2010)

caught your eye said:


> Thanks for all of the replies. To be clear I was asking about casting worm harnesses. I prefer to cast or at least have the rod in my hand when I hook a fish and prefer to fight it on light tackle. To each their own its just how i prefer to fish. If we have a good drift I drag one in a rod holder and cast one. If we dont have a good drift I sometimes use the 9.9 to drag harness around while i hold my spinning rod. Have crushed them both ways the last few years at Huron. If u dump the worms in a bucket of water and wash them first it helps with the mess and i dont mind catching junk fish as long as I'm not getting them so fast i cant get my harness in front of some walleye.


Exactly! Well said! I am a caster as well! 


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## rnewman (Mar 25, 2013)

Tried the spoon harness last year first time and really worked well.Bought more colors for this season.As for info in how to cast harness,the tread from Capt Mike in general discussions under drift and cast has all the info you need.


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## 21579 (Jan 15, 2010)

Captain Mike from Eye-Keeper Charters is the man! Took my in-laws from Washington State on a casting charter the first week of August last year. Dead calm, like a pond, still casted our 4 man limit!


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## bustedrod (May 13, 2015)

i love trolling and as messy as they are harness gets some big girls.


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## KPI (Jun 4, 2011)

Everyone is a pro now but like beer batter said there was a time when running meat on a dispy was what it took to get the big fat girls we won the Erie outfitters tourney on dipsys and meat could not get the big fish on wire and cranks the big ones came on meat so depends on if you want fish or want big fish everything has its place 


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## caught your eye (Feb 10, 2014)

rnewman said:


> Tried the spoon harness last year first time and really worked well.Bought more colors for this season.As for info in how to cast harness,the tread from Capt Mike in general discussions under drift and cast has all the info you need.


Ive looked at those spoon harnesses many times. I think this might be the year I try them.


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## Schatty (Jul 13, 2012)

RStock521 said:


> I prefer not to troll and do it as seldom as possible. Can't wait for the drift and cast bite to pick up. Do you guys have success with rubber worms? I've never tried them, but may give it a shot this year. Another tip is to use a coffee can half full of water to rinse the worms off. I'll throw a handful of worms in there at a time to keep them clean, it significantly reduces the dirt all over the boat.


We caught plenty of fish on Berkley Gulp crawlers. I tried running them along with real crawlers last year and there wasn't any noticeable difference in the number of bites. I was hoping they would be a bit sturdier and maybe catch more than one fish on them but it seemed like most of the time they would tear when you hooked a fish. They are pretty pricey to only catch one fish on them. I do keep a few packs in the boat just in case though.


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## Jim Barger Sr (Sep 6, 2004)

caught your eye said:


> Thanks for all of the replies. To be clear I was asking about casting worm harnesses. I prefer to cast or at least have the rod in my hand when I hook a fish and prefer to fight it on light tackle. To each their own its just how i prefer to fish. If we have a good drift I drag one in a rod holder and cast one. If we dont have a good drift I sometimes use the 9.9 to drag harness around while i hold my spinning rod. Have crushed them both ways the last few years at Huron. If u dump the worms in a bucket of water and wash them first it helps with the mess and i dont mind catching junk fish as long as I'm not getting them so fast i cant get my harness in front of some walleye.


I always put some ice in that small "dunk 'em" bucket. Seems to really perk them up in addition to cleaning them up.


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## bridgeman (Aug 26, 2010)

If its sloppy and I wanna get done quick the meat comes out. Some days the spoons get dragged until I get impatient then I start switching to the cable rigged willows. Ends up with a full box


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

To keep clean worms on my boat I transfer the crawlers into worm moss,Shines use to sell it by the bag and you can google places that sell it,I think it's real name is Sphagnum Moss or something like it, NOT PEAT MOSS,totally different. I put a block of the blue ice on the bottom of the bait box,I use a 8pk. type cooler or a little larger with handle and removable top.Moisten the moss and wring out excess water and put into the cooler along with the crawlers.On real hot days I'll use 2 blue ice's,one on top and one on the bottom.Only mess you have is some moss that will dry up and blow away with the wind.It works for me.


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## TRIPLE-J (Sep 18, 2006)

rnewman said:


> We have caught a lot of fish trolling and casting harnesses.The past two seasons those 2015 fish wanted spoons over harnesses though.My trolling harnesses have been collecting dust the past two season because of that.Back in 2017,when those 2015 fish were shorts,the harnesses seam to help catch bigger keepers.That may happen again this year,when the record 2018 hatch start biting soon.We shall see.We use the #2 tadpoles weights,with a 6ft leader tied to the harness.Use both #5 Colorado and double willow blades.


last 2 years i havent even put a spoon in the water cept to troll for steel ...
Lol its all a preference if you like spoons, harnesses or casting rigs and its working for ya then stick with it...
i love to cast for them myself.... keep a small bucket with some ice in it throw a few crawlers in it to clean them off and fatten them up, rip a piece off put it on your hook and go to town...
like most everyone else we were usually on and back off the lake with our limits within an hour, hour and a half tops, last couple years...


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## rnewman (Mar 25, 2013)

One of the guys I fish with will only allow worms bought at Hi Way Bait on his boat.Hi Way sells all their worms in a material that's paper like,not dirt.Not exactly sure what it is made of,but leaves a lot less mess when using Hi Way worms.


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## boatnut (Nov 22, 2006)

Gottagofishn said:


> if you don’t mind me asking... what size hooks are you putting on your spoons? Not a big fan of trebles either, take way too much time. The fish tell me they don’t care for them as well.


