# Lindy rig



## huntingfishing

​ any tips for using this


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## mike003

Here's an article. I don't use the pre-packaged rigs. You can just put the sinker and hook on your main line and use a split shot as a sinker stop, rather than a swivel. That way, if the sinker hangs up. the shot will usually slide down to the hook, saving your rig. http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/lindy-rigs.php


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## HOUSE

lol, I spent 30 minutes writing the best response I could last night and the damn server went down and I lost it! I'll try and repost something similar later, I use them all the time.


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## HOUSE

I hope none of this insults your intelligence if you already know the basics, but here's what I know. I usually go with Lindy Rigs for walleye, but lately I have been using them for bass too. My lindy rig set ups usually consist of a 3/4 oz. slider weight, a bead/swivel, and then a 2-4 feet leader of 4-6 pound mono. I prefer using a size 4 or 6 red bait hook for walleye and something a little bigger for smallmouth. I prefer leeches for bait if I am fishing specific spots off the side of the boat, and I go with night crawlers if I am slow trolling because I can blow them up and make them float with a worm inflater or a bait float. (you can use a simple piece of styrofoam in front of the hook to lift it up off the bottom). I hook the leech or worm through its head and leave it dangling. The idea is to keep the bait 6-18 inches off the bottom in the strike zone. Without a worm blower or float, it tends to sink when you troll (or if you troll too fast). I get hung up this way too, so you might try using a split shot instead of a swivel like Mike suggested. I think that's a great idea that I'm going to try myself. As to other baits, when I fish for bass I usually use nightcrawlers this way or I switch out to a crawfish/minnow or even an artificial bait (resembling either one.) As to the hook set, I usually let the walleye run with it and eat it fully before I even set the hook. Since the worm is hooked at the very end, you have to give them enough time to eat it fully. Also, I usually keep them for dinner so I don't mind if they swallow the hook too deep...I can get it back later  For smallies, I'd just suggest you wait to feel the weight of the fish before setting the hook. You don't need anything too powerful, I usually just lift up on the rod after reeling in the slack.

Depending on the lake, I try and target slopes with vegetation. If I can find a spot where 20 foot water transitions up to 12 feet, and there is vegetation on the slope, I usually stop and quietly drop anchor on that spot. Walleye and smallmouth bass seem to prefer the edge of the vegetation as an ambush spot. I drop down my rig and once I hit the bottom I either a) jig it up and down a foot from the bottom or b) put on a bobber stopper and just let it sit there a foot off the bottom while I toss out a spinner on another line. With a slow troll, you can usually feel the weight of the rig bouncing slightly off of the bottom rocks/sand/etc. I pay most attention to the depth I am trolling and slow down when I go up hill or down hill. I also use markers to lay out a "course" for my boat so that I can target the under water hills or any flat stretches of land. I have a portable fishfinder, so I just stick the transducer up on the front of the boat instead of the back. I know that walleye stick pretty close to the bottom, but I've fished smallies this way when they following cold fronts when other bites seem to slow down. I think you could probably just troll a carolina rigged crawfish and get it up a bit off the bottom and have good luck as well. 

For a great video from Al Linder check here: [nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRl79A_tlSM"]YouTube- Lindy rigs floating for walleyes[/nomedia]

And BPS has some good articles in their outside world site like this one: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...32625&storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

Here's a pic of a common setup:
Good luck!


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## goose commander

WOW thanks warehouse i learnded more in the few minutes reading ur post than i knew, I pretty new to fishing and killingtime taught me how to boat the saugeyes this spring. now all i want to do is learn the walleyes around here (columbus) and ur post was a great start on rig sets. watched all the lindy videos from ur link to u-tube. you guys keep talking i'll keep learning....goose


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## HOUSE

Feel free to send me a tasty walleye fillet if you catch some hehe :Banane09:

All this talk about walleyes is making me want to plan another vacation!


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## LindyRigger

Nice post Warehouse. I like to use a quick change clevis and walking sinkers by Northl and that have a little metal eye. The sinker hooks into the clevis. This allows you to change the weights easily. The weight is usually what will get snagged. This allow the weight to pull out of the clevis and not loose the whole rig when snagged. The clevis still allows the line to be fed to the fish without feeling any resistance. I agree with using red octopus hooks. There is nothing like feeling the light peck...letting the fish then take the line and see it peeling off the reel and the closing the bail of the reel and then feeling the fish on the line. Love lindy rigging!
LindyRigger


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## eodblaster

Umm... this may be a dumb question, but what is the purpose of using this rig over a simple slip sinker rig (carolina). Seems like the same thing to me but I have never heard the term lindy rig.


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## Lewzer

I use the same thing pictured by warehouse for crappie at West Branch. I use a floating jighead with a minnow though rather than a hook to keep it up off the bottom.
It works well when they are not in the shallow vegetation but in deeper flats. You can drift and cover a lot of water to find the schools.
Once you find them mark the waypoint and do repeated drifts over the same area.


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## mike003

eodblaster said:


> Umm... this may be a dumb question, but what is the purpose of using this rig over a simple slip sinker rig (carolina). Seems like the same thing to me but I have never heard the term lindy rig.


You're right. It really is the same. I'll bet once people realize it, they stop buying the packaged rigs and just doing their own. They must sell, though, cuz Lindy's been offering them for years, and Northland has the nearly identical "Roach Rig".


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## eodblaster

Thx. thought it was the same, just wasnt sure. I use this particular rig for catfishing. Set the reel so the fish can run, especially when using large baits, and you can't miss em.


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## Flashball

I learned the Lindy rig method over 25 years ago while in Ontario. The guys in the next cottage were nailing them while I wasn't. The uniqueness of the Lindy is the slow stealth approach on finicky walleyes. While I was bouncing jigs, they were catching all the fish. So I inquired about their technique.

The Lindy slip sinker minimizes resistance on the bait during a pickup and fools the walleye. The area was a 24' granite flat about 1/2 mile long and wide surrounded by water 30-40' deep. Since snags were minimal due to the smooth bottom, and resistance was usually a fish, it was fun. The technique when feeling any resistance is to immediately open the bail which effectively stops your bait from continuing along with your drift. Based on "feel" occasionally holding your line to sense resistance, about 15 seconds or so, close the bail and set the hook. Fish or no fish, check you bait and try again.

Great method, best to use as a summer pattern when fishing "seems" slow.


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