# Trolling Hot N Tots



## Walleye 3 (Jul 2, 2005)

I have been doing real well with other baits but I want to target bigger fish. I used to use hot n tots a lot and have a ton of them but I tried them today and I forgot how to tune them. Do you just bend the metal clip to get them to run right like any other crank bait? Also what colors are good for Mosquito. I have been doing very well with Big O's and Shad Raps which is all I use any more but I want to go back to the hot n tots because they used to catch bigger walleye. I used them many years ago at pymatuning but just dug them out last week. Any help with using them would help a lot. Are most of you trolling them on mono or lead core. I use lead core mostly. Thank You


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## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

I also forget the tuning, but we did well with black & gold on Mosquito. Maybe those walleyes are Steelers fans.


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## center pin daddy (Apr 15, 2004)

Don't bend the lip just bend the wire. If you bend the lip then water may enter the plastic body. Since original Hot-Tots have became somewhat valuable it would be a shame ruin any.


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## heyjay (Mar 22, 2005)

I like the blue and silver with the red lip .


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

top colors are...red/silver, blue/silver black/silver, firetiger/ chartruese...


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## TIGGER (Jan 17, 2006)

I'll tell ya those lures always seem to catch fish! I heard also that they are catching the walleyes on them this week. Ladue, Mosquito and Berlin. Good sized ones.


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## Walleye 3 (Jul 2, 2005)

Ha Star1pup, I think that they are Steelers fans. I know I am I grew up in Butler PA. The best colors I have used and this is at Pymatuning are gold and black and silver and blue, firetiger and perch. I have mostly old hot n tots, but I do have some of the new ones. Do they work too? I have become a Shad Rap guy and now that they make shad rap RS I can't get enough of them. I also mostly fish with worm harnesses but I have been trying to become more versitile the last two years.


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## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

Walleye 3 said:


> Ha Star1pup, I think that they are Steelers fans. I know I am I grew up in Butler PA.
> 
> I've tried them on Atwood with no luck. It could be because all of my neighbors down there are Browns fans.
> 
> I see you are in Highlandtown. If that is Highlantown lake, I'm just over here on the other side of Lisbon and not too far away.


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## tomb (Oct 9, 2004)

I used 1/4 oz. hot+tots on mosquito this past sunday. Two of them plus ran two 1/4 oz wally divers. All I caught were small walleyes and crappies. Took more crappies on the H+T's and more walleyes on the wally divers. 

Wally divers: 8 walleye-all 12" range
2 crappie-6-8"

H+T's: 10 crappie 6-8"
3 walleye 12"
1 channel cat 16"

All fish were released. Both wally divers were red with black stripes. The hot+tots were firetiger and purpletiger. But I also like the blu/chrome w/red somebody else mentioned. I tried other baits but these are all I got hits on. Ran one of each at 16' and one at 10'. Trolled east shoreline from the white house to the white crane.


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## Walleye 3 (Jul 2, 2005)

I see you are in Highlandtown. If that is Highlantown lake, I'm just over here on the other side of Lisbon and not too far away.[/QUOTE]

Yes you are right I live real close to Highlandtown Lake. I also did some research on tuning Hot N Tots. To tune them you bend the bend connection link at the mid-joint where the clasp is located. You bend the top of the connection link with your fingers or pliers, you don't want to bend the whole connection arm or the bill because this can damage the lure for good and it will never run right again. It is the same as other crank baits, bend it to the right if the lure is running left and the opposite if it is running left. I knew it was something like that but I was not sure if you had to bend the whole line connector or just the top half. Well it is just the top half so be careful so that you don't permanently damage you lure, and never bend or twist the lip itself. I know that I will be giving them a try next time I am out. It will be hard to not use Big O's or shad raps but it is time to experiment.


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

My favorite color Hot n Tot at Mosquito has always been solid black on a bottom bouncer. It seems to be much better in the dog days of summer though, the only problem there being weed growth because the lip is constantly clipping bottom. Killer on sand or gravel bottom. Right now I would probably try gold and black also. My 1st choice is almost always a crawler harness at Mosquito. They seem to hit those more than most lakes for some reason. I like a gold blade with green beads.


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## Seaturd (Apr 14, 2004)

Black w/gold bottom on walleyes, blue/chrome for crappies & white bass. Occasionally solid orange scores great on the 'eyes. Walleye Diver - I use orange back w/gold sides almost exclusively on 'Squito.


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