Gamatsku 1/0 for the smaller stinger spoons, 2/0 for the larger ones and I've put 3/0 on my magnum spoons for steelies


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## boatnut (Nov 22, 2006)

Lots of folks complaining about worms being messy. I bought one of these several years ago. Keep Kool Bait box. In lieu of filling the outsides with ice, I fill with water and just stick it in my upright freezer.
The morning I'm going fishing, I rinse my worms thoroughly in a 5 gallon bucket . Put a few paper towels in bottom of bait box, then throw in the crawlers. No mess/no fuss really.

I usually keep a supply of worms on hand in the beer fridge. If buying at bait store on way to ramp, just carry a 5 gallon bucket to rinse the bedding away .
At the end of the day, transfer unused worms back into a container, wipe out the inside of the bait box and stick back in freezer. Easy/peasy.

https://www.amazon.com/Unexcelled-Fishing-Keep-Kool-Cooler/dp/B07L41VDRX


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## RStock521 (Jul 17, 2008)

For you guys talking about spoons, are you casting or trolling those? I've thought about making a leader that's 2-3' in length with an egg sinker and loop on one end and the spoon on the other. I haven't done it yet, so just curious if this is what you guys are referring to.


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## rnewman (Mar 25, 2013)

We troll those spoon harnesses.Its the size of stinger spoon with two single hooks that you can put a worm on it.We started using them last season.Worked so well that we would have at least one spoon harness out with our other spoons.Caught some of our better fish too.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

RStock521 said:


> For you guys talking about spoons, are you casting or trolling those? I've thought about making a leader that's 2-3' in length with an egg sinker and loop on one end and the spoon on the other. I haven't done it yet, so just curious if this is what you guys are referring to.


Trolling with dipsys or inline weight 3oz.


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## KPI (Jun 4, 2011)

Look into dream weaver spoon harnesses they hold up very well great colors also 


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## LEfriend (Jun 14, 2009)

boatnut said:


> Lots of folks complaining about worms being messy. I bought one of these several years ago. Keep Kool Bait box. In lieu of filling the outsides with ice, I fill with water and just stick it in my upright freezer.
> The morning I'm going fishing, I rinse my worms thoroughly in a 5 gallon bucket . Put a few paper towels in bottom of bait box, then throw in the crawlers. No mess/no fuss really.
> 
> I usually keep a supply of worms on hand in the beer fridge. If buying at bait store on way to ramp, just carry a 5 gallon bucket to rinse the bedding away .
> ...


Same here but I use a small cooler with couple freezer packs. Wash worms night before using a colander and cold water . (Buy your own to avoid big time trouble with Mrs.) I put the big ball of cleaned worms on top of some layered newspaper or paper towels in a small plastic container and stick in fridge. (paper soaks up excess drainage). Morning of trip, throw the freezer packs in very small cooler, add layer of newspaper or towels, and put worms on top. Clean and cold all day. Sometimes when its cool instead of small cooler I use a small plastic craft box with tiny holes drilled in top cover and just keep it in fish cooler. (Still put a freezer pack in that box). Either way, worms are clean and lively and reusable at end of trip. I've had worms that made 3 or 4 trips to the lake that way before they ever make the hook. Which ever you use just clean everything with a little soap or clorox when you get home and good to go next trip.


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## fishhogg (Apr 16, 2009)

When I take crawlers in the boat, here is what I do. I have bought one of those Styrofoam bait buckets that fit down in a 5 gal bucket. OK, first I get my crawlers, then put 3-4" of water in the bucket. Then pull the worms from the bedding, trying to leave as much bedding in the container as possible. I do up to 12 dozen this way. Take the hose and get some water swirling in the bucket, then I dump out water and repeat. Once clean, I take the Styrofoam bait bucket and fill it with 3-4" of water and I put my worms in. I like to pull them out of bucket a few at a time, keeping any leftover dirt/bedding in water in the bucket. After getting the worms in the bait bucket, I empty the 5 gal bucket of worm water, and drop in the bait bucket. From there I take a small bag of ice(7lbr) and pour it in the bucket right over the worms. Make sure you have broken the ice up real well and do not have any big pieces of ice. Put the bait buck top on. Plano makes a lid for 5 gallon bucks that has a set up for tackle in it. I put that on top of the bucket and it holds the styrofoam lid down. Do that the night before your trip and you will have the biggest thickest crawlers you have ever had. Also, pull out the bait bucket and get the escapees out of the bottom of the bucket. This will last all day for you. Get home and pour out the worm water ad ice and you are ready for tomorrow. I got the idea from Lunkers Love Nightcrawlers. A must read. Hope this helps.


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## motorboatin (Jun 8, 2016)

Caught a few bigger eyes on worm burners yesterday, true trip 40 50' back out by the islands. A couple on blue and chrome bandit 60' back. Only ran 3 rods, 2' or less turned into 3-4' white caps...
Looked like the water temp was striated with the freezing lows and week of wind.


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## ErieBoy75 (Aug 4, 2009)

The harness bite is on fire in Lorain!
LOL - just did that to see if I could stir up Mr. Stedke.
I did catch one on a harness this afternoon in between showers/storms. The flag went back hard and the board jumped back! 18" jack.
I got 2 other fish on an ugly top 20. Orange, green....yuck!


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## hearttxp (Dec 21, 2004)

yrick82 said:


> Captain Mike from Eye-Keeper Charters is the man! Took my in-laws from Washington State on a casting charter the first week of August last year. Dead calm, like a pond, still casted our 4 man limit!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks ! Capt Mike


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## baitguy (Dec 17, 2013)

fishhogg ...I've done that but a slightly different method, I put the worms in layers between wet paper towels w/a good amount of bedding under them, then ice pack over top ... maybe I missed something in your post ... are you pouring the ice directly over the worms? or leaving them in the bait container? seems like the ice would crush and/or freeze them or melting water would drown them?


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